Opening Weekend

Italian Splendor

📍 This event takes place at Powell Hall

Saturday, Sep 26, 2026, 7:30pm View Subscriptions Sunday, Sep 27, 2026, 3:00pm View Subscriptions

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Program

Stéphane Denève, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano

Hector Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture
Franz Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2
Andrea Tarrodi Liguria
Ottorino Respighi Pines of Rome

About this Concert

Experience the splendors of Italy with Music Director Stéphane Denève and the SLSO in this captivating season opener. Visit a kaleidoscopic carnival in Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture and venture through colorful fishing villages of the northern coast in Andrea Tarrodi’s Liguria. Respighi’s Pines of Rome guides us through parks and catacombs and then to the dark forests of the Italian hills. At the center of it all, the dazzling technique of pianist Yefim Bronfman transports us from the dream-like to the thunderous in Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

- Among Yefim Bronfman’s many accolades, the Washington Post has noted, “His energy emanates from his fingers and swirls out of the piano with such perfection that every note grabs the ear with an expressive, singing quality. When his hands swept the full length of the keyboard in arpeggios and scales, Bronfman made it all look effortless.”
- In the third movement of Pines of Rome, Respighi incorporated a recording of bird songs. It is one of the first uses of recorded audio in all of orchestral literature. The image Respighi sought to create in this movement is one of pine trees atop a hill, illuminated by a full moon while a nightingale sings his song.
- Swedish composer Andrea Tarrodi’s synesthesia pairs her senses of hearing and sight. When she hears a note, she also sees a corresponding color, giving her music an impressionistic and vividly colorful palette.

Artists

Meet the people that make the music.

Stéphane Denève

Conductor

Yefim Bronfman

Piano

Musicians of the SLSO

Plan Your Visit

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Respighi’s exquisite Pines of Rome and the sensational artistry of Yefim Bronfman performing Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto set the stage for an exhilarating 26/27 season.

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Opening Weekend

Italian Splendor

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Program

About this Concert

A few things to know

Artists

Stéphane Denève

Yefim Bronfman

Musicians of the SLSO

Plan Your Visit

Debussy’s La Mer

Mozart and Schumann

Playlist: Symphony Happy Hour

Beethoven’s Pastoral

Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky

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