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| | What is the Meaning of Life?
Saturday, September 19, 2018
Who better to ponder the meaning of life with than French poets and philosophers? We kick things off with Bernstein’s rousing and wild Candide Overture from his opera based on Voltaire’s comic philosophical novel, in which he ponders if we are living in the “best of all possible worlds.” We continue with Listz’s Les Preludes, which was inspired by French poet Alphonse de Lamartine’s question, “What is life but a series of preludes to that unknown hymn whose first solemn note is intoned by death?” And to round out our evening of big ideas, we will be joined by the 2017 Van Cliburn Bronze Medalist Daniel Hsu on Rachmaninoff’s enormous and virtuosic 3rd Piano Concerto, and in honor of the 50th anniversary of White Concert Hall, we will bring back Theron Kirk’s Kaleidoscope which was written for the TSO's first perfromance in the new hall in 1968. | Buy Tickets | |
| | Does Art Give Life Meaning?
Saturday, November 3, 2018
At this concert we will perform several pieces of music inspired by great works of art. We look to the life and music of German composer Paul Hindemith to address the meaning of art in our lives. Hindemith was writing during the Nazi Regime in Germany and walked a fine line between self-expression and self-preservation. In his Symphony: Mathis der Maler (Matthew the Painter), he wrote about the life of Renaissance painter Matthias Grünewald and his paintings for the Isenheim altarpiece in the monastery in Alsace. The three movement symphony moves from angelic to tumultuous as Hindemith “paints” the story for us in music. We will also perform Spring and Birth of Venus from Respighi’s charming and beautiful Boticelli Triptych, inspired by the famous paintings. We also welcome Jane Carl to the stage on Mozart’s ever-popular Clarinet Concerto. | Buy Tickets | |
| | Holiday Pops -
Christmas at the Movies
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
For our annual Holiday concert we will team up with the Shawnee Choral Society to present music from some of your favorite holiday movies and television shows including How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, The Polar Express, and more! | Buy Tickets | |
| | Who Am I,
and Where Am I Going?
Saturday, January 19, 2019
At this concert, we pose these giant philosophical questions and hear artists’ responses through poetry and prose, nostalgia and naiveté, and some of the most beautiful and haunting melodies ever written for orchestra. We begin our concert with the prelude from the opera Hansel and Gretel, a tale which has at its heart the questions, “Who am I? Where am I going?” Then we move to Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, a reflective meditation on childhood, nostalgia, and self-awareness. Finally, we take on Gustav Mahler’s arresting and gorgeous Fourth Symphony, which muses on joy and innocence but gives way to much deeper and darker existential musings on life and death. | Buy Tickets | |
| | Will You Be My Valentine?
(Pops Concert)
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Frank Sinatra is synonymous with jazzy, breezy romantic ballads, and we are absolutely thrilled to bring Steve Lippia - one of the world’s premier Sinatra acts - to our stage for a Valentine’s treat! You won’t believe your ears-it’ll be like Ol’ Blue Eyes himself came back to sing you and your Valentine a concert of the sweet, romantic, fun songs that Frank make famous. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear a set of perfect love songs at a perfect date night with the Topeka Symphony. | Buy Tickets | |
| | Will You Marry Me?
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Our pieces on this concert take us to two different locations for romance and wedding celebrations. English composer Peter Maxwell Davies’s Orkney Wedding, With Sunrise depicts a boisterous Scottish wedding, followed by the sun coming up after the night of parties and dancing. It is one of the only pieces for orchestra that features a bagpiper in full regalia—you won’t want to miss this spectacle! Finally, we go to a small village in Pennsylvania for a wedding party in Aaron Copland’s Pulitzer Prize-winning ballet Appalachian Spring. This beautiful and moving piece depicts the excitement of the wedding, the nervousness of the newlyweds as they begin their life, and the comfort and faith their neighbors give them through the Shaker hymn Simple Gifts. | Buy Tickets | |
| | What is My Fate?
Saturday, May 4, 2019
Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, The Pathetique, has been interpreted variously as a suicide note, a requiem for a friend, and a meditation on life and fate. The title suggests emotion tinged with suffering, the Russian Orthodox requiem makes a brief but conspicuous appearance in the first movement, and the final movement, unlike many of the composer’s other works which end in pomp and celebration, ends in somber softness, suggesting the final dimming of the light and life-force. It is moving, powerful, and heart-breaking. We also feature TSO Concertmaster Zsolt Eder and principal cellist Eman Chalshotori for Brahms’s beautiful Double Concerto for Cello and Violin. | Buy Tickets | |