Season Opener – The American Spirit

42nd Season Opener: The American Spirit

Musical Discovery

Copland’s rip-roarin’ score of Billy the Kid delightfully captures the thrills, narrow escapes, gun fights, and barroom brawls of the original ballet’s story.  In another ballet a few years later, his friend Leonard Bernstein captured the optimism and energy of wartime New York City: “a helluva town.”  Jennifer Higdon’s moving memorial to her brother, Blue Cathedral, is a delicate masterpiece and her most popular work. Rachmaninoff’s dazzling Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, written after he had emigrated to America, closes the concert with virtuoso brilliance–and a parting wink.

What makes this concert special?

For the formidable Paganini Rhapsody, our piano soloist is the even more formidable Dr. Julia Rosolovsky Greer, “a materials scientist and…the Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Materials Science, Mechanics and Medical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and a stunning pianist.  Dr. Greer is a longtime member of Redwood Symphony with multiple concerto appearances. Redwood Symphony is delighted to have her back with us again and is very proud of her!