Announcing the Reno Phil’s 2022-2023 season of Classix!

We are focused on celebrating the orchestra’s ability to bring communities together through shared musical experiences. Programs will feature larger-sized orchestras, expansive repertoire, exciting soloists, and our enhanced Virtual Concert Hall. The six-concert series culminates with a concert performance of Bizet’s most famous opera, Carmen; we are excited to welcome back the Reno Phil Chorus to perform for the rousing conclusion!

Carlos SIMON:  Selections from Tales: A Folklore Symphony
Sergei RACHMANINOFF: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, op. 43
Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Scheherazade, op. 35

Wiley Skarat, Davidson Fellow
Piano

The violin is front-and-center as we take the audience on a journey through famous legends with this season opening concert. Violinist Niccoli Paganani was often accused of selling his soul to the devil for his prodigious talents, though he claims a guardian angel was responsible for his virtuosic playing. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff for piano and orchestra is 24 variations on a famous and challenging violin solo. The concert also features Rimsky-Korsakov’s most popular work, Scheherazade. Based on the story One Thousand and One Nights, the piece creates a colorful kaleidoscope of fairy-tale images with varying moods that weave individual stories and moments into a symphonic masterpiece. Our very own Ruth Lenz will represent the character of Scheherazade on solo violin, crafting fantastical tale after tale.

J.S. BACH: Toccata and Fugue, bwv 565 [orchd. Stokowski]’
Bert APPERMONT: Colors for Trombone
Camille SAINT-SAENS: Symphony No. 3, op. 78 in C minor (Organ Symphony) featuring the Youth Symphony Orchestra side-by-side with the Reno Phil

Jim Albrecht, Reno Phil Principal Trombone

The Reno Phil’s Principal Trombonist, Jim Albrecht, will be the featured soloist for Appermont’s Colors for Trombone, a creative and imaginative piece that explores the wide color palette of the solo trombone. The program will conclude with a side-by-side performance featuring the Reno Phil Orchestra and Reno Phil Youth Symphony Orchestra playing Saint-Saëns’ most popular symphony. Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 —known best as the “Organ” Symphony for its grand final movement featuring its namesake instrument—was written in 1886 at the height of his career. This gloriously exultant work features themes of renewal and resurrection. This is a performance not to be missed, the “Organ” Symphony truly awakens the spirit.

DAI WEI: The Dancing Moonlight
Edvard GRIEG: Concerto for Piano in A minor, op. 16
Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 4, op. 60 in B-flat Major

Andrew Von Oeyen, Piano

From its grand opening arpeggios to tour-de-force finale, Grieg’s masterpiece is one of the most popular-and most recognizable-piano concertos ever written. Hear it performed by the acclaimed pianist Andrew Von Oeyen, who will bring his artistic flair and brilliant piano technique to the Reno Phil for Grieg’s Piano Concerto. He has been applauded by critics and audiences alike for his dynamic performances, versatility, and innovation. The program concludes with Beethoven’s lesser-known symphony but perhaps his most cheerful, Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony.

Felix MENDELSSOHN: Hebrides Overture  
Max BRUCH: Scottish Fantasy 
Sergei PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet-selections from suites 1-3

Adé Williams, Violin

The timeless classic tale of forbidden romance sweeps throughout the orchestra with selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. One of the greatest ballet scores in history and one of the Russian giant’s most beloved works, Romeo and Juliet is brimming with lyrical melodies and captivating drama. Award winning violinist Adé Williams will mesmerize audiences with her performance of Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, a piece known for drawing listeners into a musical world and allowing them to escape into a Scottish Fantasy.

Arturo MARQUEZ: Conga del Fuego Nuevo  (New Fire Conga)
Anna CLYNE: Dance    (for cello and orchestra)
Antonín Leopold DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 7, op. 70 in D minor

Inbal Segev, Cello

Transforming five lines of Rumi poetry into a musical language given voice by the cello, Anna Clyne’s cello concerto, Dance will captivate listeners with an intensely emotional and evocative modern piece. Written for New-York based cellist Inbal Segev and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the concerto’s opening movement has over 3 million plays on Spotify and was named among NPR Music’s “Favorite Songs of 2020.” Often regarded by musicologists as his greatest symphony, Dvořák’s Seventh set out to stir the world, taking listeners on a journey from darkness to light.

Georges BIZET: Carmen
Concert Performance

Reno Phil Chorus
Guest vocalists

Revel in drama and passion as the Reno Phil Orchestra, Chorus, and guest vocalists closes Season 54 with music from one of history’s most celebrated operas, Bizet’s Carmen. Derided by critics and considered scandalous at the time of its premiere, this fiery and tragic love story has become a classic and features some of music’s best-known operatic arias like “Habanera” and “Toreador Song.” Follow the tale of the vibrant and unforgettable Carmen, one of art’s great and lasting characters, and become a part of experience by donning attire in the color of love and passion – red.