Ax Plays Brahms

COPLAND Appalachian Spring

KODÁLY Dances of Galánta

BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83

Emanuel Ax, piano

Mark Gibson, guest conductor

Friday, September 13, 2019 | 8:00 PM | Hill Auditorium

Serene, pastoral, and deceptively simple–no piece has come to define Aaron Copland’s reputation as the “American voice” of classical music more than the great American ballet, Appalachian Spring. We travel to the fields of Galánta with the composer, Zoltán Koldáy to continue our dance-inspired evening in Hill Auditorium. His Dances of Galánta holds a deeply personal meaning discovered by weaving through the Hungarian folk melodies from his childhood spent in Galánta surrounded by stunning orchestral colors. The distinct and fiery rhythms of Hungarian dances return and close the program with a performance of Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2, op. 83 in B-flat major featuring celebrated pianist Emanuel Ax.