2026-27 RPO Bravo Oct. 22-Nov. 1

B

BRAVO OCTOBER 25

ORKIDSTRA SERIES:

Spooktacular Sounds

ANDREAS DELFS, MUSIC DIRECTOR JEFF TYZIK, PRINCIPAL POPS CONDUCTOR

The Jeff Tyzik Chair, funded in perpetuity by the Jeff Tyzik Society Founding members Anonymous, Mary Ellen Burris, and David & Patricia Gardner

CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN, CONDUCTOR LAUREATE

The Christopher Seaman Chair, Supported by Barbara and Patrick Fulford and The Conductor Laureate Society

JAKE TANIGUCHI, ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Education and Community Engagement Chair

IN THIS ISSUE: 4 26/27 Season Orchestra 5 Our Conductors 8 Board of Directors 9 Bravo to Our Season Sponsors 29 Bravo to Our Supporters 35 Volunteers & Staff 36 About Us

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PIANO FESTIVAL: KERN PLAYS RACHMANINOV October 22

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PIANO FESTIVAL: DOUGLAS PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY October 24

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ORKIDSTRA: SPOOKTACULAR SOUNDS October 25

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PIANO FESTIVAL: BISS PLAYS BEETHOVEN October 31

25 PIANO FESTIVAL: HAMELIN PLAYS BRAHMS November 1

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2

VIOLIN 1

BASS

The Caroline W. Gannett & Clayla Ward Chair, funded in perpetuity

The Anne Hayden McQuay Chair, funded in perpetuity

Juliana Athayde+, Concertmaster Cory Palmer, Principal Shannon Nance,

Michael Griffin,

Jeongwon An^ Tigran Vardanyan James Zabawa-Martinez Thomas Rodgers Anna Leunis Molly McDonald Kurt Munstedt Perrin Yang Jeremy Hill An-Chi Lin

Daniel Morehead Edward Castilano Fred Dole Jeff Campbell+ Eric Polenik

The Orchestra 2026/27 SEASON

Assistant Concertmaster

VIOLIN 2

Jeanelle Thompson, Principal The Dr. Ralph F. Jozefowicz Chair

Daryl Perlo, Assistant Principal The James E. Dumm Chair, funded in perpetuity

Patricia Sunwoo Lara Sipols Sooyeon Kim Petros Karapetyan Liana Koteva Kirvan Margaret Leenhouts Heidi Brodwin Ellen Stokoe

VIOLA

FLUTE

Alan Tolbert, Principal Wesley Nance Herbert Smith Paul Shewan

TROMBONE

David Bruestle, Principal

The Austin E. Hildebrandt Chair, funded in perpetuity

Lisa Albrecht Jeffrey Gray

Rebecca Gilbert, Principal

BASS TROMBONE

Sean Marron Elise Kim

TUBA

The Charlotte Whitney Allen Chair, funded in perpetuity

PICCOLO

Sean Marron Elise Kim

OBOE

Erik Behr, Principal

The Dr. Jacques M. Lipson Chair, funded in perpetuity

Anna Steltenpohl Megan Kyle

ENGLISH HORN Anna Steltenpohl

Jeffrey Gray

W. Craig Sutherland, Principal The Rob W. Goodling Chair, funded in perpetuity

TIMPANI

Charles Ross, Principal

The Harold and Joan Feinbloom Chair, funded in perpetuity

PERCUSSION

Caleb Breidenbaugh, Principal

The Marie-Merrill and George M. Ewing Chair, funded in perpetuity

Brian Stotz

The Barbara and Patrick Fulford Chair, funded in perpetuity

Marc Anderson, Assistant Principal CLARINET Anders Peterson, Principal Rebecca Christainsen The Robert J. Strasenburgh Chair, James Marshall funded in perpetuity Olita Povero Andrew Brown Neil Miller Melissa Matson BASS CLARINET David Hult Andrew Brown Grant Rieke

HARP

CELLO

PERSONNEL MANAGER

Ahrim Kim, Principal

BASSOON

Jordan Farber, Principal

The Ron and Donna Fielding Chair

Grace Browning, Principal

The Eileen Malone Chair. A Tribute to Mr. and Mrs. Harcourt M. Sylvester

Rosanna Moore

KEYBOARD

Chiao-Wen Cheng+, Principal The Lois P. Lines Chair, funded in perpetuity

The Clara and Edwin Strasenburgh Chair, funded in perpetuity

Karl Vilcins Martha Sholl

The Nick & Kitty Jospé Chair

CONTRA-BASSOON

PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN

HORN

STAGE MANAGERS

Lars Kirvan, Assistant Principal Samuel Pierce-Ruhland Christopher Haritatos Garri Hovsepyan Benjamin Krug Ingrid Bock JULIANA ATHAYDE,

CONCERTMASTER PHOTO: SMILLIEPHOTO.COM

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Assistant Principal

TRUMPET

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Karl Vilcins

Lily Kern, Principal

The Cricket and Frank Luellen Chair

Jon Gannon, Associate Principal/

Fred Dole

Kimberly Hartquist Danielle Suhr Cederick Martinez

Utility

Maura McCune Corvington Nathan Ukens Stephen Laifer

+ Eastman faculty ^ Year leave of absence

Andreas Delfs has built a reputation over his 35-year career as one of the most dynamic and respected conductors on the international stage. Celebrated for his visionary leadership and deep musical insight, he is equally renowned as a masterful orchestra builder and an inspiring music director. Known for his emotionally charged and dramatically nuanced interpretations—particularly of the late Romantic repertoire—Delfs has earned critical acclaim across North America and Europe. His performances are marked by an ever-deepening artistic maturity, bringing a rare combination of passion, precision, and authenticity to every podium he graces. Educated at leading conservatories on both sides of the Atlantic and shaped by mentorships with legendary conductors, Delfs has cultivated a style forged through decades of experience. At the same time, his unwavering curiosity and enthusiasm for contemporary music have made him a champion of living composers. He has established lasting collaborations with many of today’s most compelling musical voices, conducting numerous world premieres and commissioning new works. Among his many artistic inspirations are Hans Werner Henze, György Ligeti, Philip Glass, and Roberto Sierra—composers whose diverse idioms have helped shape his unique interpretive voice. His artistry has also drawn world-class soloists to the stage, including André Watts, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn, Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang, and Renée Fleming. Delfs has held prominent leadership roles with orchestras on both continents. As Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 1996 to 2009—and later as its Conductor Laureate—he played a pivotal role in elevating the ensemble to national acclaim. He also led the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as Music Director (2001–2004) and Artistic Consultant (2004–2006). In Europe, he served as General Music Director of Hanover, Germany (1995–2000), overseeing both the city’s symphony orchestra and its distinguished opera company. Earlier appointments include Music Director of the Bern Opera, Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony during Lorin Maazel’s tenure, and Music Director—at an impressively young age—of the Orchestre Suisse des Jeunes.

Our Conductors 2026/27 SEASON

ANDREAS DELFS Music Director

Throughout his career, Delfs has conducted many of the world’s premier orchestras. His international credits include the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Danish National Symphony, Netherlands Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Beijing Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. Born in Flensburg, Germany, Delfs began studying piano and music theory at the age of five. He studied under Christoph von Dohnányi and Aldo Ceccato at the Hamburg Conservatory, where, at just 20 years old, he became the youngest Music Director of the Hamburg University Orchestra and served as Musical Assistant at the Hamburg State Opera. He later continued his training at The Juilliard School, studying with Jorge Mester, Sixten Ehrling, and Leonard Bernstein, and was honored with the prestigious Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship. PHOTO: ALEX CASSETTI

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JEFF TYZIK Principal Pops Conductor

The Jeff Tyzik Chair, funded in perpetuity by the Jeff Tyzik Society Founding members Anonymous, Mary Ellen Burris, and David & Patricia Gardner

Our Conductors 2026/27 SEASON

26/27 marks Jeff Tyzik’s 33rd season as RPO Principal Pops Conductor. But his musical journey began long before his permanent residency in Kodak Hall. Born in Hyde Park, New York, he started playing cornet at age nine—inspired by the buglers during an Independence Day parade in nearby Poughkeepsie. He switched to trumpet at age 11, and eventually went on to attend Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, ultimately earning Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. Even before Tyzik’s schooling was completed, his star was on the rise. While at Eastman, Tyzik met Chuck Mangione, with whom he worked between 1973 and 1980 —both as lead trumpeter in Mangione’s band and as co-producer of four albums. During that time, Tyzik befriended Tonight Show band leader Doc Severinsen, who eventually invited Tyzik to London to record two albums. That relationship proved fruitful, with Tyzik producing the Grammy-winning The Tonight Show Band with Doc Severinsen, Vol. 1. Severinsen’s albums with Tyzik would go on to earn three additional Grammy nominations. Tyzik also recorded his own albums as a solo trumpeter between 1981 and 1990, when he and his big band frequently performed in Rochester. In 1993, Tyzik proposed a four-concert series featuring RPO members dubbed “All in the Family.” The first debuted Oct. 22 and highlighted Kenneth Grant (clarinet), Joseph Werner (piano), and percussionists William Cahn and Dave Mancini. Less than a month later, Tyzik was asked to become Principal Pops Conductor. Jeff quickly made his mark on the orchestra, in his second season performing the first in his endearing, enduring Gala Holiday Pops series. He also made RPO history conducting an all-Gershwin album featuring pianist Jon Nakamatsu. The recording topped the Billboard Classical chart and remained in the top 10 for three months. Over five decades, Tyzik has guest-conducted more than 100 orchestras, including the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, and Milwaukee Symphony. In September 2023, he made his debut with the New York Philharmonic and returned later that season to conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2023–24 finale. He’s also shared the stage with a remarkable range of artists across genres—from Tony Bennett and Leslie Odom Jr. to Wynonna Judd, Art Garfunkel, Marilyn Horne, Arturo Sandoval, The Chieftains, Megan Hilty, Dawn Upshaw, and John Pizzarelli. In 2012, Tyzik and his daughter Jami co-founded the management and production company Greenberg Artists. Since 2016, in partnership with Schirmer Theatrical, they’ve developed dozens of orchestral Pops programs now performed by nearly 200 orchestras. In 2023, Tyzik launched TyzikMusic.com, a digital publishing platform featuring more than 150 of his arrangements, orchestrations, and compositions for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, and wind ensemble. PHOTO: SMILLIEPHOTO.COM

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CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN Conductor Laureate

Christopher Seaman was music director of the RPO from 1998-2011, and was subsequently named conductor laureate. During his 13-year tenure, the longest in RPO history, he raised the Orchestra’s artistic level, broadened its audience base, and created a new concert series. This contribution was recognized with an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. In May 2009, the University of Rochester made him an honorary doctor of music. Previous positions include music director of the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra (Florida) for 10 years, conductor-in-residence with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and artistic advisor of the San Antonio Symphony. He is recognized for his wealth of repertoire, which ranges from baroque to contemporary, and in particular the works of Bruckner, Brahms, and Sibelius. Seaman also is highly regarded for his work with younger musicians, and he served as course director for the Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program (Australia) for many years. Recent conducting engagements include the Aspen Music Festival, Detroit, Houston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Seattle symphony orchestras; the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Kristians Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Opera North, and Orquestra Filarmônica de Minas Gerais in Brazil. He frequently visits Australia and Asia where he has conducted the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Taiwan, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Singapore symphony orchestras, among others.

JAKE TANIGUCHI Assistant Conductor

The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Education and Community Engagement Chair

Jake Taniguchi is the Assistant Conductor of the RPO and Music Director of the RPYO. In the 2026–27 season, he will lead numerous programs with both ensembles, including community, family, and education concerts, and will take the RPYO on an international tour to Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague.

Our Conductors 2026/27 SEASON

The Christopher Seaman Chair, supported by Barbara and Patrick Fulford and The Conductor Laureate Society

Taniguchi has served on the conducting faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music, as principal conductor of the Hawai‘i Chamber Music Festival (HCMF), and as assistant and cover conductor for the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, and the Indiana University Ballet and Opera Theater. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Dane Lam, Mei-Ann Chen, Jeffery Kahane, and Anthony Parnther, as well as soloists including violinists Jaime Laredo, Jessica Lee, and Stefan Jackiw; pianists Michelle Cann, Joyce Yang, Adam Golka, and David Kaplan; and mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung. A fervent advocate for new music, he has fostered artistic partnerships with composers Marcos Balter, Sebastian Currier, Billy Childs, Keith Fitch, Christopher Cerrone, and Joan Tower, among others. Devoted to nurturing a lifelong enthusiasm for music, Taniguchi has worked with numerous schools, youth organizations, and educational programs, including the Masaki School of Music, Kamehameha Schools, Mid-Pacific Institute School of the Arts, Oshkosh Youth Symphony Orchestra, and HCMF's Young Artist Program. Taniguchi holds degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. His conducting mentors include JoAnn Falletta, Victor Yampolsky, Thomas Wilkins, Jeffery Meyer, and Arthur Fagen.

PHOTO: BRAD GODA

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RPO Board of Directors 2026/27 SEASON

Maintaining and operating the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (Founded in 1923 —Incorporated in 1930)

EX-OFFICIO

OFFICERS

Dean, Eastman School of Music

Katherine Lindahl,

Chair of the Board

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Kate Sheeran

Nathan Ukens

Orchestra Representative

Stephen Laifer

Cindy Yancey

James Englert

Karen Kessler,

HONORARY BOARD

Vice Chair of the Board Vice Chair of the Board Secretary

Richard Stein, Treasurer

Diana Clarkson, Esq.,

Immediate Past Chair

TERM EXPIRES JUNE 2027

Brian Bennett Emerson Fullwood Paulette Gissendanner Catherine Gueli Zuzanna Kwon Katherine Lindahl Jack McGowan Richard Stein Sidney Sobel, M.D. Cindy Yancey

TERM EXPIRES JUNE 2028

TERM EXPIRES JUNE 2029

CHAIR OF THE BOARD

Immediate Past Chair

Ron Dougherty

Ron Dougherty Sreeram Dhurjaty James Fulmer Laurie A. Haelen Ralph F. Jozefowicz. M.D. Karen Kessler Deborah Onslow Sara Poe Joseph B. Rizzo, Esq.

KATHERINE LINDAHL

Tonya McBride Robles President & CEO Diana Clarkson, Esq.,

Daisy Algarin Quincy Allen Diana Clarkson, Esq. George Daddis Catherine Frangenberg Diane Lu Sujatha Ramanujan Jason Redman Eva Sauer George Schwartz Timothy Tindall Alan Tirre

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Orchestra Representative Chairperson, Honorary Board

James Englert,

Chairperson, Honorary Board

Stephen B. Ashley* Nancy Beilfuss* James M. Boucher Paul W. Briggs* William L. Cahn Louise Epstein Joan Feinbloom Ilene Flaum Betsy Friedman Patrick Fulford Ronald A. Furman* Mary M. Gooley* Suzanne Gouvernet* David C. Heiligman A. Thomas Hildebrandt Harold A. Kurland, Esq. Dr. Dawn F. Lipson Jacques M. Lipson, MD* Cricket and Frank Luellen* Michael Millard Elizabeth F. Rice Nathan J. Robfogel, Esq. Jon L. Schumacher, Esq. Katherine T. Schumacher Ingrid Stanlis Betty Strasenburgh* Josephine S. Trubek Suzanne D. Welch Patricia Wilder* Deborah Wilson Robert Woodhouse

The RPO expresses its gratitude to all those who have served as Honorary Board members in the past.

PAST RPO CHAIRPERSONS

1930–32: Edward G. Miner* 1932–34: Simon N. Stein* 1934–38: George E. Norton* 1938–41: Leroy E. Snyder* 1941–42: Frank W. Lovejoy* 1942–43: Bernard E. Finucane* 1943–46: L. Dudley Field* 1946–48: Edward S. Farrow, Jr. * 1948–51: Joseph J. Myler* 1951–52: Joseph F. Taylor* 1952–55: Raymond W. Albright* 1955–57: Arthur I. Stern* 1957–59: Thomas H. Hawks* 1959–61: Walter C. Strakosh* 1962–63: Ernest J. Howe* 1963–65: O. Cedric Rowntree* 1965–67: Frank E. Holley * 1967–69: Thomas C. Taylor* 1969–71: Thomas H. Miller* 1971–72: Mrs. Frederick J. Wilkens* 1972–73: Edward C. McIrvine 1973–74: Robert J. Strasenburgh* 1974–75: John A. Santuccio 1975–76: Robert J. Strasenburgh* 1976–78: Dr. Louis Lasagna* 1978–80: Edward C. McIrvine 1980–82: Peter L. Faber 1982–84: Paul F. Pagerey* 1984–85: Peter L. Waasdorp* 1986–89: Robert H. Hurlbut* 1989–91: Paul W. Briggs 1991–93: Karen Noble Hanson* 1993–95: Ronald E. Salluzzo 1995–98: A. Thomas Hildebrandt 1998–00: Harold A. Kurland, Esq. 2000–04: David C. Heiligman 2004–06: Ingrid A. Stanlis 2006–09: James M. Boucher 2009–11: Suzanne D. Welch 2011–13: Elizabeth F. Rice 2013–15: Dr. Dawn F. Lipson 2015-17: Jules L. Smith, Esq. 2017-19: Ingrid A. Stanlis 2019-24: Ross P. Lanzafame, Esq. 2024-26: Diana Clarkson

* Deceased

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Bravo to our Sponsors 2026/27 SEASON

SEASON & SERIES SPONSORS: SEASON SPONSOR POPS SERIES SPONSOR SPECIALS & HOLIDAY SPONSOR ORKIDSTRA SERIES SPONSOR

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THUR

7:30 PM

Andreas Delfs, conductor

KODAK HALL AT EASTMAN THEATRE

Olga Kern, piano

For Andreas Delfs’ biography, please see page 5.

SERGEI RACHMANINOV Moment Musical, Op. 16, No. 4

3:00

SERGEI RACHMANINOV Étude-tableau, Op. 33, No. 8

4:00

SERGEI RACHMANINOV Polichinelle, Op.3, No.4 Olga Kern, piano

4:00

SERGEI RACHMANINOV Isle of the Dead

20:00

INTERMISSION SERGEI RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3

39:00

I. Allegro ma non tanto II. Intermezzo III. Finale

Olga Kern, piano

PIANO FESTIVAL WEEK 1: KERN PLAYS RACHMANINOV

OCT 22

SEASON SPONSOR: We kindly ask you to please silence all cellphones and electronic devices. Also, please note that photography and video recordings are prohibited during the performance.

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ARTISTS OLGA KERN, piano

Pianist Olga Kern is widely recognized as one of the great artists of her generation, captivating audiences and critics around the world. Born into a family of musicians, she began studying piano at age five. At seventeen, she won first prize at the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition, and OLGA KERN in 2001, she launched her U.S. career with a historic Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—the only woman to receive the honor in the last 50 years. A Steinway Artist and Spirio Steinway piano ambassador, Olga is a laureate of numerous international competitions. She has served as Jury Chairman for the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, the Olga Kern International Piano Competition, and the Chopin Animato International Piano Competition in Paris. She is also Artistic Director of the Olga Kern International Piano Competition. In 2017, she received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and in 2019, she was appointed Connie & Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music at the Virginia Arts Festival. Olga has performed as a featured soloist with leading orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, and Baltimore symphonies, as well as orchestras in Europe, Asia, and South Africa. Highlights include performances of all four Rachmaninoff piano concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Her acclaimed discography includes works by Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Brahms, and Shostakovich. Her recordings include a Grammy-nominated Rachmaninoff album and chamber music releases with the Dalí Quartet and cellist Sol Gabetta.

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PROGRAM NOTES SERGEI RACHMANINOV

Six moments musicaux, Op. 16 Études-Tableaux, Op. 33

B. ONEG, RUSSIA April 1, 1873

D. BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA March 28, 1943

In music conservatories, budding composers often write works in historical forms and styles as compositional exercises. That’s what Rachmaninov did with Six moments musicaux, which he wrote while a student at the Moscow Conservatory. Except Rachmaninov did more than complete the assignment: he turned it into a deeply mature work, using the following forms as inspiration: nocturne, rhapsody, march, etude, barcarolle, and canon. The exercise set him up for later works such as his virtuosic, pictorial miniature piano works, Études-Tableaux. Although Rachmaninov refused to say what images inspired the music, preferring to let listeners paint their own associations, he did give some clues to Ottorino Respighi, who orchestrated five pieces derived from the two sets. We now know that the sixth etude from op. 33 evokes a scene from a fair. Otherwise, the op. 33 etudes have an astounding range of musical material; the last four especially test a pianist’s virtuosity.

Morceaux de fantasie, Op. 3, “Polichinelle” Despite the title, this is not an actual fantasie, a free-form work that sounds improvisational. The title refers to the work’s imagery, rather than form. The fourth movement is “Polichinelle,” named after the theatrical stock character Pulcinella of the Italian Commedia dell’arte. Pulcinella is mostly an absurd buffoon who contrasts with and satirizes the upper class. Rachmaninov's characterization of Pulcinella is cunning, with a bit of spunk. In ABA form, the middle section seems to empathize with Pulcinella’s downtrodden condition and presents him with sympathy.

The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29 In a painting by Arnold Böcklin, towering boulders seem to encroach on an evergreen forest on an imposing island with a manmade entrance. A figure clad in white stands in a rowboat and approaches the island in calm but foggy waters. The painting, called Die Toteninsel (The Isle of the Dead), is both majestic and ominous, a quiet but unsettled scene. In 1906, Rachmaninov was inspired by a blackand-white reproduction of the artwork and wrote a symphonic poem to give the scene aural life. He later saw the original painting in full color in Leipzig, and it proved less impressive; he said he might not have written the work had he seen it first. The symphonic poem opens with the churn of oars, a pulsating figure in five that recurs as a motif. The waves grow, the piece ever darker and angrier, leading to a climax of sledgehammer hits. Woven in are fragments of the Dies irae plainchant, the musical calling card for death, a melody with foreboding, downward steps and one of Rachmaninov’s favorite quotes across his works. The brass first suggests it in a fiery outburst, and then the clarinets and second violins follow just after the work’s apex. But the work returns to the scene’s opening strangeness, with the oars continuing to fold into the water.

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PROGRAM NOTES SERGEI RACHMANINOV (CONTINUED) Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30

“Make no mistake, David, it’s dangerous. People get hurt.” That’s what Dr. Cecil Parkes, a fictional piano professor at the Royal College of Music, tells the Polish-Jewish Austrian pianist David Helfgott about Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto in the movie Shine (1996). In the movie, Helfgott is admonished to learn the notes and then forget them, practicing with a blindfold over his eyes. In a near-catatonic state, he lies sideways while his fingers chatter on the hard floor. Back at the keyboard, a piano string even snaps as his hands hammer down on Rachmaninov’s gargantuan chords. It all culminates in a mental breakdown after the performance. That’s the concerto’s reputation: it drives pianists mad. Most pianists agree it’s a strenuous work that demands both physical and mental fortitude. To be fair, though, the same could be said of many works in the pianist’s canon, and some works even have demands that exceed it. But Rach 3—the concerto's popular nickname—has a mythology that even tonight’s performer, Olga Kern, can’t escape. For her, it’s personal: Kern’s mother, a former professor at the Moscow Conservatory, worked on Rach 3 while pregnant with her, and Kern won the Van Cliburn Piano Competition with the concerto in 2001. The concerto’s difficulty stems from its composer being a virtuoso pianist. Rachmaninov started the piano at age four and attended the Moscow Conservatory. He had massive hands and wrote to showcase his impressive abilities. He premiered all four of his piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a concerto of variations. The Third, however, was supposed to be premiered by pianist Josef Hofmann, to whom Rachmaninov dedicated the work. But Hofmann declined, saying it wasn’t for him, which many have taken to mean that the work’s challenges were too great. But this wasn’t just any work for Rachmaninov. His Third Concerto was part of his first concert tour in the United States. He didn’t even have a piano to practice on en route from Dresden, where he had been living, so he practiced on a silent, miniature keyboard as he traveled to the U.S. Following a recital at Smith College, he premiered the Third Concerto in November 1909 with the New York Symphony under Walter Damrosch. Newspaper reviews were mixed, calling the concerto too long, lacking contrast, and with the character of an impromptu. But the audience’s reaction told a different story: they demanded an encore. Rachmaninov had to decline: his fingers were spent. The concerto opens with a deceptively simple melody, played in unison by the left and right hands, countered first by a bassoon, then by the cellos. Rachmaninov said the melody basically wrote itself, but musicologist Joseph Yasser uncovered a possible connection to a Russian Orthodox liturgical chant that Rachmaninov would’ve heard as a child. After that, the concerto takes off, with the piano providing intricate, dense detail and the orchestra carrying the melody. It seems to swim in complexity until the pianist is all alone, a cadenza where Rachmaninov left two options: a shorter original version with lots of toccata bounciness and a longer, weightier ossia cadenza. Both are brilliant; Kern has said she prefers the bigger, grander one. The second movement has both the tunefulness we know from Rachmaninov’s earlier concertos and some Russian longing, a theme and variations that shifts between pensive and more fervent moments. The movement ends in a big way, introducing a tour de force finale that recycles and varies melodies that were introduced in the first movement. Given the movement’s relentless succession of notes, it’s no wonder David Helfgott collapsed at the end of the concerto in the film Shine. Program notes © 2026 Anna Reguero, PhD

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SAT

7:30 PM

Andreas Delfs, conductor

KODAK HALL AT EASTMAN THEATRE

Barry Douglas, piano

For Andreas Delfs’ biography, please see page 5.

PYOTR ILYICH Selections from The Seasons TCHAIKOVSKY January, At the Fireside

17:30

February, Carnival October, Autumn Song December, Christmas

Barry Douglas, piano

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Francesca da Rimini

24:00

INTERMISSION PYOTR ILYICH Piano Concerto No. 1 TCHAIKOVSKY I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso

33:00

II. Andantino Semplice III. Allegro con fuoco

PIANO FESTIVAL WEEK 1: DOUGLAS PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY

OCT 24

Barry Douglas, piano

SEASON SPONSOR: We kindly ask you to please silence all cellphones and electronic devices. Also, please note that photography and video recordings are prohibited during the performance.

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ARTISTS BARRY DOUGLAS, piano

Barry Douglas has established a major international career since winning the Gold Medal at the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, Moscow. As Artistic Director of Camerata Ireland, the only all-Ireland orchestra and the Clandeboye Festival, he continues to celebrate his Irish heritage whilst also maintaining a busy international touring schedule.

BARRY DOUGLAS

A highly sought-after recitalist and chamber musician, he has given performances across the globe from Royal Albert Hall, Barbican and Wigmore Hall and the Verbier Festival to the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, Grand Theatre in Shanghai and other cities in China. He has previously appeared with the BBC Scottish Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic orchestras, and many more. Barry is an exclusive Chandos recording artist. He recently completed a six-album recording of the full works for solo piano of Brahms. International Record Review wrote that “this is indeed Brahms playing of the utmost integrity and authority… this cycle looks set to become a benchmark version.” His current recording projects focus on the solo piano works of Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and Liszt. Barry regularly tours with Camerata Ireland throughout the world. Highlights of past seasons were Camerata Ireland’s debut at the BBC Proms in London and a world premiere of a new cantata commissioned by The Honourable The Irish Society, “At Sixes and Sevens”, alongside the London Symphony Orchestra to celebrate Derry Londonderry becoming City of Culture 2013. In January 2021 Barry Douglas was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to music and community relations in the 2021 New Year Honours List. He previously received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2002 New Year Honours List for services to music.

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PROGRAM NOTES

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Selections from The Seasons, Op. 37a

B. VOTKINSK, UDMURT REPUBLIC, RUSSIA May 7, 1840

In 1875, a publisher of a well-known Russian music journal contacted D. ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA Nov 6, 1893 Tchaikovsky to commission a set of 12 piano pieces, to be published each month with the journal. Publisher Nikolay Bernard explained in an announcement that the series of compositions would have a “character of which will correspond entirely to the titles of the pieces and the month in which they will be published in the journal.” In letters, Tchaikovsky thanked Bernard for the excellent fee, then produced the pieces in spurts and not in correspondence with particular months, extending into May 1876. The resulting pieces did not all have titles, so Bernard labeled each for the months he felt each expressed, adding Russian poetry to help with imagery. They were published in 1876 with the subtitle “Twelve characteristic pictures.”

Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32

In Dante’s Inferno, Dante and Virgil descend into the second circle of hell, reserved for the lustful, where they meet the thirteenth-century Italian noblewoman Francesca da Rimini. Rimini’s story survives in the historical record because of her affair with Paolo Malatesta, the brother of her husband, Giovanni. The lovers managed to keep the affair secret for about a decade, but when Giovanni finally discovered it, he murdered the pair. In the Inferno, Francesca and Paolo are banished to the second rung of hell, where tempestuous winds whirl and dash the spirits around, preventing them from reaching each other for eternity. In a moment of calm, Dante asks Francesca to explain her plight, and she says she bonded with Paolo over reading Lancelot and describes the tug of their love, while Paolo weeps in the background. “Love, that releases no beloved from loving, took hold of me so strongly through his beauty that, as you see, it has not left me yet. Love led the two of us unto one death.” (Dante, Inferno V.103–106, trans. Allen Mandelbaum) When Tchaikovsky took on this symphonic poem, he was already deep into tragic stories of women: he wrote his Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture in 1869 and the Swan Lake ballet in the summer of 1876. As you may recall, the heroines of both stories die for love. While traveling through Europe and finishing Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky read Dante’s Inferno and felt drawn to Francesca’s story, writing a symphonic poem based on the Inferno telling when he returned to Moscow that autumn. Different translations of the Inferno give Dante varying levels of empathy for the murdered lovers, but Tchaikovsky offers the lovers some due attention. The symphonic poem begins with the second circle of hell’s tempestuous winds picking up, in overlapping chromatic passages across the orchestra, until the storm breaks loose with brass and cymbal hits. In a moment of respite, a clarinet solo has Dante ask Francesca to speak, and then the tender melody, with longing half steps and strange chromatics, passes through the orchestra as Francesca describes the lovers’ attraction. Then comes the morbid, violent blow to the lovers: triple forte eighth notes followed by a momentary, low funeral dirge. The tempestuous winds pick up again, with chromatic swells blowing through the ensemble. It ends with hammer hits throughout the orchestra, complete with timpani, cymbals, and a gong to finish off the hellish scene.

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PROGRAM NOTES

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (CONTINUED) Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23

The original score of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 bears an unusual mark: a name scratched out. It was the original dedication, intended for the conductor, pianist, and Moscow Conservatory director, Nikolai Rubinstein (brother of famed nineteenth-century pianist Anton Rubinstein), a close friend of Tchaikovsky’s. Because Tchaikovsky was not a pianist, he wanted to run the work by one for feedback on its pianistic challenges. “I needed a severe but at the same time friendly critic to point out just these external blemishes,” he wrote in a letter to his patron, Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck, in February 1878. Instead of helpful footnotes, Nicolai Rubinstein called the work repellent and then went on a tirade that devolved from there, including accusations of having stolen from other composers. Tchaikovsky was gutted. “I was not just astounded but outraged by the whole scene,” he wrote. “I am no longer a boy trying his hand at composition and I no longer need lessons from anyone, especially when they are offered so harshly and in such a spirit of hostility. … This was censure, indiscriminate, and deliberately designed to hurt me to the quick.” Rather than capitulate, Tchaikovsky replied, “I shall not alter a single note. I shall publish the work exactly as it stands.” And he did. The work premiered not with Rubinstein at the keyboard, but with German pianist Hans von Bülow in the United States, at Boston’s Music Hall in 1875. It was a success and led to many future performances with the soon-to-be-founded Boston Symphony Orchestra and abroad. Eventually even Nicolai came around to the work. Tchaikovsky’s stubbornness about not changing the concerto also did not last; he eventually consulted the English pianist Edward Dannreuther, who offered kinder feedback, and made changes that resulted in a revised version published in 1889. Rubinstein’s observations also held some truth: Tchaikovsky borrows melodies from various sources across the concerto’s three movements. The earliest change between versions appears near the concerto’s outset. After a brief horn-forward introduction, the pianist plays sweeping, rolled chords spanning more than six octaves, while the violins and cellists play an expansive melody. It’s more dramatic than the original. The piano then takes the melody with dotted-rhythm fervor, which quickly expands into an early cadenza. It’s a riveting start, but a deceptive one: the glorious opening melody never returns. The true exposition begins in minor, with a jaunty Ukrainian melody. A calmer second theme is introduced by the clarinet and expands further into a back-and-forth dialogue between the strings and piano. Moving between lightness and passion, the exposition ends with a brief cadenza for the pianist. A more elaborate cadenza appears after the development section. The movement concludes with big octaves in the piano. The second movement is more pastoral, opening with a simple flute solo accompanied by pizzicato strings, after which the piano takes the melody. In an A-B-A structure, the middle contrasts with whimsy and play, with Tchaikovsky using a melody from a French chanson, “Il faut s’amuser, danser et rire” (“One must have fun, dance and laugh”), before returning to the opening material. In the energetic third movement, Tchaikovsky sets a Ukrainian melody in three, emphasizing the second beat, which the piano features from the outset. It contrasts with a more sustained, lyrical theme that returns passionately. Pianistic feats include nimble rhythms, glistening scales, big melodies, and a forceful piano solo before the work barrels to a thrilling conclusion. Program notes © 2026 Anna Reguero, PhD

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SUN

OCT 25 HOCHSTEIN PERFORMANCE HALL

Jake Taniguchi, conductor

For Jake Taniguchi's biography, please see page 7.

JOHN WILLIAMS

"Main Title" from Star Wars

6:00

EDVARD GRIEG

"In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Peer Gynt MICHAEL GIACCHINO Music from Coco

2:25

4:00

(arr. LARRY MOORE)

ENGELBERT "Witch's Ride" from Hansel and Gretel HUMPERDINCK

4:00

HECTOR BERLIOZ

March to the Scaffold from Symphonie fantastique

5:00

PAUL DUKAS

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

6:00

JOHN WILLIAMS

"Harry's Wondrous World" from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

5:00

SONNENBLICK, EJAE, 24, IDO

"Golden" from K-pop Demon Hunters

3:00

ORKIDSTRA: SPOOKTACULAR SOUNDS

2 PM

(arr. CHONGHO HONG)

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SAT

OCT 31 KODAK HALL AT EASTMAN THEATRE

Andreas Delfs, conductor

For Andreas Delfs’ biography, please see page 5.

Jonathan Biss, piano

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Piano Sonata No. 27 Jonathan Biss, piano

14:00

LUDWIG Symphony No. 8 VAN BEETHOVEN I. Allegro vivace e con brio II. Allegretto scherzando III. Tempo di menuetto IV. Allegro vivace

27:00

INTERMISSION LUDWIG Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” VAN BEETHOVEN I. Allegro II. Adagio un poco mosso III. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo Jonathan Biss, piano

38:00

PIANO FESTIVAL WEEK 2: BISS PLAYS BEETHOVEN

7:30 PM

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21

ARTISTS JONATHAN BISS, piano

Pianist Jonathan Biss is recognized globally for his “impeccable taste and formidable technique” (The New Yorker). Praised by The Boston Globe as "an eloquent and insightful music writer," Biss published his fourth book, Unquiet: My Life with Beethoven, in 2020. The book was the first Audible Original by a classical musician and one of Audible’s top audiobooks of the year.

JONATHAN BISS

Biss has appeared as a soloist with some of the world's foremost orchestras, including the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics, the London Symphony and more. He has served as the Co-Artistic Director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival alongside pianist Mitsuko Uchida since 2018. He served on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music for ten years, and has been a guest professor at schools such as the Guildhall SOMAD and the New England Conservatory of Music. Coinciding with the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth in 2020, Biss recorded the composer’s complete piano sonatas, and offered insights to all 32 landmark works. In March 2020, Biss gave a virtual recital presented by 92NY, wherein he performed Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas for an online audience of more than 280,000 people. In 2024, Biss participated in Princeton University Concert's Healing Through Music Series, appearing alongside author Adam Haslett for a panel discussion on anxiety, depression, and creativity. Biss is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Leonard Bernstein Award, the Andrew Wolf Memorial Chamber Music Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, and a Gilmore Young Artist Award. His albums for EMI won the Diapason d’Or de l’Année and Edison awards. He was an artist-in-residence on American Public Media’s Performance Today and was the first American chosen to participate in the BBC’s New Generation Artist program. Biss is a third-generation professional musician; his grandmother is Raya Garbousova, one of the first famous female cellists (for whom Samuel Barber composed his Cello Concerto), and his parents are violinist Miriam Fried and violist/violinist Paul Biss. Growing up surrounded by music, Biss began his piano studies at age six, with his first musical collaborations alongside his mother and father.

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PROGRAM NOTES

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Piano Sonata No. 27 in E Minor, Op. 90

B. BONN, GERMANY December 17, 1770

D. VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Beethoven’s two-movement Piano Sonata No. 27 includes detailed instructions for March 26, 1827 performers, a level of exactness new to his scores at the time. He wrote the sonata in 1814, the same year he gave his final public concert as a pianist. His deafness made playing publicly impossible. Because of his hearing, Beethoven increasingly relied on meticulous markings, now in his native language, German, to control how the music would be performed and heard. The descriptions went beyond asking for a difference of dynamics; they were about the feeling the pianist must give to the music. For the first movement, he wrote (in English translation): “With liveliness and with feeling and expression throughout.” For the second movement: “Not too swiftly and conveyed in a singing manner.” Beethoven’s friend and unreliable biographer Anton Schindler said the movements were supposed to be titled “A Contest between Head and Heart” and “Conversations with a Beloved,” respectively. It was a fabricated account, yet the descriptions remain apt ways to hear a work that is considered a transition into the composer’s late, experimental period. As a conversation between the head and the heart, the first movement frequently juxtaposes weighty, dramatic ideas with softer, lyrical ones. The second movement, a rondo in two with contrasting sonata-form features, includes some of Beethoven’s loveliest melodies. This sonata is an interior experience, so listeners should be prepared to be drawn into its unusual turns and forms.

Beethoven Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93

When Beethoven was deep into writing his Symphony No. 8 during the summer of 1812, he hit new lows. No stranger to depression due to his hearing loss, this feeling was unfamiliar: limerence. That summer, we find letters Beethoven penned to an “immortal beloved,” an unnamed woman he fell madly in love with and the only one on record to return his affections. Musicologists have long speculated about the mystery recipient, but have mostly settled on the Viennese aristocrat Antonie Brentano, who married a Frankfurt businessman with whom she had four children. A union with Beethoven was never to be. Beethoven sank into a deep depression, writing, “O God, why must one go away from what one loves so, and yet my life in W. [Vienna] as it is now is a miserable life. Your love made me the happiest and unhappiest at the same time.” Although we are predisposed to hear Beethoven’s works as manifestations of his psyche—his Third and Fifth symphonies considered expressions of his psychological struggle with hearing loss—we cannot find evidence of this in his Seventh and Eighth symphonies, written back-to-back. Contrary to how Beethoven was feeling, they have a renewed energy and joy. The Eighth is also an unusually direct statement. His most economical symphony, it dispenses with introductions and tangents, clocking in at around 26 minutes total. Beethoven called it his “little symphony in F.” Whatever distress he felt in life, he kept it from seeping into the symphony. The first movement opens with the main theme right out of the gate: a sunny, buoyant statement in three in the full orchestra. It is answered by the clarinet and winds. The orchestra then returns again with a concluding response. Here, Beethoven took a cue from Haydn’s playful symphonies by creating a three-phrase opening instead of a more balanced two. The second theme opens with a skip in its step, then flows into a fluid dance. The exposition wraps up with octave jumps that are prime material for the development. In the development, wind solos pass around a motivic phrase from the

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PROGRAM NOTES

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (CONTINUED)

work’s opening theme over octave jumps in the accompaniment. It all intensifies until the orchestra sweeps back into the recapitulation. But the arrival of the main theme is comically obscured: the lower strings take the melody, now shortened into the expected two-phrase construction, while the orchestra plays ecstatically high above it. After the orchestra lands on an anticipatory fermata, the work launches into a coda. There’s a momentary heroic fanfare, but the movement ends anticlimactically. Beethoven avoids a slow movement, writing a witty second-movement scherzando instead, using an incessant ticking à la Haydn’s “Clock” Symphony. Beethoven was the first composer to replace the genteel third-movement minuet with the more exciting scherzo. Yet in the Eighth, he reverses course and writes an old-fashioned minuet, both nostalgic and newly grand. The last movement, a rondo with sonata elements, is as fleet-footed and funny as one of Mozart’s comic operas. Embedded are musical jokes: a C# intrudes, like hammers, in the basses, but is mostly ignored until the whole movement, near its end, is driven into the key of C-sharp minor, the dominant of F-sharp minor, threatening a symphony supposedly in F major. But Beethoven saves it all with a half-step slide into the home key just in time. The Eighth never reached the popularity of its companion symphony, the Seventh, but Beethoven was especially fond of it from a compositional standpoint. When asked why it wasn’t as popular, Beethoven answered, “because it’s so much better!”

Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73, “Emperor”

In 1809, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his French army bombed Vienna in a campaign to take over Europe. Beethoven hid in his brother’s basement, covering his ears with pillows to prevent further hearing loss. Against the backdrop of Vienna under siege, Beethoven wrote his Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, a work that represents perhaps the pinnacle of Beethoven’s so-called middle “heroic” period. No fan of Napoleon, Beethoven earlier scratched out a dedication to Bonaparte on his Third Symphony, the “Eroica,” upon hearing that the then-French general crowned himself emperor. And so, the nickname that has unfortunately become affixed to this concerto—written in the same key as the “Eroica” Symphony—is one Beethoven would’ve despised. A London-based publisher likely added it, but the best-case-scenario, unconfirmed acco Program notes © 2026 Anna Reguero, PhD

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SUN

NOV 1 KODAK HALL AT EASTMAN THEATRE

Andreas Delfs, conductor

For Andreas Delfs’ biography, please see page5.

Marc-André Hamelin, piano

JOHANNES BRAHMS

3 Intermezzi for Piano Marc-André Hamelin, piano

17:00

JOHANNES BRAHMS

Variations on a Theme by Haydn

19:00

Piano Concerto No. 2

50:00

Chorale St. Antoni. Andante Variation I. Poco più animato Variation II. Più vivace Variation III. Con moto Variation IV. Andante con moto Variation V. Vivace Variation VI. Vivace Variation VII. Grazioso Variation VIII. Presto non troppo Finale. Andante

INTERMISSION JOHANNES BRAHMS

PIANO FESTIVAL WEEK 2: HAMELIN PLAYS BRAHMS

2 PM

I. Allegro non troppo II. Allegro appassionato III. Andante IV. Allegretto grazioso — Un poco più presto

Marc-André Hamelin, piano

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ARTISTS MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN, piano

Pianist Marc-André Hamelin, a “performer of near-superhuman technical prowess” (The New York Times), is acclaimed worldwide for his unrivaled consummate musicianship. He continues to amass praise for his brilliant pianism in the great works of the repertoire, and for his intrepid MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN exploration of the rarities of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. He regularly performs around the globe with the leading orchestras and conductors of our time, and gives recitals at major concert venues and festivals worldwide. Hamelin’s 2026/2027 season spans Asia, North America, and Europe, with a wide breadth of orchestral, recital, and chamber music engagements. He opens the season at the Tsinandali Festival in Georgia, where he gives a solo recital and joins violinist Lisa Batiashvili for the Chausson Concert. He then tours Asia, performing Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto with the Korean National Symphony Orchestra under Roberto Abbado and with the Nanchang Symphony Orchestra led by Yu Ji, along with solo recitals in Chengdu, Tianjin, Wuhan, and Xiamen. An exclusive recording artist for Hyperion Records, Hamelin has released more than 90 notable recordings of a broad range of solo, orchestral, and chamber repertoire. Recent acclaimed releases include Found Objects / Sound Objects, a recording of contemporary works. Also a noted composer, Hamelin has written more than 30 works. Hamelin is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the German Record Critics’ Association, and over 20 of its quarterly awards. Hamelin is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Québec, and a member of the Royal Society of Canada. Born in Montreal, Hamelin lives in the Boston area with his wife, Cathy Fuller, a producer and host at Classical WCRB. He also teaches at the New England Conservatory of Music.

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PROGRAM NOTES

JOHANNES BRAHMS

Three Intermezzi for Piano, Op. 117

B. HAMBURG, GERMANY May 7, 1833 D. VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Intermezzos are usually brief works placed between larger sections of a musical April 3, 1897 work. Brahms borrowed the intermezzo concept to create miniature piano works and wrote some of his most interior pieces in the open form. His Opus 117— three intermezzi composed in 1892—draws upon Brahms’s penchant for the calming, nocturnal feel of lullabies. It wasn’t his first attempt at a lullaby; Brahms previously composed the famous “Cradle Song,” also known as “Brahms’s Lullaby,” which remains a staple of our baby-calming repertoire today. Brahms called his Opus 117, composed in the summer of 1892, the “cradle songs of my grief.” His grief was in reference to two important-to-him people who had recently died: his sister and then his close friend Elisabeth von Herzogenberg. The first intermezzo in E-flat major is quiet and calming yet turns darker in a middle minor section. On the score, he includes Johann Gottfried Herder’s German translation of the Scottish ballad “Lady Anne Bothwell’s Lament”: “Baloo, my boy, lie still and sleep / It grieves me sore to hear thee weep.” The second movement, more melancholy, seems to turn over upon itself, a slightly tense but beautiful miniature. The last movement is more agitated and mournful, a sad song for those family and friends lost.

Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a

In 1870, Brahms’s friend, the musicologist Carl Ferdinand Pohl, introduced him to a woodwind octet attributed to Joseph Haydn. Brahms was drawn to its second movement, labeled “Chorale St. Anthoni,” due to its unusual five-bar phrases. Brahms copied the theme and returned to it in the summer of 1873, when he decided to write a set of variations on it, first for two pianos and then a version for orchestra. But there was one problem: the theme was not Haydn’s. Haydn was misattributed, and musicologists now believe that Haydn’s student Ignaz Pleyel might be its true author. The chorale title suggests it alternatively might have existed as a sacred church work, but no source has been discovered. The work still circulates with Haydn’s name attached, a useful way to draw in listeners. Brahms used the processional, five-bar phrased woodwind chorale nearly verbatim from the original to open the Variations. The work then heads off into eight variations, followed by a finale. The first variation features a Brahms calling card: a two-against-three rhythm that contributes to Brahms’s thick, soupy textures. The second variation shifts to the parallel minor, a frisky movement with a Romani character. The third sets the chorale in a quickened pace. The fourth variation returns to minor, this time in steady, lugubrious three. The character shifts dramatically for the fifth variation, a swift scherzo. The sixth variation is march-like, both a battle and celebration. The seventh variation is marked “grazioso,” meaning graceful, while the final variation, the eighth, has an overriding supernatural mood. The adagio finale is its own set of variations because Brahms writes it as a chaconne, a Baroque form in which thematic material transforms above a repeating bass line. The work’s main theme returns grandly. Brahms pulls things back before a quick drive to the end.

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PROGRAM NOTES

JOHANNES BRAHMS (CONTINUED)

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 Forever a self-conscious composer with a reputation for his irony and wit, Johannes Brahms wrote to his friend and confidante Elisabeth von Herzogenberg in July 1881 that he had written a “very, very little piano concerto with a very, very little, delicate scherzo.” And four days later, he sent the score to his music-loving surgeon friend, Dr. Theodor Billroth, with the note, “Here I send a few little piano pieces…” The joke, however, soon became clear when Billroth opened a four-movement, 50-minute concerto in B-flat major, perhaps the largest concerto ever written at the time and still one of the largest today. The massive second concerto arrived twenty-two years after the first, perhaps reflecting Brahms’s struggles with impostor syndrome, but compounded by the disastrous response to the first concerto, where audiences in Leipzig hissed with dissent. Billroth responded to Brahms right away. “So at last we have it—the long-awaited Second Piano Concerto! What a magnificent piece, how effortlessly and beautifully it flows; what magnificent sonority, noble and graceful! Such musical music! A happy, contented, and satisfying mood permeates the whole!” Among specific notes, Billroth mentions liking the insertion of a scherzo into the work, a new second movement that stretched the work to four movements. In other correspondence, Billroth recalls that Brahms felt something powerfully passionate was needed between the simpler first and third movements. It’s hard to characterize any of the movements as simple, but the added movement does offer contrast. Writing in the shadow of Beethoven’s iconic motivic development, Brahms created what Arnold Schoenberg called the developing variation, a way of consistently and organically presenting motivic material in evernew moods and settings. Brahms puts this technique to work in the first movement of the Second Piano Concerto. The opening, stately horn line, answered by expansive chords in the piano, offers delicious cells for variation throughout. At first, it walks up a major third, then drops a minor third in a downward triplet before rising a minor third to F, the dominant pitch of B-flat major. The answer to that first phrase instead uses fourths, first a descending interval, followed by the thematic triplets, then rising a fourth, ending on the tonic. Brahms then spends the movement setting those steps, intervals, and triplets in a variety of ways, whether heroic, resolute, yearning, combative, or contemplative. The theme even feels like a quiet awakening when the horn plays it in the recapitulation, then feels stranger when the winds take it up in the coda against mysterious piano chromatics. The movement, grand in scale, has a symphonic character, the piano an integrated voice in conversation with the orchestra. The piano gets only one cadenza in the whole concerto, a brief but virtuosic one near the start of the first movement. The second movement scherzo—a form rarely found in a concerto—is mercurial and tempestuous, but with a brisk, noble trio that seems to arrive out of nowhere, an easy-to-miss half-step transition from the storm that seems out of character with the fierce beginning. We might mistake the third movement for a cello concerto because it leads with a cello singing the andante melody for the first few minutes, the piano eventually joining as accompaniment before taking the spotlight. The cello returns for the movement’s later parts, but with greater interactions with the piano. Brahms later reworked the songlike cello melody as a true vocal song, Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer (“My Slumber Grows Ever More Peaceful”). After three weighty movements, Brahms deflates the atmosphere with a prancing, lighthearted allegretto grazioso in rondo form, with touches of Hungarian influence. It’s as if Brahms decided the serious stuff was out of the way, so now it’s time to play. More turbulent developments follow, but the playfulness carries the concerto to a resolute finish. Program notes © 2026 Anna Reguero, PhD

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Darn Good Marketing Ltd.^ Mengel Metzger Barr & Co Spall Management Corp. St. John's Vision Financial Group

PARTNER ($1,000–$2,999)

Alliance Advisory Group – Lydia S. Palmer, Financial Advisor AmaWaterways Ames Amzalak Memorial Trust The Bank of Castile, a Tompkins Community Bank Bond Schoeneck & King Bristol Mountain Brown and Brown of New York BRX Research Costanza Family Foundation T.M. and M.W. Crandall Foundation Davie Kaplan, CPA, P.C. DGA Builders LLC EFPR Flaum Management Company, Inc. Greater Rochester Signaling Foundation PJ Green, Inc. High Falls Advisors HCR Home Care Insero & Co. The Johnson Browning Family Fund The Judson Foundation KPMG LLP LaBella Associates P.C. Nazareth University Kathryn J. and Theodore E. Nixon Family Foundation Paris-Kirwan Associates, Inc. Andrew J. Burke, RE/MAX Realty Group Rochester Education Foundation Schreiner Family Fund The Scott-Crabb Family Fund

Wells Fargo Advisors The Westport Fund

FRIENDS ($1-$999)

Aldridge Tinker Fund Fairport Musicale Fox Pest Control Victor and Helen Geisel Foundation, Inc.^ General Code Morning Musicale Princeton Club of Rochester RCB Enterprises, Inc. Rochester Opera Guild West Rush Media, LLC

MATCHING GIFT COMPANIES

Corning Glass Works The Gerber Foundation Johnson and Johnson PayPal Giving Fund

Bravo to Our Generous Supporters

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS

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RPO& COMPREHENSIVE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN Donors to the RPO& Comprehensive Capital Campaign are true believers in the future of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. The RPO& Centennial Circle honors those individuals who have committed to a leadership level gift of $100,000 or more to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Scan to view the full listing from July 1, 2025 through September 15, 2026

Listings are in recognition of our campaign donors from July 1, 2022 through September 15, 2026. The RPO’s team of development professionals are available to work with you and your advisors to create a plan that will help you meet your financial and philanthropic goals. For more information, please contact the Development Office at 585.454.7311 or development@rpo.org.

Anonymous Stephen and Janice Ashley**& Walter J.* and Jeanne M. Beecher James and Maria Boucher Joyce Boucher Mary Ellen Burris William L. and Ruth P. Cahn Harlan Calkins Joan and Paul Casterline** Terence Chrzan and Susann Brown* Christine Colucci Alison and John Currie Joseph and Judith Darweesh Davenport-Hatch Foundation

Karen Duguid and Wallace Johnson James and Ellen* Englert Julia B. Everitt* Catherine and Elmar Frangenberg, M.D. Betsy Friedman Barbara and Patrick Fulford James and Marjorie Fulmer Marilyn and Ronald Furman** Nancy and Peter Gaess David and Patricia Gardner Sue Habbersett* Martha and Fred Hamaker Laura Hameister

Joyce and Warren* Heilbronner Daniel W. Hinz* Kathalee* and Ian Hodge Dorothy C. and H. Larry Humm Nick and Kitty Jospe Ralph F. Jozefowicz Ross P. Lanzafame, Esq. Kathy Lindahl G.W. Lisk Company, Inc. Lisk Morris Foundation Jack McGowan and Kathy Muscato Paul and Pamela Ness Pace Family Fund Mary Anne Palermo Larry and Elizabeth Rice

Nathan and Susan Robfogel Nellie J. Rosenberg Ron and Sharon Salluzzo Drs. Eva and Jude Sauer Jon L. and Katherine T. Schumacher Dr. Sid and Barbara Sobel Ingrid Stanlis Richard and Sandy Stein Waldron Rise Foundation Patricia Ward-Baker Joyce Wiedrich Robert A. Woodhouse Cindy and Geff Yancey

* Denotes donor(s) is/are deceased.

MAESTRO’S CIRCLE LEADERSHIP GIVING SOCIETY

Scan to view the full listing from July 1, 2025 through September 15, 2026

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra is proud to recognize the generous individuals whose support helps us continue to enrich and inspire our community through the power of music. To view our complete digital donor recognition, scan the QR code to the left or visit www.rpo.org/donor-recognition. If you have questions, please contact the RPO Development Team at development@rpo.org. The listings below recognize donors whose gifts supported the Orchestra throughout the entirety of the past season, through September 15, 2026.

MAESTOSO ($50,000 AND ABOVE)

Anonymous (2) Stephen and Janice Ashley**& Jim and Maria Boucher& Allen* and Joyce Boucher& Wyan Bovay* Christine Colucci& Ron DoughertyS&

Karen Duguid and Wallace Johnson& Mr. and Mrs.* James T. Englert& Dr. and Mrs. Elmar Frangenberg&^L David and Patricia Gardner Fred and Martha Hamaker Norman Horton* Nick and Kitty Jospe&S

Dr. Ralph F. Jozefowicz& Katherine Lindahl& Deanne Molinari* Suzanne J. O'Brien* Larry and Elizabeth Rice& Nathan J. and Susan S. Robfogel& Nellie J. Rosenberg&

Mr. Wesley Saucke* Drs. Eva and Jude Sauer& Barbara and George Segel^ Dr. and Mrs. Sidney H. Sobel& Louise Woerner and Don Kollmorgen Robert A. Woodhouse&

Bruce Jacobs& Mr. Thomas G. Lathrop Dr. Dawn F. Lipson^ Nancy and Art Roberts

Deborah Ronnen and Sherman Levey* Elise and Stephen* Rosenfeld& Mrs. Robert M. Santo

Katherine T. and Jon L. Schumacher& Sandra and Richard Stein& Mr. and Mrs. David K. Weber Geff and Cindy Yancey&

Marjorie and James Fulmer& Dan Fultz* Nancy and Peter Gaess& Mrs. Laura J. Hameister&^S Amy R. Hecker and Howard S. Decker& David and Barrie Heiligman Tom and Nan Hildebrandt& Kathleen Holt and Stephen Lurie& Laurie and David Kennedy Karen and Laurence Kessler Joseph and Dale Klein Elsbeth J. Kozel&

Harold and Christine Kurland Vincent and Zuzanna Kwon& Ross P. Lanzafame, Esq.& Lenore* and Marshall Lesser& Dan and Kiki Mahar Jack McGowan and Kathleen Muscato& Michael and Frances Millard& Susan Murphy and Ralph Black Andy Nahas William J. O'Connor, Jr.& Pace Family Fund& Mrs. Richard Palermo&

The Robert and Jean Freligh Memorial Fund& Victor Poleshuck& Kathy Purcell David Rakov Ron and Sharon Salluzzo& Kevin Surace and Erica Rogers Mimi and Sam Tilton& Josephine S. Trubek&^ Krestie Utech&

PRESTISSIMO ($25,000-$49,999) Anonymous (3) Mary Ellen Burris& Terence Chrzan and Susann Brown*& Barbara and Patrick Fulford& Susan and James Haefner

VIVACE ($10,000-$24,999) Anonymous Brian and Nancy Bennett Stuart and Betsy Bobry** Patrick and Irene Burke& William L. and Ruth P. Cahn&^ Mr. and Mrs.* Harlan D. Calkins& Diana R. Clarkson, Esq. and Jim Donnelly& Barbara A. Colucci^ Alison and John Currie& Sue and Thomas* Forsyth& P. Robert and Mary Anne Fox Shirley B. and Kevin Frick

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ADAGIO ($2,500-$9,999) Daniel and Elizabeth Abbas Quincy and Sonya Allen Dave and Jan Angus Anonymous (7) Gloria BaciewiczS Anne and Steve* Bauer& Stewart Beecher& Suzanne Bell and Chris Brown Carol and John Bennett& Ms. Helen Benton* Barbara Berman Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Bielaska, Jr. Eric and Marcia Birken Jamie Block Michael Bobry William and Grace Boudway Jennifer Bowen Dan Bresnan Mr. and Mrs. Paul* W. Briggs Joseph and Nancy Briggs** Peter W. Briggs Barbara and John Bruning& Martin Brixi Tom Burns Ann Burr and A. Vincent Buzard& Brad Calkins Keith and Joan Calkins& Steven Cannell Jane A. Capellupo Bill and Julie Capossere& Dr. Thomas and Ann Caprio Kaeri Carroll Betsy and John Carver& William T. Chandler Robert and Susan Chapman in memory of Lucille Giglia Mr. and Mrs. Russell D. Chapman Alan Cohen and Nancy Bloom Jeff and Sue Crane^& George Daddis, Jr., Ph.D. Mrs. Joan Dalberth Judy and Joe Darweesh& Karen E. Dau Gary and Kathleen DeWitt Nancy and Sreeram Dhurjaty Stephanie and Douglas Dickman& Gary Domenico and Barbara Buscaglia Tex* and Nicki Doolittle Michele Dryer& Rufus K. Dryer II Mr. and Mrs. James Dudley Frederick Dushay, M.D. in memory of Anita B. Dushay Simos and Eleni Economides

Dr. Dianne Edgar and Terry Platt Mr. and Mrs. Richard Eisenberg** Larry and Kas Eldridge Carol and Tom* Elliott Louise W. Epstein Gerald G. Estes Udo Fehn and Christine Long Dr. Paul Fine Thomas and Janet Fink James and Stephanie Fischer& Bob and Bobbie Freitag Betsy and Jay* Friedman& Linda and David FriedmanS Emerson and Vernita Fullwood& Judith Fulmer& Laura L. Fulton and Martin Zemel Jerry J. Gambino, Jr. Ellen Garfinkel Paul and Carol Goldberg& Deborah G. Goldman Rob W. Goodling Debbie and Michael Gordon Janet and Roger Gram Carl E. Grimm& Joanna and Michael Grosodonia^ David L. Guadagnino and Mary Beauchamp& Mr. Gary D. Haines Jeffrey and Lynne Halik&^ David and MaryAnn Hamilton& George and Mary Hamlin Nicki Hastings and Om P. Popli, P.E., P.C. Logan and Verna Hazen John and Ruth Hazzard A. Scott Hecker Dr. Tomas Hernandez and Dr. Keith Reas Bruce R. and Janice V. Hinman Susan and Chris Holliday Philip and Eleanor Hopke Dr. Jack and Harriette Howitt H. Larry and Dorothy C. Humm& Mr. and Mrs. Ernest J. Ierardi Will and Lois Irwin& Robert and Merilyn* Israel& Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence S. Iwan& Dr. and Mrs. Harold Kanthor Charles* and Daryl Kaplan Marie and Charlie Kenton James H. Kirkwood Carol R. Klinger Ken Knight and Ann Curtin-Knight* Richard and Karen Knowles& Glenn and Nancy Koch

Karen and Gerald Kral& Marcy and Ray Kraus in loving memory of Dr. Allan and Charlotte Kraus& Lynn Krauss-Prince Chari and Joel Krenis Deanna and Charles Krunsenstjerna Jim Kurtz and Jan Kellner Connie Leary and James O'Connell& Philip and Susan Lederer& Roger and Susan Leighton Norma and Anthony* Leone, MD Kathy J. Lindsley John and Jane Littwitz Curtis and Elizabeth Long&S R. John Looney, M.D. and Nancy Gadziala, M.D. Edith M. Lord Dan and Nancy Loughran Dr. Diane Lu and Hon. Jeremy A. Cooney, Esq. Swaminathan and Janice Madhu Russell and Mary Lou Madsen Barbara E. Marshall& Tom and Emily McCall William and Erin McCune, in memory of Vera McCune Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert J.C. McCurdy* Gilbert Kennedy McCurdy Bruce and Eleanor McLear Daniel M. Meyers& Jonathan Mink and Janet Cranshaw John Muenter Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Munson Paul Marc and Pamela Miller Ness& Maureen and Steve Neumaier Noel and JoBeth NicholsL& Drs. Avice and Timothy O'Connor Dr. Stephen Olmsted John and Tobie Olsan& Deborah Onslow&S Kenneth and Joy Ouriel Douglas and Rose Peet& Dee and Horace E. Perry Jerry and Nancy Peters& Sara and Mark Poe James and Joyce Porrey& Suzanne and Richard Portland Brock and Sandra* Powell Bill Prest Alice and Andrew Publow Robert and Anne QuiveyS Dick and Cathy Rasmussen&S Nancy and Vincent Reale& David and Betsy Riedman

Joseph and Seema Rizzo Nancy Robbins Marion Swett Robinson& Dick* and Bea Rosenbloom Mr. Fritz Ruebeck and Dr. Cecilia MeagherS Tom and Ellen Rusling Dr. Charlotte Ryan Mr. and Mrs. James Ryan, Jr. Drs. Carl and O.J. Sahler& Gary B. Schaefer David and Antonia Schantz Joan M. Schumaker& George J. Schwartz, M.D., and Paula Maier Richard and Vicki* Schwartz Rich Sensenbach Mr. and Mrs. Eugene P. Seymour Ruth and Frank Sklarsky David and Cathy Smith Phillip and Karen Sparkes Kate Hickey Spencer& Jeffrey and Lyn Springut& Ingrid Stanlis& Georgine and James Stenger Dr. David and Abby Stern Richard Sterns and Suzanna Rubright Nancy Stevens and David Williams& Bob and Gayle Stiles David B. Stong and Marlane Juran David and Grace* Strong Aaron and Rachel Stuckey&S Glen and Lynne Suckling Robert and Nancy Swain Margaret and Charles Symington Anthony and Christine Testa Margaret Tonkinson Sally Turner Gary and Marie VanGraafeiland James Viscardi, Lisa Brubaker and Marja Wilson Jennifer and Scott Vogler Erik and Judy Von Bucher Patricia Ward-Baker& Skip and Karen Warren Stephen R. Webb David and Julie Weinstein Carol Whitbeck& Steve and Sarah Wicker Eleanor Williams Mr. John Williams and Mr. Chuck Lundeen* Kitty J. Wise& Elise and Joseph Wojciechowski John Yancey Daan Zwick* and Janis Dowd*

Neal and Kathleen Elli John and Cathy Englert Mr. Craig Epperson and Dr. Beth Jelsma Trevor and Elizabeth Ewell James Farrar David and Anne Ferris Rebecca Firmani David* and Ilene Flaum Gail R. Flugel Timothy and Marie Forget Family Fund Jonathan Foster Ann and Steve Fox Davis Frame Sandra and Neil Frankel Evelyn Frazee and Thomas Klonick Kevin FrischS Paul Gardella Jill and Kent Gardner Sharon Garelick Michael and Jane* Garrett Gerrett and Melinda Geartz

Jacquie and Andrew Germanow Elizabeth Gillespie Mary Gillespie Paulette GissendannerS Warren and June Glaser John and Leslie Glynn John and Roslyn Goldman Dr. John W. and Mrs. Heather Goodbody Patricia Goodwin Crofts* and Jane Gorsline Jeanne and Bob Grace Helen and George Greer** Catherine Gueli Stephen Gullace Laurie Haelen and Mary McCrank Robert and Deborah HallS Nancy and Henry Hamlin Martin and Sherrie Handelman Carol Hardy Marilyn* and Dick Hare& Bob and Kathy Heinig

PHILHARMONIC FRIENDS ADVOCATE ($1,000-$2,499) David AckroydS Daisy AlgarinS Todd Allen Marvin and Frederica Amstey Anonymous (8) Mr. and Mrs. Mehdi N. Araghi Jane Ellen Bailey Rodger and Elga Baker Maureen Baran Jim and Linda Baroody Walter J.* and Jeanne M. Beecher& Hays and Karen Bell Kate M. Bennett Mitchell J. Boucher Margaret Boucher Kristine Bouyoucos Simon* and Josephine Braitman Bernadette Brinkman Katie Brown Priscilla and Rob Brown Eric and Wendy Bruestle Chad Buchta

Josephine Buckley Brian and Mary Jane Burke Gretchen and Paul Burke Bruce and Shirley Burritt Lori Busch Dan and Amanda Butler The Carpenter Family Michael Chabalik Dr. Mark Cohen Rick and Sandra Crawshaw Jacqueline Davis Joe and Sue DeGeorge Foundation, Inc. Katie and Rob Dermody&S Mr. and Mrs. Steven DeSmitt Roy Czernikowski* and Karin Dunnigan Janice and James* Durfee Rose Duver Daniel DwyerS Michael C. Dwyer Ed and Rosemary Eichenlaub

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ADVOCATE ($1,000-$2,499) CONTINUED Tom and Joan Herbek Michael R. Herzog Matthew Hettinga Walter B.D. Hickey, Jr. Aaron and Nicole HilgerS David C. and Patricia M. Hinkle James and Betsy Hoefen Drs. Ryan and Makiko Hoefen^ Dr. Marvin and Nancy* Yanes Hoffman Mr. and Mrs.* Howard E. Holcomb, Jr. John and Barbara Holder Andrew and Kathleen Holt Henry* and Ellen Thiede Dr. Robert Horn and Dr. Patricia Nachman Bob and Sarah Hurlbut Mr. and Mrs. John Hustler Noreen Incavo Agrp Ispentchian & Fulltec LLC La Marr J. Jackson, Esq. Ronald and Martha Jodoin Douglas and Maryanne Jones Nancy Jones Steve and Gretchen Judge Connie KaminskiS Judy and Norm Karsten Heidi Katz and Carl Chiarenza* Robert J. Kennedy Tom and Kate Kidera Susan and James Knauer Ann Knigge and Al Buckner Hon. Joan S. Kohout Francine Koskinas Barbara E. Kozel Ronald and Nancy Kraus Werner and Susan Kunz John and Lisa Lacci Alan and Deborah Lattime Patrick and Sarah Lavell Jennifer Leonard and David Cay Johnston Katherine Lewis and Richard Chasman* Robert and Vicki Lieberman

Ms. Linda Oboum Margaret Lindsey, M.D. Sue and Michael LococoS Eric and Martha Logigian Susan and Chris Luedde Johnny and Shirley Lynn Patrick Macey and Jeremiah Casey James and Rosa Mance Joseph J. Mancini* Scott Manspeaker Saul and Susan Marsh Richard and Kate Massie Carol and John Matteson Edward G. McClive H. Winn McCray Karen and Joseph McCune Maureen McGlynn Richard W. McGrath John W. McNeill Andrew and Kay Melnyk Pete* and Sally Merrill Alice Messinger Robert J. and Marcia Wishengrad Metzger Jennifer Meyer Ralph and Martha Meyer Chere Miceli Clayton and Kimberly Millard Dr. Michael T. Miller Fritz and Maura Minges Mary E. Miskell and Terrance Clar James* and Geraldine Moore Charles Morgan Mr. and Mrs. Paul F. Morgan Mrs. Marjorie Morris* Laura V. Morrissey Mike and Ginny Moszkowicz Pastor and Mrs. Donald Muller Kevin Nasman Dr. and Mrs. Curtis N. Nelson Helene Newman Mr. and Mrs. John NorrisS Mr. Donald W. and Mrs. Jo-Ann R. O'Brien Peter J. Obourn Debra and George Orosz

Elizabeth Osta and George VanArsdale Graham Ottoson Thomas Parker Tom Parker David and Marjorie Perlman Douglas and Diana Phillips Susan and Donald Pritchard Mary Jane Proschel Sujatha Ramanujan and James Chwalek Marcia Rausch Richard and Susan ReedS Stan and Anne Refermat Rene Reixach Elizabeth and Eric Rennert Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Richards Linda and Michael Riordan Family Fund at the RACF Gerard and Donna Roberts Dr. Gerald and Maxine Rosen Hannah and Arnold Rosenblatt Jamal and Pam Rossi Joan and James* Ryan, Sr. Dr. Alvani D. and Carol M. Santos Justin Schiess Paul and Barbara Schmied Peter Schott and Mary Jane Tasciotti John H. Schultz Mr. and Mrs. William Schultz Heidi B. Schwarz, M.D.& Anthony and Gloria Sciolino Catherine and Richard Seeger David Segal Joan and Arthur Segal Libba and Wolf Seka John and Jenny Servo Thomas and Sandra Shaw Kate Sheeran Mrs. Caroline Shipley Donna Broberg Shum Leonard and Elaine Simon Timothy J. Slisz in memory of Joseph F. and Mary Ellen SliszS Greg and Shari Smith Bruce and Laura Smoller

Kathie Snyder Cathy Cushman and Jeff Sokol Mr. Richard R. Spellicy Ms. Suzanne Spencer Ms. Maureen A. Stables Jim and Dora Stauffer Berl Stein Ann H. Stevens and William J. Shattuck& David Tang and Olena Prokopovych Adam and Catherine Towsley David Evans and Sheree Usiatynski Wayne and Anne Vander Byl Timothy and Debbie Veazey Karl and Aimee Vilcins Robert Vosteen Stephen H. and Jody Waite Harry and Ruth* Walker James and Barb* Walker Mr. and Mrs. William Wallace Marsha Walton Robert Wason and Barbara McIver James Watters Mike and Ellen Wayne Jean and Sterling L.* Weaver Pierce and Elizabeth Webb Philip and Marilyn Wehrheim Fund Mr. and Mrs. Fred Weingarten&^S Sherwin and Linda Cornell Weinstein Joyce and William Weir Ed and Wilma Wierenga Herbert E. Winkelman Jeff Wright and Betty Wells Eileen M. Wurzer Patty and Rich Yarmel Dr. Charles Yates Laura and Joel Yellin Marsha Young Bill and Wende Young Lawrence and Susan Yovanoff Albert and Irene Zaccor Helen A. Zamboni Susan and Maurice Zauderer Gary and Cathleen Zdyb

BENEFACTOR ($500-$999) Elison and Donald Cramer Karen Abbas Ron and Laura D'Angelo Barbara Agor Janice and Robert Daitz James Alexander Kathleen A. Dear Anonymous (6) Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Delvecchio Edwin Austin Jacques and Monique Delettrez Karen Bancroft Kathleen DillS Kathleen C. Barbehenn Michael DiSalle Asish and Susan Basu^ Donald and Stephanie Doe Ann Bauer Kevin Doell Markus and Myriam Bauer Terrence R. Doherty Richard J. Beard Linda S. Eastman Teresa and Tim Biehler Dr. Steven and Susan Eisinger James and Lynette Blake S Mohsen Emami, M.D. Jay and Beth Blaufuss Quentin Llop Richard A. Bloom, M.D. Rebecca and Glenn Fadner Jeff and Kathy Bowen Sherman and Anne Farnham Dr. and Mrs. Albert Brault Almon Fisher Henra S. Briskin Elizabeth B. Fisher Hugh and Anne Brodie Sarah Fitts-Romig Mark and Anita Brown^ Susan and Leslie Foor Eileen Buholtz S Ruth Freeman Drs. Jim and Rae Burchfiel Carolyn and Roger Friedlander David J. and Margaret M. Burns Drs. David Bushinsky and Nancy Krieger Kimberly and Lou Gangi Nita Genova Christine Bustard Anne Gilson Riley and Karen Carhart Mr. and Mrs. Julian Goldstein Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Carrigg Jeremy and Hilda C. Grace Brendan and Suzanne Casey Dr. and Mrs. William Grace Mitchell Chait Marvin and Barbara Gray Victor Ciaraldi and Kathy Marchaesi Gay Greene and Robert Goeckel Robert D. Clawson Ed and Terry* Grissing Jane R. Colucci Michael D. Grossman Jim Cook Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Guerin Caroline Costanza

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Jason and Janelle Gutman Linda and John Haight William and Cathy Haller David and Edna F. Hamlin Rita Myers Barbara and A. Michael Hanna John and Diane Hanna Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Hanna Kenneth Harrington Alan J. Harris Gil and Judy Hawkins William and Patricia Hayles Dr. and Mrs. Raul Herrera Merrill and Dianne Herrick Carol Herring K.L. Hersam and Paul Sawicki Joshua J. Herz Dr. Florence M. Higgins and Mr. John Lebens Sanjay and Ally Hiranandani Art and Barb Hirst Sheila Hollander Audrey W. Holly Mr. and Mrs. Ned Holmes Victoria Hoover Wayne and Anne Hulbert William and Nancy Hunt Dr. Dewey Jackson Robert and Mary* Jackson Edwin and Maurin Jeffries Lyle Jenks Mr. Gilbert F. Jordan Marilyn and James Jordan Mr. and Mrs. Frank Kamp

Lori and Frank Karbel Dr. and Mrs. Lester Katzel Barbara and Robert Kay Mr. and Mrs. James E. Keenan Mary Kerr Mr. Edward Klehr Mark and Mona Friedman Kolko Mrs. Ellen Konar James Kraus Kraig and Susan Kummer L. Janet Lawrence-Morse Janet and James Leone Ellen C. Lewis Ben Lichtin and Grace Seiberling Sarah F. Liebschutz, PhD Ms. Jean Ligozio Rose and Roger Linscott Jane S. Littwitz Justin Lloyd Janet and Haines Lockhart Edwin Lopez-Soto and Patricia Braus Mr. Robert Lowenthal John and Judy Lynd Chen and John MageeS Russell J. Mandrino James and Patricia Mangin Janice D. Manning Sheron and Bruce Marche Phillip Marcille Dr. James and Janice* Maxwell& David and Dorcas McCartney Matthew and Ruthann McGarry Dick and Sandra McGavern Diann and Tom Meek

BENEFACTOR ($500-$999) CONTINUED Marilyn Merrigan David and Monika M. MullenS Thomas C. Munger Michael P.* and Wendy R. Murphy John Myers and Mary Ellen Guon Dr. Michael Nabozny Dr. Philip S. Nash Michael D. Nazar Joan R. Nusbaum Susan Nutt W. Smith* and Jean O'Brien Peggy and David Oakes Jason Oaks Damodar Pai Jonathan R. Parkes and Dr. Marcia Bornhurst Parkes David B. Patt Marcella S. Pavelka Marian Payson and Helen Wiley Glen Pearson Robert and Penny Peterson Christian and Sarah Peyre Dr. Elyssa Pohl and Gregory Wichtowski Everett Porter Dr. and Mrs. George Porter, Jr. Beth and Lyle Prairie Harry J. and Margaret H. Price Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Przybylowicz Venkat and Shobha Purushotham Ram W. Rapoport

David Stacey James Reed John and Anne Walker Eleanor Stauffer Constance Rice Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wallace Jeffrey and Kristen Storey Nancy K. Rice Kathleen Weber Mrs. Alexander L. Strasser Ray and Judy Ricker Warren Welch Mr. and Mrs. William Stumbo James RogerS Stephen Wershing Richard and Margery Rosen David and Christine Sage Suits Jen and Craig West Warren and Pamela Rosenbaum Steve and Cheryl Swartout Kathleen Whelehan David and Debra Ross Yoshiko Tamura and Bruce M. Lee Charles and Carolyn Whitfield Leslie Rowe David and Carol Teegarden Bob* and Mary Ann Whitmore Dr. and Mrs. G. Theodore Ruckert Karen S. Templeton Jeff and Sarah Wight Brenda and Steven Ruether Darbbie J. Thomas Susan and Paul Wilkens Carolyn and Charles RuffingS& J. Russell and Kathleen Thomas Nancy J. Williams Hon. Franklin T. and Cynthia Russell Jeffrey J. Thompson Les and Wanda Wood J. Darryl Rusell Celia and Doug Topping Elizabeth D. Woodard Jean Ryon Mr. John S. Tritten Jonathan Wright Mrs. Bonnie B. Sale John* and Janet Tyler Thomas and Maura Wychowski Ed and Gabriel Saphar David and Lori Uhazie Susan Yee David and Naomi Schrier Eugene and Gloria Ulterino Eric Zeise and Ellen Henry Paul W Schultz Lorraine Van Meter-Cline and Robert and Deborah Zeman Mrs. Arthur W. Schuster, Jr. Doug Cline Robert and Carol Zimmerman Theresa A. Seil and Debra Celestino Thomas and Jeanne Verhulst Mr. and Mrs. Ted Zornow Joseph and Mary Kathryn Shanahan Suzanne Verstraten Robert E. and Susan H. Shapiro Jared and Beverly Voos Lily Shaw and Robert Hallstrom* Brian and Jean Waldmiller Eloise Shrag Harvey Simmons & Denotes donor(s) has/have contributed to the RPO& Comprehensive Capital Campaign. Daniel and Sarah Singal S Heidi Smith Denotes donor(s) has/have a recurring Sustaining Circle contribution to the RPO. James Smith * Denotes donor(s) is/are deceased. Janet H. Sorensen ^ Denotes donor(s) has/have contributed to the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (RPYO). Larry Sorrell

BRAVO TRIBUTES The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the following individuals and organizations for their generous support by honoring or remembering in memory of the individuals listed below. Listings are in recognition of tribute gifts received for the 2026/27 Season through September 15, 2026. Scan to view the full listing from July 1, 2025 through September 15, 2026

Tribute gifts are a special way to remember loved ones or commemorate special occasions. If you would like to make a memorial or honorarium gift, please visit www.rpo.org/donate or contact the Development office at 585/454-7311 ext. 249 or email development@rpo.org.

IN MEMORY OF… June Allis D'Amanda Nancy H. Lee Mr. & Mrs. William B. Morse III Suzanne Spencer Mary Andrews Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Friedman Nancy Briggs Ms. Suzanne Spencer Carl Chiarenza Mr. Samuel De Marco Anne O'Shaughnessy Hannah and Arnold Rosenblatt

Doug Cline Ellen Fenger

Bill Towler James and Martha Jones

Elaine Primavera Kraus Mr. James Kraus

IN HONOR OF…

Barbara Law Stan and Anne Refermat Sally Merrill Stephen and Stephanie Schell David Perlman Robert Hill

Maura McCune Corvington and family (Patrick, Caden, and Jace) John and Lisa Lacci Sue Forsyth Lyle Jenks

Keith Stott Lyle Jenks

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RPO GEORGE EASTMAN LEGACY SOCIETY

Scan to view the full listing from July 1, 2025 through September 15, 2026

Members of the RPO George Eastman Legacy Society are true believers in the power of music. The RPO George Eastman Legacy Society honors those individuals who remember the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra through a planned gift. The RPO’s team of development professionals are available to work with you and your advisors to create a plan that will help you meet your financial and philanthropic goals. For more information, please contact the Development Office at 585.454.7311.

Anonymous Marie Aklin* Betty Jane Altier* Alva Angle* Catherine N. Asmuth* Jean Boynton Baker* John B. and Margaret Barnell* Walter J.* and Jeanne M. Beecher Walter S. Beecher Nancy and Harry Beilfuss** Carol and John Bennett Jack and Carolyn Bent Donald Berens* Ellen S. Bevan* Michael Bobry Stuart* and Betsy Bobry James R. Boehler* Marilyn Bondy Beverly T. Bowen* John W.* and Margaret Z.* Branch William and Ruth Cahn Mary Allison Callaway and Paul R. Callaway* Catherine B. Carlson* Norris F. Carlson* Margaret J. Carnall* Joan and Paul Casterline** Susann* and Terence Chrzan Nancy A. Clemens* Barbara Colucci Christine Colucci Mary Consler* Judy and Joe Darweesh Alfred L. Davis* Barbara Dechario* Paul Donnelly* Marilyn A. Drumm* Amelia N. Dunbar* Frederick Dushay Richard and Harriet Eisenberg** James T. and Ellen Englert John R. Ertle* Julia B. Everitt* Glenn and Rebecca Fadner Ruth H. Fairbank* Joan and Harold* Feinbloom Albert Fenyvessy* Donald C.* and Elizabeth Fisher Catherine and Elmar Frangenberg Carolyn and Roger Friedlander Betsy Friedman Karyl P. Friedman Linda and David Friedman Patrick and Barbara Fulford William L. Gamble* Sharon Garelick Patricia and David Gardner Rob W. Goodling Mary M. Gooley*

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Barbara Jean Gray-Gottorff* George Greer* Jean Groff* Sue C. Habbersett* William B. Hale* Martha and Fred Hamaker Mrs. Laura J. Hameister Marilyn* and Dick Hare Karen G. Hart* Monica R. Hayden* Warren* and Joyce Heilbronner David W. Hinz* Jean Hitchcock Norman L. Horton* Mrs. Samter Horwitz* H. Larry and Dorothy C. Humm Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Hursh* Robert and Merilyn* Israel Carol A. Jones Nick and Kitty Jospe Dr. Ralph F. Jozefowicz Nancie R. Kennedy* Robert T. Kimbrough* Marcella Klein and Richard Schaeffer Glenn and Nancy Koch Ross P. Lanzafame, Esq. Jeanne Lareau* Marshall and Lenore* Lesser Drs. Jacques* and Dawn Lipson Sue and Michael Lococo William C.* and Elfriede K. Lotz Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Mahar Linda Malinich* Joseph J. Mancini* Dr. James and Janice* Maxwell Gerard Mayer* John T. McAdam* Pete* and Sally Merrill Donald R. Messina* Robert J. and Marcia Wishengrad Metzger Dan Meyers Mrs. Elizabeth O. Miller* Jane E. Miller* Mary L. Mitchell* Deanne Molinari* Eleanor Morris* Mrs. Marjorie Morris* Patricia McCurdy Morse* John S. Muenter Diane F. Nelson* Paul Marc and Pamela Miller Ness Carolyn Noble* Deborah Onslow Margaret Paaschen* Mary Anne Palermo Ms. Lydia Susan Palmer Eleanor T. Patterson* Suzanne F. Powell

Robert and Ann Quivey Ernest Rashiatore* Eileen D. Ramos* Marjorie Cohen Relin* Doris Repenter* Dr. Ramon L. and Judith S. Ricker Gerard and Donna Roberts Dr. Suzanne H. Rodgers* Nellie J. Rosenberg Dick* and Bea Rosenbloom Elise and Stephen* Rosenfeld Pearl W. Rubin* Wallace R. Rust Ron and Sharon Salluzzo Wesley Saucke Peggy W. Savlov* James G. Scanzaroli* David G. and Antonia T. Schantz William and Susan Schoff Peter Schott and Mary Jane Tasciotti Jon L. and Katherine T. Schumacher Vicki* and Richard Schwartz Laura M. Seifferd* Libba and Wolf Seka Gretchen Shafer* Virginia Durand Shelden* Elbis A. Shoales, M.D. Carol Shulman Anna Rita Staffieri* Ingrid Stanlis Abby and David Stern Patricia E. Stott Betty Strasenburgh* Martha Ann* and Daniel Tack Amanda Tierson Ivan Town* Carol Van Hoesen* Elizabeth Van Horn* Harry and Ruth Walker Patricia Ward-Baker Margaret Webster* Robin and Michael* Weintraub Jean B. Wetzel* Joyce Wiedrich Mildred Wischmeyer* Kitty J. Wise John and Laurie Witmeyer Helen W. Witt* Mary Alice and Robert Wolf* Susan and Lawrence Yovanoff Nancy and Mark Zawacki Alan Ziegler and Emily Neece Mr. and Mrs. Ted Zornow * Denotes donor(s) is/are deceased. ^Denotes donor(s) has/have contributed to the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (RPYO).

Bravo to Our Volunteers Tonya McBride Robles

PATRON SERVICES CENTER

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS

Emma Danielson

Director of Ticketing

Vice President of Artistic Planning & Operations

President and CEO

Executive Assistant

Charlene Beckwith Daniel Long

James Barry

Director of Patron Experience, Data & Analytics

Fred Dole

Kyan Cheung

Danielle Suhr

Rob Dermody

Vice President of Development

Connor Straight

Cedrick Martinez

Bryce Davis

Daniel Traina

Kim Hartquist

Kobina Asafu-Adjaye Abby Chapman Duprey William Eby Lauren Ganger Stephen House Alyssa Koh Hannah Moreno Grant Simon

Lily Wintringham

Kristen Zimmer

Human Resource Director

DEVELOPMENT Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives

Hannah Reich

Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving and Special Events

Elizabeth Garijo-Garde

Associate Director of Institutional Partnerships

Dorian Delfs

Development Officer

George DeMott

Patron Services Manager Patron Services Assistant Manager House Manager

Patron Services Representatives

Development Officer

FINANCE

MARKETING

Vice President of Finance

Herb Griffith

Vice President of Marketing & Communications

Lauren MacDonough

Katherine Rogala Jennifer Clark

Accounting Manager

Orchestra Personnel Manager Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Principal Librarian Orchestra Operations Manager

Karl Vilcins

Auditions Coordinator

Morgan Marama-Stout Artistic Coordinator

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Kyle Lamb

Vice President of Education and Community Engagement

Ashlee Allaire

Education Programs Manager

Creative Director

ROCHESTER PHILHARMONIC LEAGUE

Kylie Beam

Volunteer Administrator

Director of Marketing

Meg Spoto

Content & Digital Marketing Manager

Rachel Solomon

RPO Staff 2026/27 SEASON

ADMINISTRATION

RPO.ORG | 454-2100

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PHOTO: SMILLIEPHOTO.COM

ABOUT US

Since its founding by George Eastman in 1922, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra has been committed to enriching and inspiring our community through the art of music. Currently celebrating our 103rd Season, the RPO is dedicated to maintaining its deep commitment to artistic excellence, educational opportunity, and community engagement. Today, the RPO presents up to 120 concerts per year, serving nearly 170,000 people through ticketed events, education and community engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. Nearly one-third of all RPO performances are educational or community-related. In addition, WXXI 91.5 FM rebroadcasts approximately 30 RPO concerts each year. For more information, visit rpo.org.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

TICKETS: The RPO Patron Services Center is located at 255 East Avenue in the back of the Farash Place building in downtown Rochester. Free parking is available in a small lot between the parking garage and building. Open Monday through Friday 10 AM–5 PM. GROUP SALES: Groups of 10 or more are eligible for discounts starting at 20%! Contact Group and Corporate Sales Manager: Sal Uttaro at suttaro@ rpo.org | Office: (585) 454-7311 ext. 267 | Mobile: (585) 530-0865 NIGHT-OF-CONCERT PURCHASES: RPO will-call tickets and concert tickets are available at the RPO tables in the Eastman Theatre Box Office lobby starting 90 minutes prior to concert time. PARKING: Paid parking for Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre is available at the East End Garage, located next to the theatre. Open entrances/exits change frequently while the garage is under construction. Visit rpo.org/parking for the most recent updates. Paid parking for the Performance Hall at Hochstein is available at the Sister Cities Garage, located behind the school at Church and Fitzhugh Streets. PRE-CONCERT TALKS: All ticketholders are welcome to attend free pre-concert talks held one hour before all Philharmonics concerts and some Jeff Tyzik-conducted Pops concerts. Ticketholders are asked to sit anywhere they would like in the orchestra level of the theatre, then head to their reserved seat for the concert. SERVICES FOR PATRONS WITH DISABILITIES: Wheelchair locations and seating for those with disabilities are available at all venues; please see the house manager or an usher for assistance. Elevators are located in the Eastman Theatre Box Office lobby. A wheelchair-accessible restroom is available on the first floor. SERVICES FOR HARD-OF-HEARING PATRONS: Audio systems are available at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre; headsets may be obtained from an usher prior to the performance. CHANGING SEATS: If you find it necessary to be reseated for any reason, please contact an usher who will bring your request to the House Manager. LOST AND FOUND: Items found in Kodak Hall will be held at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 E. Main Street. For more info, call 585-274-3000. ELECTRONIC DEVICES: The use of cameras or audio recording equipment is strictly prohibited. Patrons are asked to silence all personal electronic devices prior to the performance. REFRESHMENTS: Food and drink are not permitted in the concert hall, except for bottled water. Refreshments are available for purchase in Betty’s Café located on the orchestra level of Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. TICKET DONATION: If you are unable to attend a concert, please consider donating your tickets to us as a tax-deductible contribution. Return your tickets to the RPO no later than 2 PM the day of the performance to make them available for resale. Bravo is published cooperatively by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Buffalo Spree Kylie Beam | Editor, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Meg Spoto | Creative Director, m dash studio Anna Reguero, PhD | Program Annotator Editorial Offices: Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra 255 East Avenue, Suite LL02 Rochester NY 14604 585-454-7311 • Fax: 585-423-2256

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RPO.ORG | 454-2100

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