The Greenville Symphony Orchestra hopes a season of popular classical works will inspire concert-goers to flock back to the Peace Center this fall.
The 2021-22 season is dominated by composers at the core of the classical orchestral repertoire, such as Dvorak, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.
The so-called three-B’s of classical music also will be featured: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. And add to that a fourth “B”: a concert of the Beatles.
“I was trying as much as possible to create diverse and spectacular programs which feature music of favorite composers and present great soloists to please our listeners and musicians,” said Edvard Tchivzhel, the orchestra’s music director.
Pianist Olga Kern
Among the season’s highlights, the orchestra welcomes back Russian-American pianist Olga Kern, the 2001 co-winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn competition, for a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1
“We’re very excited to bring her back,” Tchivzhel said.
That April 23-24 program also features Dvorak’s ever-popular Ninth Symphony (“From the New World”).
Violinist Alexander Markov
Also returning is violinist Alexander Markov for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s dazzling Violin Concerto, May 14-15. Markov wowed audiences at the Peace Center this past May with Paganini’s Violin Concerto followed by an extended encore of his own music using his unique electric violin. The program includes Tchaikovsky’s blazing Fourth Symphony.
Masterworks Series
The Masterworks series opens with the young Danish-American cellist Jonathan Swensen playing Dvorak’s Cello Concerto on Nov. 13-14. Also on that program is Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 (“Haffner”), with Tchivzhel conducting.
Guest conductor Carolyn Kuan will lead the second Masterworks program that includes Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” suite and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3 on Jan. 22-23.
Chamber Series
In addition to six Masterworks Series concerts, the orchestra will offer four chamber music programs in the Peace Center’s intimate Gunter Theatre. The Chamber Series begins on Oct. 29-31 with an all-Mozart program, featuring the composer’s Serenades Nos. 10 and 12 and his Divertimento.
The Chamber Series includes a performance of Stravinsky’s rarely heard “A Soldier’s Tale,” featuring narrator David Bean and dancers from International Ballet, March 4-6.
Two pops programs are planned: the annual Holiday at Peace concerts (featuring soprano Karen Parks and host Jamarcus Gaston, Dec. 17-19) and “Revolution,” a symphonic exploration of the music of the Beatles on March 10.
“We are very excited to come back on stage to enjoy live music-making again and to see again our dear audience members who we missed very much,” Tchivzhel said.
Among the soloists this season will be former GSO concertmaster Laura Colgate who’ll offer the first-ever performance by the Greenville Symphony of Shostakovich’s prickly Violin Concerto No. 1 on March 19-20. In that same concert is Saint-Saens’ thundering Symphony No. 3 (“Organ”).
Greenville-based pianists David Gross and Zachary Hughes take on, respectively, Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 (Feb. 26-27) and Bach’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (April 1-3).
Back to normal
The Greenville Symphony offered several programs this past spring at the Peace Center but with a reduced and physically- separated orchestra and audience. Plans for the 2021-22 season call for returning mostly to pre-COVID protocols.
“While the 2021-22 season should mark the beginning of a return to normalcy, we hope that it is more than that,” said Greenville Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Julianne Fish. “We want it to be a celebration: a celebration of the enduring power of music, of the remarkable resilience of our musicians and audiences, and of all that Greenville has to offer. I think Maestro Tchivzhel has accomplished that and more.”
To see the full 2021-22 season of concerts, visit the Greenville Symphony’s website at greenvillesymphony.org. Tickets are available by calling the Peace Center at 864-467-3000.
Paul Hyde, a longtime Upstate journalist, writes about the arts for the Greenville Journal.
