The Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra’s “Music of Peace, Joy & Love” season ends with a final concert ”Jubilant Beauty” on Sunday, April 23, at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center on the Ft. McIntosh campus of Laredo Community College.
Rachmaninov’s inspired and best known work – the Second Piano Concerto in C minor Op. 18 – will be the highlight of a concert sure to delight all musical tastes. It will be performed by 21-year-old Laredo pianist Enrique Rangel, who is the winner of the Laredo Concerto Competition.
“The music of our 37th season was inspired as a musicians’ response to some terrible world events,” said Brendan Townsend, music director of the Laredo Phil, when he announced the season last summer.
“Remember the old saying ‘Make love, not war’? Well, musicians say, ‘Make music, not war,’ and that is what we have been doing all season,” Townsend said.
The April 23 concert concert will open with music of Von Suppe, followed by the triumphant Egmont Overture of Beethoven, and music inspired by nature of Bohemia with a tone poem by Smetana.
A central moment in the concert will be a performance of Barber’s Adagio for Strings – a piece known to almost everyone from its many uses in films and in performances at times of national mourning.
“This is where w
e all – both musicians and audience – can take a moment to reflect on all the tragedies that led to creating the theme for this season,” said Maestro Townsend.
Moviegoers will also be familiar with the music of Rachmaninov. The Second Piano Concerto has been used since the 1945 film Brief Encounter up through the celebrated Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle and many movies in between. It is music of rich, melodic lines and passionate displays of brilliance.
The season finale begins at 3:00 p.m.
Tickets are $20 for adults, and students are invited free of charge. Tickets can purchased at the door or via the Laredo Phil website at www.laredophil.com. For more information contact Angeline Townsend at laredophilharmonic@gmail.com.
