About
CONCERT #1 OF THE 2025-26 SEASON
Sunday, November 16th, 2025 | 3:30 PM
WSU Community Arts Auditorium
450 Reuther Mall Detroit, MI 48202
Our concerts are free and open to the public. However, a $10 donation is suggested to help us keep the lights on.
Concert Program
Festive Overture, Op. 96 Dmitri Shostakovich
“Galop” from The Comedians, Op. 26 Dmitry Kabalevsky
Capriccio Italien, Op. 45 Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Intermission (15 minutes)
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 “Pathétique” Pyotr Tchaikovsky
I. Adagio - Allegro non troppo
II. Allegro con grazia
III. Allegro molto vivace
IV. Adagio lamentoso - Andante
Acknowledgements
This concert was sponsored in part by the Michigan Arts & Culture Council, as well as the National Endowment of the Arts. In addition, funding was also provided by the Zipser Foundation. Thank you to our sponsors!
Festive Overture, Op. 96
Dmitri Shostakovich
Few works capture pure celebration asvividly as Dmitri Shostakovich’s (1906– 1975) Festive Overture, composed in1954 for the reopening of Moscow’sBolshoi Theatre, Russia’s grandest operahouse. It had long been a cultural symbolof national pride and its postwarrestoration carried enormous symbolicweight. The Soviet Union was emergingfrom years of trauma: the devastation ofWorld War II, the terror and censorship of Stalin’s regime, and theuncertainty that followed Stalin’s death in 1953. Amid thisatmosphere of cautious optimism, the government called uponShostakovich, who by then was both revered and feared for hiscomplicated relationship with Soviet authorities, to compose apiece befitting the occasion.He delivered it in just three days. The result is a brilliantoverture filled with liveliness, virtuosity, and radiant orchestralcolor. It is a striking contrast to much of Shostakovich’s moreturbulent, introspective music. From its opening brass fanfare toits racing string figures and sparkling percussion, the music burstswith vitality and joy. Beneath its glittering surface, however, lies asubtler triumph: a composer long constrained by political fearallowed, briefly, to write unclouded music of celebration. FestiveOverture stands as both a public expression of renewal and aprivate sigh of relief... marking the dawn of a new chapter inRussian music and society.
“Galop” from The Comedians, Op. 26
Dmitry Kabalevsky
Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904 – 1987) was a Soviet composerand educator who wrote extensively for young performers with a dedication to accessible and educational music. The Comedians Suite (1940), consisting of 10 movements, began as incidental music for a children’s play called "The Inventor and the Comedian" by Markovich and Rys, yet its infectious rhythms and vibrant character have earned it a permanent place in the concert hall. The Galop movement has become Kabalevsky’s most famous piece. It’s an energetic musical sprint that perfectly captures the mischief and energy of the stage clowns it originally accompanied. From its first bars, the Galop is all momentum: speedy woodwind runs, sparkling percussion, and crisp brass passages race forward with unrelenting drive. It’s over almost as soon as it begins with a thrilling burst of color that leaves both orchestra and audience breathless.
Capriccio Italien, Op. 45
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
In early 1880, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) spent several weeks in Rome, where the city’s warm atmosphere and colorful street music provided a welcome escape from the cold Russian winter. Staying at a hotel near the Piazza di Spagna, he absorbed the sounds of Italian life drifting through his window: military bugles from a nearby barracks, the chatter of carnival celebrations, and the songs of street performers. These impressions would become the foundation of his Capriccio Italien, a symphonic fantasy that he described as “a kaleidoscope of impressions gathered during my trip.” The work opens with a bold brass fanfare based on the actual bugle call of the Italian cavalry. From there, Tchaikovsky strings together a succession of folk-inspired melodies and dance tunes, many of which he jotted down in his travel notebook after hearing them sung in the streets. The lilting canzona for solo horn and strings recalls the tender charm of an evening serenade, while the later dance themes pulse with the spirited rhythm of the saltarello. By the time the finale gathers speed in a joyful tarantella bringing the piece to a jubilant close, Capriccio Italien has become far more than a travel souvenir. It is a celebration of musical cross-pollination, where Russian lyricism meets the sun-drenched vitality of Italy.
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 “Pathétique”
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
I. Adagio - Allegro non troppo
II. Allegro con grazia
III. Allegro molto vivace
IV. Adagio lamentoso - Andante
Tchaikovsky’s final symphony is one of the most deeply emotional works ever written. The title “Pathétique” meaning ‘passionate’ or ‘emotional’ rather than ‘pathetic’ captures its essence as a musical journey through passion, nostalgia, and despair. Premiered in St. Petersburg in October 1893, just nine days before the composer’s sudden and controversial death, Tchaikovsky described it as “the best thing I have ever composed,” though he remained cryptic about its hidden meaning. The first movement (Adagio – Allegro non troppo) begins in darkness, with a murmuring bass motif that slowly blossoms into one of Tchaikovsky’s most poignant themes. The music surges between extremes of anguish and ecstasy. Fragile melodies bloom into towering climaxes only to collapse again into silence. A radiant second theme in the strings offers a glimpse of hope, but even this lyricism feels haunted by uncertainty. The movement closes not in triumph but in quiet exhaustion, as if drained by its own emotional weight.
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The second movement (Allegro con grazia) offers contrast through grace and ambiguity. Written in an unusual 5/4 meter, it resembles a waltz that stumbles slightly at each turn, lending it a bittersweet sway. Its elegance is unmistakable, yet the off-kilter rhythm creates a sense of instability as if joy itself has become fragile. Tchaikovsky’s mastery of orchestral color is on full display here, with delicate woodwind lines and warm string harmonies evoking both intimacy and restraint. The third movement (Allegro molto vivace) bursts forthwith rhythmic vitality and triumphant energy. It begins as a nimble scherzo and grows into a rousing march. Brilliantly orchestrated, it surges forward with unstoppable momentum, each section joining in the exuberant drive. Yet beneath the surface lies a hint of desperation, a sense that this celebration cannot last. When the final chord lands with explosive force, applause often erupts as audiences mistake it for the finale only for the mood to dissolve immediately as the true finale begins. The final movement (Adagio lamentoso – Andante) returns to the shadows. It unfolds as a slow, heart-wrenching elegy. The music seems to weep openly. The strings sing long, sighing lines over deep, throbbing basses, gradually descending into stillness. Instead of the grand, affirmative ending typical of 19th-centurysymphonies, Tchaikovsky leaves us with quiet resignation: the pulse slows, the harmony fades, and the music sinks into silence. In that silence lies the symphony’s greatest power. It is a reflection on mortality, acceptance, and the fragile beauty of lifeitself.
