RPO Offers Up the Classics this Summer at Hochstein

Michael Butterman

This Wednesday, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra opens its Midsummer Classics series with a special concert featuring an ancient instrument. This series at the Performance Hall at Hochstein will feature world-class conductors and guest artists, and each concert is preceded by chamber music performed by RPO musicians.

On Wednesday, July 6 at 7:30 pm in Performance Hall at Hochstein, Michael Butterman (The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Chair) will lead the RPO in a concert of classic masterworks that highlight the fortepiano. The concert on Wednesday, July 13 at 7:30 pm features Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony, and the series will conclude on Wednesday, July 27 at 7:30 pm with a celebration of the Double Bass.

For this week's concert, Michael Butterman and the RPO will be joined by fortepianists Malcolm Bilson and Mike Lee, who will perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 12 and Bach's first Keyboard Concerto. The fortepiano was an early version of the modern-day piano, and the instrument for which composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven would have written their piano music, so you'll get to hear the music the way it was intended it to be heard. Click here to learn more about the history of the fortepiano. Wednesday's concert also will include Bach's Overture to La calamita di cuori (The Calamity of Hearts) and Tchaikovsky's Suite No. 4, "Mozartiana."

Before the concert, RPO musicians will play Schubert's Cello Quintet. Use this link for details about the Pre-Concert Chamber Music, which will begin at 6:30 pm each night.

There's more great music in the upcoming concerts, including works by Schubert, Stravinsky, and Ravel. Plus, don't miss virtuosic solo performances by RPO Concertmaster Juliana Athayde (The Caroline W. Gannett & Clayla Ward Chair) and Principal Bass Colin Corner (The Anne Hayden McQuay Chair). Click here to learn more about each of the upcoming concerts.

Tickets for the Midsummer Classics Series in Performance Hall at Hochstein are $30, general admission. For tickets, call 454-2100 or click here.