Lubbock Symphony Orchestra to kick off Masterworks Series with Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet

The Lubbock Symphony Orchestra is kicking off its 2022-23 Masterworks Series with a program of timeless romantic masterpieces Friday night at Buddy Holly Hall.

The program, titled "Romeo & Juliet: A Timeless Romance," includes Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto featuring guest violin soloist Benjamin Beilman, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.

"Our season theme is 'Symphonic Scenes,' meaning we wanted to integrate movies with classical music," said LSO's music director Maestro David Cho. "Romeo and Juliet is a frequently visited subject in the literature which was made into an incredible film. Back in 1968, Franco Zeffirelli made the most popular film on the subject."

Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet was written in 1935 as an accompaniment for a ballet on the same subject, Cho said, though the ballet's ending is slightly different than the original Shakespearean tragedy.

"Prokofiev was known as a 'bad boy' Russian composer," Cho said. "His music is very exciting, angular and dramatic to reflect on the happier ending the ballet had, which at the time was a big controversy.

"Prokofiev's music is jarring, tragic, and yet there's a certain happiness about it."

According to Cho, the entirety of Friday's program should abound with dynamic emotion with the two Tchaikovsky pieces to follow.

"Since we're talking about romance and tragedy and emotions, Tchaikovsky's music has emotions … on its sleeve," Cho said. "Tchaikovsky's violin concerto is truly one of the most beloved and romantic concertos in the classical music repertoire.

"To supplement the tragedy and desperate feelings of Romeo and Juliet, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 will complement and give a well-balanced diet for our listeners, because the symphony is both tragic — has emotions on its sleeve — and also very heroic, too."

The second masterworks concert is slated for Oct. 21. Titled "Romance on the West Side," the concert will include music from the 1998 film "The Red Violin" composed by John Corigliano, who will be coming to Lubbock for a residency later on, Cho said. That concert will also feature selections from Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story."

Texas Tech's Symphonic Wind Ensemble, directed by Sarah McKoin, will also perform in that concert. The ensemble will play Corigliano's Symphony No. 3, "Circus Maximus."

Future concerts in LSO's Masterworks Series include the Puccini opera "Madame Butterfly;" "A Dance in Vienna," which will feature the work of Brahms and Schoenberg; and "Catch me with Dvořák," comprising music by John Williams from the film "Catch Me If You Can" as well as Williams' tuba concerto and Dvořák's iconic Symphony No. 9. The series will wrap in April with the music of Shostakovich and Bizet.

"(The final concert) is called 'Carmen in Gold' because we're playing Bizet's Carmen Suite arranged by a Russian composer Shchedrin, and we will have a Van Cliburn Piano Competition winner coming to play Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1," Cho said. That concert will feature Kenny Brobergon, a Van Cliburn silver medalist, on piano and LSO principal trumpet Will Strieder.

Cho said the symphony is collaborating with Alamo Drafthouse this season to screen a program's correlating film prior to the weekend's concert. More information on all of the Lubbock Symphony's season is available at lubbocksymphony.org.

Tickets for Friday night's concert are available online at lubbocksymphony.org, and student rush tickets will be sold at the Buddy Holly Hall box office for $10 with ID one hour before the show begins. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. with a pre-performance "ClefNotes" lecture at 6:30 p.m.