Gemma New, guest conductor
Kristina Fulton, oboe, Shirley Bush Helzberg Chair
ALISSA FIRSOVA Die Windsbraut
BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Selections from Romeo and Juliet
Applaud guest conductor Gemma New as she returns to Kansas City in this highly imaginative and deeply satisfying program. In a first for the Kansas City Symphony, the orchestra performs Die Windsbraut by British-Russian pianist and composer Alissa Firsova. Inspired by the story of Alma Mahler and Oskar Kokoschka, Firsova’s expressionist music is lyrical, balancing searing dissonance with tender romance.
The Symphony’s Principal Oboe Kristina Fulton takes a star turn in Bohuslav Martinů’s elegant Oboe Concerto. Packed with zesty melodies and rich orchestral accompaniment, the Concerto’s warm ambiance is inviting. You’ll be amazed at the solo virtuosic flourishes while sparkling syncopations will make you want to dance.
One of Sergei Prokofiev’s most brilliant masterworks is his ballet music for Romeo and Juliet. Filled with haunting melodies, flashes of exuberance, electrifying moments and heartrending pathos, this is unforgettable music befitting Shakespeare’s closing line: “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” It will be a tragedy if you miss this concert!