Made in America: Side by Side

FUCHS Quiet in the Land
GERSHWIN Second Rhapsody for Piano Orchestra
WILLIAMS Liberty Fanfare
BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Alessandro da Fonseca, piano

Enjoy an evening of emotion-packed music by four great American composers of the 20th century.  Celebrated pianist Allesandro da Fonseca returns to perform with your SCSO as they present a work rarely heard in the concert hall, Gershwin’s Second Rhapsody for piano and orchestra. The piece is tuneful, catchy, engaging and fun to hear, much like its sibling, Rhapsody in Blue.  The orchestra welcomes back Grammy winner and long-time SCSO collaborator, Kenneth Fuchs to present the Southeast U.S. Premiere of Quiet in the Land, a Poem for Orchestra, a gorgeous and haunting work inspired by the rolling prairie of the Midwestern United States and the ‘immense arching sky’ under which it sits, cast against the impact of the Second Gulf War which had then recently broken out.  Now an annual tradition, selected youth musicians from around Central Florida will perform two works side-by-side in the second half with their professional SCSO counterparts, John Williams’ triumphant Liberty Fanfare and Leonard Bernstein’s passionate Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.  From ‘Mambo’ to ‘Maria’, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances throw you headfirst into the feverish dances and heart-breaking love story of West Side Story.