(GREENSBORO, NC) Join the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra (GSO) in celebrating the end of an era as it says farewell to Guilford College’s Dana Auditorium. The GSO presents Farewell Symphony, sponsored by Kilpatrick Townsend and The RLR Financial Group of BB&T’s Scott & Stringfellow, at 8:00 pm on February 20 and 22 at Dana Auditorium, marking the last program in this venue before GSO moves to its new home at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts. This concert will feature guitar virtuoso Artyom Dervoed performing Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Guitar Concerto. The program also includes Puccini’s Capriccio Sinfonico for orchestra and Haydn’s Symphony No. 45, “Farewell”.
Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s groundbreaking Guitar Concerto was written in 1939, the same year he was forced to flee from his native Italy to the United States to escape growing anti-Semitism. This important work serves as not only a goodbye to Italy, but a shining example of masterful guitar playing.
Dervoed has been dubbed “the Tsar of guitar” by Universe Guitare of France and has won sixteen first place awards in international competitions. Hailing from Russia, he studied at the Schnittke Music College, Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, and at other prestigious academies in Germany and Italy. Dervoed is a regular guest on the world’s most celebrated stages and is among the most eminent champions of classical guitar.
To begin the evening, Capriccio Sinfonico will present an opportunity to experience Puccini away from Opera. In line with the theme of saying “farewell”, Capriccio Sinfonico was Puccini’s final and most extensive orchestral composition, and was written for his own graduation from the Milan Conservatory in 1883. Concluding the program is Haydn’s “Farewell” Symphony No. 45, written in 1772 as a message to his patron that he and his musicians were ready to return home to their wives after an elongated stay in Hungary. Quite uniquely, as this piece progresses, the Symphony musicians will begin leaving the stage a few at a time until only the conductor remains – a must see.
Experience Farewell Symphony and be a part of the GSO’s final concert at Dana Auditorium!
Who: Dmitry Sitkovetsky, conductor; Artyom Dervoed, guitar; Greensboro Symphony Orchestra
What: Tanger Outlets Masterworks Series – Farewell Symphony Puccini – Capriccio Sinfonico, SC 55
Castelnuovo-Tedesco – Guitar Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 99 Haydn – Symphony No. 45 in F# minor, “Farewell”
When: February 20, 2020, at 8:00 pm February 22, 2020, at 8:00 pm
Where: Dana Auditorium, Guilford College – 710 Levi Coffin Dr., Greensboro, NC 27410
Tix: greensborosymphony.org / ticketmaster.com / GSO Box Office: 336-335-5456 x224
Price: $46, $40, $34, Students $6