Based on a love story for the ages, explore musical expressions of prohibited love with the Olympia Symphony at the Washington Center through the thought-provoking Pride program Sunday, March 17th, 2024 3-5m including dazzling audience favorite, Kristin Lee, and a surprise ending you won’t want to miss! The three composers presented on this program – Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Bernstein – wrote music inspired by Shakespeare’s tale of Romeo and Juliet. We will explore Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Bernstein’s West Side Story in an unconventional “mashup” presentation, comparing how each composer envisioned various scenes of the story, in parallel. This will be followed by Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, which he composed at about the same time as his own Romeo and Juliet. The theme of prohibited love permeates this concert, both in literal programmatic representations (Prokofiev and Bernstein) and in the inspiration of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. Tchaikovsky intended to dedicate this concerto to his partner but relented to the societal pressure to disguise his homosexuality. This poignant, reflective concert will conclude with a very special unannounced encore that you will not want to miss.
PROKOFIEV/BERNSTEIN Romeo and Juliet/West Side Story
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto (featuring Kristin Lee, violin)
…and a special MYSTERY PIECE!
