CSO Masterworks 7 Fri: Pictures at an Exhibition

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Chelsea Gallo, Conductor
Drew Petersen, Piano

About the Show

Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto premiered just over 100 years ago, in 1921, and has since become his most popular and most played piano concerto. The composer was also a highly regarded pianist, and his early piano concertos, including the third, reflected his skill. Drew Petersen returns to perform with the Charleston Symphony as soloist for this ambitious and exciting piece, after his triumphant 2024 guest appearance for Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto.

The “Promenade” opening of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition unveils a theme that carries throughout the work and culminates in a majestic closing movement. During the work, the audience accompanies the orchestra through a musical gallery inspired by 10 visual art pieces by the composer’s friend and artist, Viktor Hartmann. Each movement is an aural representation of the artwork, brought to life with sounds ranging from eerie and mournful to playful and tranquil — and none of the piece ever ceases to resonate with an inherent Russian characteristic.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Chelsea Gallo is the Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic and Resident Conductor of The Florida Orchestra. She has conducted many of the leading American and international orchestras and opera companies.
• About Drew Petersen, Music Web International wrote: “Fearless playing, with recordings to match; this pianist is destined for great things.” 
• “My Third Concerto has turned out to be devilishly difficult. I’m nervous, and I’m practicing hard, three hours a day,” said Prokofiev in a letter to Serge Koussevitzky, a composer and conductor at the time.

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