SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2027
Beethoven by Candlelight
7:30 PM | MANSFIELD THEATER, GREAT FALLS
PRE-CONCERT TALK | 6:30 PM | FREE
SINGLE TICKETS AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 1, 2026
CONCERT SPONSOR
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WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT THIS CONCERT
Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun begins with one of the most famous flute solos ever written. Its hazy, dreamlike sound was so groundbreaking that it helped usher classical music into the modern era.
Beethoven’s Violin Concerto was largely overlooked during his lifetime, only becoming a sensation decades later when a 12 year old violinist, Joseph Joachim, performed it in London under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn.
Khachaturian’s sweeping Adagio of Spartacus & Phrygia depicts the love between the gladiator Spartacus and his wife, and later became famous to millions as the theme music for the BBC series The Onedin Line.
SATURDAY
13
FEBRUARY, 2027
CONCERT START 7:30
PRE-CONCERT TALK 6:30
DURATION
1 hour, 47 minutes
(includes 20-min. intermission)
EVERYONE BELONGS AT THE SYMPHONY
Clap when you feel it.
Pre-concert talk | 6:30 PM | Free
Enjoy your concession drink at your seat.
Phones on silent are welcome.
Concert Details
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ABOUT THE MUSIC
PROGRAM NOTES WRITTEN BY ROBERT KAHN
A solitary flute begins one of the most influential works in the history of music. Inspired by Stéphane Mallarmé’s symbolist poem, Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun follows the dreamlike reflections of a mythical faun as he wonders whether his encounters with beautiful nymphs were real, or merely imagined.
Rather than narrating the poem literally, Debussy captures its atmosphere. Conventional musical forms dissolve into shimmering colors, fluid rhythms, and harmonies unlike anything audiences had previously heard. The result is music that seems to float effortlessly between dream and reality.
Prelude to the
Afternoon of a Faun
1894
Claude Debussy
1862 - 1918
10 MINUTES
Premiered in 1894, the Prelude marked a turning point in musical history. Its innovative orchestration and harmonic language profoundly influenced generations of composers, and more than a century later, it continues to enchant listeners with its remarkable freshness and beauty.
Unlike many of the most popular violin concertos, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is remarkable not for dazzling virtuosity, but for its nobility, lyricism, and quiet emotional depth. Opening with a series of understated timpani strokes followed by an unusually expansive orchestral introduction, the work was revolutionary in subtle ways. Rather than treating the soloist as a vehicle for technical display, Beethoven created a concerto of remarkable lyricism and tenderness - qualities more often associated with his later masterpieces. Perhaps this explains why, after its premiere in 1806, the concerto received only one additional documented performance during Beethoven’s lifetime. It would take several decades before audiences fully embraced it.
Following the expansive first movement, the serene slow movement unfolds as a set of variations, offering music of profound introspection and quiet beauty. Without pause, it leads directly into a joyful and spirited finale. Yet even here, Beethoven resists virtuosity for its own sake, favoring rustic melodies, dance-like rhythms, and a spirited dialogue between soloist and orchestra.
With its blend of nobility, emotional depth, and heartfelt lyricism, Beethoven transformed the violin concerto from a showcase of virtuosity into a deeply personal artistic statement, paving the way for the great Romantic concertos of Mendelssohn, Bruch, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and beyond.
Violin Concerto
1806
I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Larghetto
III. Rondo (Allegro)
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770 -- 1826
FEATURING GUEST ARTIST
Maya Anjali Buchanan
VIOLIN
43 MINUTES
Few orchestral works capture romantic longing as powerfully as the Adagio from Aram Khachaturian’s ballet Spartacus. The ballet tells the story of the legendary gladiator who led a slave revolt against ancient Rome, but this celebrated movement turns away from battle to focus on the love shared by Spartacus and his wife, Phrygia.
A soaring melody unfolds over rich orchestral textures, gradually building toward moments of overwhelming emotional intensity. Many listeners will recognize the music from film and television, most famously as the theme for the BBC series The Onedin Line, where its sweeping lyricism found an entirely new audience.
Adagio of Spartacus & Phrygia
1954
Aram Khachaturian
1903 -- 1978
9 MINUTES
Its cinematic grandeur and deeply expressive melodies have made this Adagio one of Khachaturian’s most enduring and beloved creations.
At just twenty-five years old, Richard Strauss composed one of the most ambitious tone poems of his early career. Death and Transfiguration portrays the final moments of an artist’s life, tracing a journey from physical suffering and fading memories to a vision of spiritual fulfillment beyond death.
Strauss later explained that the work depicts an individual striving throughout life toward an ideal that can never quite be attained. Only in the moment of death does that ideal finally appear in its full radiance. The music vividly captures this progression, moving from restless agitation and moments of struggle to passages of extraordinary beauty and transcendence.
The work’s final pages contain one of the most uplifting endings in the orchestral repertoire. As the orchestra rises to a blazing climax, Strauss transforms what might seem a dark subject into something profoundly hopeful. Rather than focusing on death itself, the music celebrates the fulfillment of a life’s deepest aspirations and the enduring power of the human spirit.
Death and Transfiguration
1890
I. Largo (The sick man, near death)
II. Allegro molto agitato (The battle between life and death)
III. Meno mosso (The life review)
IV. Moderato / Finale (The transfiguration)
Richard Strauss
1864 -- 1949