Francisco Fullana, the 2022–23 TSO Artist in Residence returns to Tucson to perform Saint-Saëns’ dazzling Third Violin Concerto under the direction of Manuel Hernández Silva alongside orchestral showpieces by Brahms and Tchaikovsky, and a charming new piece by Israeli Gili Schwarzman.
Saint-Saëns was the master of the concerto form, and this piece showcases all the lyrical and technical flair that audiences have come to love, with an added dash of Spanish color, a nod to the work’s virtuoso first performer, Pablo de Sarasate. Based on student songs, Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture is a boisterous romp and an audience favorite. And Francesca da Rimini, Tchaikovsky’s symphonic poem about Dante’s doomed lovers, is a whirlwind of passion descending through the circles of hell. Fun stuff!
