Asheville Symphony opens 2016-17 season with Tchaikovsky celebration and star violinist Jennifer Koh

The Asheville Symphony Orchestra’s 2016-2017 season opens on Saturday, September 17 with “Tchasing Tchaikovsky,” a celebration of the great Russian composer. Audience members are in for a special treat as Jennifer Koh, one of America’s finest young soloists, returns to Asheville to join the ASO for Tchaikovsky’s impressive Violin Concerto in D major. The concert begins at 8 p.m. at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in downtown Asheville under the direction of ASO Music Director Daniel Meyer. 

Tchaikovsky was equally at home in the worlds of ballet, opera, chamber music, and orchestra. Meyer notes, “Tchaikovsky is a composer I have admired my entire life. He brought his passion to every piece of music he wrote, and we will sample his genius in one glorious evening.”

Recognized for her intense, commanding performances and dazzling virtuosity, violinist Jennifer Koh was named Musical America’s 2016 Instrumentalist of the Year, and is a past winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Also on the program is the Suite from The Sleeping Beauty, one of Tchaikovsky’s most beloved scores drawn from his ballet of the same name. Listeners will be swept away by the romance of this timeless piece—one that Stravinsky later called “the convincing example of Tchaikovsky’s great creative power.” 

Showcasing Tchaikovsky’s musical storytelling, Francesca da Rimini is a passionate symphonic poem that tells the tragic tale of Francesca, a beautiful noblewoman immortalized in Dante’s Inferno, who fell in love with the brother of her cruel husband. This powerful piece evokes the torment of the lovers who in their eternal damnation are trapped together in a violent storm, whirled through the air, never to touch the ground again.

Single tickets for all concerts are $22-62, depending on seating section (reduced youth pricing is available). Single tickets and season ticket packages can be purchased online at ashevillesymphony.org, by phone at 828-254-7046, or in person at the U.S. Cellular Center box office at 87 Haywood Street.

Masterworks 1

TCHASING TCHAIKOVSKY

September 17, 2016 • 8 p.m.

Thomas Wolfe Auditorium

Daniel Meyer, conductor

Jennifer Koh, violin

Program:

Tchaikovsky       Suite from Sleeping Beauty Tchaikovsky       Francesca da Rimini

Tchaikovsky       Violin Concerto