What’s Interesting About This Concert
- Ravel’s mesmerizing Boléro builds from a whisper to a triumphant climax as two beguiling melodies are shared throughout the entire ensemble in the first of three orchestral showstoppers on the 2025/26 season opener.
- Jazz meets Classical in Gershwin’s An American in Paris, which paints a vibrant picture of bustling boulevards, blaring taxi horns, and even a drunken tourist stumbling down the street.
- Mussorgsky wrote Pictures at an Exhibition for piano, but the version you’ll hear is Ravel’s famous update for orchestra, which showcases the French composer’s unmatched ability to use the orchestra as a palette to create rich textures and vivid imagery.
Concerts Should Be Fun
Take selfies at the photo booth, sip a signature cocktail at your seat, and arrive early for the free 30-minute pre-concert talk, starting one hour before each performance.
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Bring drinks to your seats -
Clap when you hear something you like -
Phones on and in silent mode allowed
The Program
Maurice RavelBoléro
George GershwinAn American in Paris
Modest MussorgskyPictures at an Exhibition
What You'll Hear
Launch YouTube PlaylistDeep Dive
- The Story of Ravel’s Boléro (Classic FM)
- Boléro’s Industrious Nature (NPR)
- Bolero: Ravel’s Sublime Orchestration Exercise (The Listening Club)
- The Music Plays On — Gershwin An American in Paris (Donato Cabrera)
- An American in Paris (Gershwin.com)
- George Gershwin: 15 facts about the great composer (Classic FM)
- The Pictures of Pictures at an Exhibition (Generalist Academy)
- Maurice Ravel: A Life
Season Partner
Media Sponsor
