Any time conductor Michael Tilson Thomas comes to town you can count on passionate performances of whatever the program is. In the case of the four performances beginning Thursday night, Tilson Thomas, also known as MTT, will lead the LA Philharmonic in a program of Tchaikovsky & Copland.
The performances actually begin with a work by Russian composer Rimsky-Korsakov. Dubinushka, a four-minute work written in 1905-1906 opens each concert. A dubinushka is a little oak stick used by workers both for their work and also as a weapon to defend  themselves against oppressive masters.
What follows is traditional, yet exciting. Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 is one of the most-performed of all piano concerti. That it is being performed here is the traditional component. The exciting component, and the reason why this concert stands out, is the soloist: Daniil Trifonov.
Trifonov is one of the most exciting pianists in classical music. He performs a diverse amount of material and is universally praised for his insightful and thoughtful performances.
As a side note, Trifonov will be performing an all-Bach program at Campbell Hall in Santa Barbara on February 7th. Two days later he’ll perform the same program at the Soka Performing Arts Center.
Closing out the LA Phil concerts is Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3. MTT has long been a fierce advocate of Copland’s work and has recorded much of it. This was Copland’s last symphony and it is his longest orchestral work. The composer began work on the symphony in 1944 and had its premiere in 1946.
Those dates are significant as it means Copland was writing this in the final year of World War II. Symphony No. 3 uses Fanfare for the Common Man as an inspiration for the final movement. He did not re-use that work in the symphony. Rather its theme is developed in different ways that lead to the climax of the symphony.
Leonard Bernstein said of this work, “The symphony has become an American monument, like the Washington Monument or the Lincoln Memorialâ€.
For tickets on Thursday go here.
For tickets on Friday go here.
For tickets on Saturday go here.
For tickets on Sunday go here.
Photo of Daniil Trifonov courtesy of DaniilTrifonov.com