The Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra will kick off the 2025 portion of Season 75 with a valentine’s evening concert featuring incredible piano soloist Adam Żukiewicz.
Join us on Friday, February 14th at 7:30pm in Ardrey Auditorium.
The evening’s program will include a fun-loving showcase of tales of three star-crossed lovers beginning with The Bacchanale, which comes from the third act of Saint-Saëns’ opera Samson et Delilah. This biblical epic tells the tale of Samson, the Israelite hero, and Delilah, the femme fatale who seduces him into revealing the secret of his strength (his hair, of course)!
Then, The Walk to the Paradise Garden by Frederick Delius is the sonic equivalent of a sunset stroll through a dreamscape, drenched in bittersweet longing. Delius composed this piece for his opera A Village Romeo and Juliet, which reimagines Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy in a rustic Swiss setting. Unlike the high drama of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, this interlude feels deeply personal, almost like an introspective sigh.
Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde tells the story of a doomed love affair between Tristan, a knight, and Isolde, an Irish princess. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well. But what Wagner achieves in this music isn’t just a story about two people—it’s a philosophical deep dive into love as an all-consuming, transcendent force that annihilates everything, including the lovers themselves.
Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is a piece that feels like stepping into a shimmering daydream. Imagine a drowsy summer afternoon, a playful faun lounging in a sun-dappled glade, half-awake and half-lost in fantasies of nymphs and revelry.
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff, which will be performed by guest piano soloist Adam Żukiewicz is a dazzling, rollercoaster of a piece that’s equal parts virtuosity, romance, and devilish fun. It’s like Rachmaninoff said, “What if we take Paganini’s famous theme, turn it inside out, throw in some musical pyrotechnics, and stir in a love story for good measure?”
Tickets for this upcoming concert on February 14th at 7:30pm in Ardrey Auditorium can be purchased through the NAU Central Ticketing Office online at: https://shorturl.at/MwOYh or by telephone 928-523-9011.
