Alexandria Symphony Orchestra (ASO) continues its season of celebrated masterworks on Saturday, Feb. 11 and Sunday, Feb. 12 with a pair of all-Mozart peformances. The concert set continues the season with a focus on musical masterpieces, led by five renowned guest conductors. Each concert is anchored by a classical “popular” favorite loved by audiences from the symphonic canon. The February program features all-Mozart selections with the exuberant Jupiter Symphony, Piano Concerto No. 20 and the Overture to the Magic Flute.
The ASO welcomes guest conductor Michael Rossi, a rising star in the orchestral world. Graduating from the Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, Rossi has led orchestras from Philadelphia to Xalapa. Maestro Rossi is also the founder and artistic director of the Miami Summer Music Festival, which in just two years has become a major international summer festival.
According to Rossi, Mozart greatly influenced his musical journey. “In my lifetime, little has captured my imagination the way the music of Mozart has,” said Rossi. “When I was 7 years old, like many of us, I saw the famous movie Amadeus and fell in love with the music of Mozart. When I heard the Piano Concerto in D Minor, I wanted to learn to play it. Years later, that concerto would become the first piano concerto that I would conduct in public.”
Back by popular demand, Thomas Pandolfi will lend his artistry to the piano concerto. Praised by the Washington Post, Pandolfi is “an artist who is master of both the grand gesture and the sensual line.” Equally a master of technique and expression, Pandolfi played to a sold-out house with ASO audiences jumping to their feet in a standing ovation with his premiere of Kluge & Kluge’s American Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in May of 2016.
“I feel a wonderful rapport and friendship with this wonderful orchestra, and we have covered a wide range of diverse repertoire,” said Pandolfi. “This time around, it will be my pleasure to partner with the ASO and Maestro Rossi in Mozart's dramatic, yet beautiful D Minor Piano Concerto. This work was a particular favorite of Beethoven's, who even composed cadenzas for it, and is one of Mozart's few works in a minor key. It displays all of the splendor, mastery and genius of this magnificent composer."
The fully-professional Alexandria Symphony Orchestra performs at both the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall & Arts Center (Saturday performances) and the George Washington Masonic Memorial (Sunday performances). Ticket prices: $20- $80 adult, $5 youth, and $10 student with military, senior and group discounts available. To order tickets and for more information, visit www.alexsym.org or call 703-548-0885.