The Nashville Symphony
This weekend the Nashville Symphony welcomes one of the most respected women in classical music, as conductor JoAnn Falletta leads a program headlined by Sergei Prokofiev’s Suite from Romeo and Juliet, one of the Russian composer’s most beloved works.
These concerts will also showcase pianist Yulianna Avdeeva as the featured soloist on Franz Liszt’s First Piano Concerto, a work that blends the legendary composer-performer’s otherworldly virtuosity with his groundbreaking techniques as a composer. Maurice Ravel’s La Valse, a dark re-imagining of the traditional Viennese waltz, opens the concerts.
Performances take place at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Visit NashvilleSymphony.org/RomeoandJuliet or call 615-687-6400 to purchase tickets.
Before you go, read on for some background and fun facts on the program and performers:
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JoAnn Falletta and Sergei Prokofiev
A History-Making Guest Conductor
JoAnn Falletta became the first woman ever to lead a major American orchestra when she was appointed music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic more than two decades ago. She is a steadfast champion of American music – much like the Nashville Symphony’s own Giancarlo Guerrero – and has introduced more than 500 works by homegrown composers throughout her illustrious career, including 100-plus world premieres. Falletta, who was named Performance Today’s 2019 Classical Woman of the Year, has also won multiple GRAMMY® Awards and boasts a discography of more than 115 titles.
Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Initially Had a Happy Ending
Prokofiev's original ballet adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet featured a number of departures from The Bard’s play. The most notable is a “happy ending” that alters the timing of Romeo’s return in the tomb scene, in which Romeo is stopped from stabbing himself to death by Friar Laurence. After a struggle ensues between the two, Juliet begins breathing again and eventually, the lovers dance joyously before a crowd of people. The composer later concluded that his music was not the right fit for this altered ending, and it was rewritten to align with the tragic conclusion we all know so well.
Prokofiev’s Death Went Largely Unnoticed
Prokofiev is considered one of the true giants of 20th century music, but his death on March 5, 1953, was essentially an afterthought because it occurred less than an hour before the passing of another monumental Russian figure, Josef Stalin. News of Prokofiev’s death didn’t trickle to the West for three days, and it took nearly a week before it was reported in Pravda, the official newspaper of the Communist party. Stalin’s very presence and influence had cast a dark shadow over most of Prokofiev’s career, and the same was true in the aftermath of their deaths – there were no flowers at the composer’s funeral because Stalin’s men had rounded up every single one in Moscow for the former leader’s burial. However, the string quartet that performed next to Stalin’s open coffin allegedly wept openly not for him, but for Prokofiev.
Long before Beetlemania, there was “Lisztomania”
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt’s early exploits as a pianist – he was capable of playing entire programs from memory and had a preternatural ability to expand the impact of the piano into something much bigger – stirred up a fervor across Europe known as “Lisztomania.” Legend has it that his performances caused women to swoon and shriek with delight, with some female fans even stealing his hair clippings and tucking the discarded stubs of his cigars in their bosoms. Liszt’s evolution as one of the first “pop stars” in music history was chronicled in the 1975 film Lisztomania, which starred The Who’s Roger Daltrey as Liszt and also featured Beatles drummer Ringo Star.
Want to learn more about the fascinating history surrounding both the repertoire and the composers featured on this program? Check out the Symphony’s Classical Conversations, hosted by assistant conductor Nathan Aspinall and JoAnn Falletta, which take place one hour before each concert in the Schermerhorn’s Balcony Lobby. Aspinall and Falletta will also hold an informal Q&A session in the rear of the concert hall following the Friday and Saturday performances.