When the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra opens a season for the 115th time, they don’t go halfway. This Thursday, the CSO launches the 2009-10 season with an extraordinary one-night-only performance by world renowned pianist Lang Lang.
If Classical music can claim anyone akin to a Rock star, LL could most certainly be its Cool J. Perhaps most recognized from his electrifying opening appearance at last year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, Lang Lang will be lending his formidable skills to Beethoven’s breathtaking “Piano Concerto No. 2.” And, in the parlance of the infomercial, that’s not all. Maestro Paavo Jarvi and the CSO complete the evening’s program with a stirring tribute to American music with Aaron Copland’s epic “Fanfare for the Common Man” (commissioned and premiered by the CSO 67 years ago) and Leonard Bernstein’s brilliant “Divertimento for Orchestra,” “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story” and the “Overture to Candide.”
Want to make a complete evening of the gala opener? The 7:30 p.m. Music Hall concert is preceded by cocktails and dinner in the round and followed by a post-concert soiree with champagne and desserts. Tickets for the concert range from $25 to $105; the dinner/post-concert package is an additional $100 per person, while just the post-concert event is an additional $30 per person.
Get tickets and details here.
This article appears in Sep 9-15, 2009.
