Sponsored by the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation

Conductor Delyana Lazarova returned, leading ROCO’s full chamber orchestra in a high-octane program brimming with dynamic energy! Elfrida Andree’s colorful, lyrical Symphony No. 2 in A Minor, with its exuberant opening theme, paved the way for the U.S. premiere of Composer-In-Residence Richard Danielpour’s “Voci dal Purgatorio”, a journey to rebirth – the second movement of his Symphony in Three Movements After the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. 

Then, thrill to Jessica Meyer’s Go Big or Go Home – a work “written from a place of self-realization, empowerment, and celebration of how joyous life can be”, featuring blues guitar phenom Clay Melton and his band. The Houston Youth Symphony returned as our special guest, with a side-by-side performance of Franz Schubert’s richly textured and emotionally laden Overture in the Italian Style. Rounding out the program is the Fantasy Homage to Schubert, an alluring work by Bulgarian-British composer Dobrinka Tabakova, whose distinct sound world has been called “riveting, piercingly beautiful and frequently radiant”.

 

Program

Delyana Lazarova, conductor

Franz Schubert, Overture in the Italian Style D. 591
Houston Youth Symphony performs side-by-side

Dobrinka Tabakova, Fantasy Homage to Schubert
Texas Premiere

Jessica Meyer, Go Big or Go Home
Featuring the Clay Melton Band
World premiere of chamber orchestra version

Richard Danielpour, Symphony in Three Movements After the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri
Voci dal Purgatorio
U.S. Premiere

Elfrida Andrée, Symphony #2 in a minor