Mother & Son Perform Together
The Grand Rapids Symphony and their conductor extraordinaire/music director Marcelo Lehninger present a rousing program of romantic era works by the genre's greatest composers Johannes Brahms and Frederic Chopin, as well as impressionist icon Maurice Ravel. The ensemble welcomes critically lauded Brazilian piano virtuoso Sonia Goulart, who also just happens to be Lehninger's very own mother, for a spectacular performance of Chopin's stunning nocturnal showpiece Concerto For Piano No. 2.
This is performed alongside Ravel's Ma Mere L'Oye or the Mother Goose Suite, five pieces that crystallise childhood and famous fairy tales, evoking the stories of Sleeping Beauty, Tomb Thumb, the Empress of the Pagodas, Beauty & The Beast and The Fairy Garden with charming, lush orchestration. The evening comes to a close with Brahms' invigorating Symphony No. 2, a sombre yet richly lyrical and wistful piece written in 1877.