LUCO: 20th Anniversary Gala
$18 ($13 student/senior)
Sergei Rachmaninoff — Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
Christophe Chagnard — Terra Nostra
Joel Fan, piano
Adams – Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Chagnard – Terra Nostra (world premiere)
Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 3
Following the success of LUCO's performance of Embargo, Suite Cubana last June, Music Director Christophe Chagnard received a commission to compose a large-scale piece with climate change as its theme! Chagnard began composing in July, and based the core of his research on Alan Weisman's extraordinary book Countdown. The challenge has proven captivating and will provide plenty of surprises for our season finale at Meany Hall on the University of Washington campus.
Adams' 1986 Short Ride in a Fast Machine is considered "the tenth most-performed orchestral work composed in the last twenty-five years" for good reasons! This thrilling ride is one of Adams' most successful use of post-minimal style, and conveys the feeling of speed in a dizzying way.
Over the years, LUCO has steadily performed all the great piano concertos in the repertoire except for one: the greatest of them all, Rachmaninov's 3rd! There is a simple explanation for this glaring omission: composed in 1919, it is one of the most technically challenging piano concertos, requiring a soloist of formidable abilities and stamina. New York native pianist Joel Fan, a long-time collaborator with Christophe Chagnard, once remarked that Rach 3 (as it is referred to in musicians' circles) is his all-time favorite concerto and one that fits his prodigious technique like a glove. LUCO's grand anniversary finale provided the perfect occasion to present this monumental piece with a world-class soloist who will leave you breathless.