Join Maestro Richard Stoelzel, Concertmaster Ming Gao, and the talented Philharmonic musicians for an exhilarating opening concert of thrilling, theatrical masterworks. This spellbinding program explores the supernatural, the dramatic, and the delightfully eerie through iconic orchestral showpieces. Whether you’re discovering these works for the first time or hearing beloved favorites again, this program promises an unforgettable musical journey.
Ride of the Valkyries – Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
Originally part of the opera Die Walküre, this masterpiece is famous for its thunderous brass theme. Wagner actually tried to ban standalone concert performances of it during his lifetime. Fast forward and you might recall Elmer Fudd singing “Kill da wabbit!” to the Valkyries melody!
Preferred Seating ……… $85 *
General Seating …………. $70
Children 12 & under ……. free
* Preferred Seating is located in designated premium seating areas closest to the orchestra.
Funeral March of a Marionette – Charles Gounod (1818–1893)
Best known as the iconic Alfred Hitchcock Presents theme, the piece was written as a quirky, tongue-in-cheek musical joke about a broken-hearted wooden puppet carried to its grave.
Danse Macabre – Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)
French folklore tells of Death appearing at midnight on Halloween, calling the dead to dance for him on their graves. The piece brilliantly evokes rattling bones using a xylophone and the devil’s fiddle using a deliberately detuned violin.
In the Hall of the Mountain King – Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
Written as incidental music for Peer Gynt, this piece is a masterclass in musical acceleration, beginning as a sneaky, tiptoeing low strings theme and spiraling into a chaotic, breathless stampede.
Symphonie Fantastique – Hector Berlioz (1803–1869)
March to the Scaffold
In this feverish episode, Berlioz imagines his hero dreaming that he has murdered his beloved and is being marched to the guillotine. The music evokes a grim procession, culminating in a violent orchestral blow representing the falling blade.
Intermission
Selections by Anothony DiLorenzo* (b. 1967)
The Magic Broom
March of the Pumpkins
Dracula Suite
Overture
The Messenger
Parade of the Ghouls
Waltz of the Dead
Dance of the Gypsies
Playful pumpkins give way to Dracula’s dark grandeur as DiLorenzo conjures a world of mystery, mischief, and supernatural spectacle.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Paul Dukas (1865–1935)
Immortalized by Walt Disney’s Fantasia, this tone poem tells the Goethe-inspired tale of a mischievous apprentice whose experiments with his master’s magic broom lead to disastrous—and increasingly waterlogged—results. Keep an ear out for the bassoons carrying the stubborn, marching water-bucket theme!
* The Magic Broom, March of the Pumpkins, and Dracula Suite by Anthony
DiLorenzo are made available by arrangement with Art of Sound Music, LLC,
worldwide agent and publisher.
