The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and its music director and conductor, Philip Mann, opened the 2016-17 season with Mozart, Schubert & Mayhem on Saturday night at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center at Maumelle High School.
The Masterworks concert, sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust, included ASO Composer of the Year and Kansas City, Mo., native Stephanie Berg's Ravish and Mayhem, Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major.
The Mozart piece featured pianist Elisso Bolkvadze, the Richard Sheppard Arnold Artist of Distinction, who was recently named an Artist for Peace by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Mozart's Concerto No. 21 is part of the "golden dozen" concerti, which were produced when Mozart relocated to Vienna and are known for being more mature and complex. The works later inspired romantic composers including Johannes Brahms and Ludwig van Beethoven.
After opening Saturday night with the symphony performing a rousing rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" -- during which the audience rose and sang along -- the program continued with 30-year-old Berg's Ravish and Mayhem. The seven-minute-long work started off lively and concluded with a softer, more delicate tempo.
The evening's program featured selections that would more commonly be presented during a chamber orchestral presentation, Mann explained, adding that the pieces were chosen to complement the Performing Arts Center's more intimate setting.
After Ravish and Mayhem, Bolkvadze, a native of Tbilisi, Georgia (formerly of the Soviet Republic), performed Concerto No. 21 in three parts accompanied by the orchestra.
After an intermission, the second part of the season's opening night concluded with Schubert's Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major. The 27-minute performance was divided into four parts.
The performance concluded with an appreciative and warm response from the crowd, which nearly filled the high school's hall.
Bolkvadze, Mann, and the orchestra will repeat the concert at 3 p.m. today at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center at Maumelle High, 100 Victory Lane.
Ticket information is available by calling (501) 666-1761, Ext. 100 or by visiting the symphony's website at arkansassymphony.org.
Metro on 10/02/2016