Concert of All Russian Music Plays at Redlands Bowl July 19 Program

The Redlands Bowl presents its second symphony concert of the
Summer Music Festival on July 19, offering "A Summer Night in Russia". Featuring the music of three absolute giants of Russian music--Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky--, the concert promises to be a major event in the inland area.
"People will be blown away by the huge sound," exclaimed Maestro
Frank Fetta, Artistic Director for the Festival and conductor for the Summer Festival Symphony Orchestra, composed of members of the Redlands Symphony Orchestra for this concert. The program will open with Stravinsky's "Dance for Elephants" from
his 1942 ballet "Circus Polka", a work he composed about Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, according to Fetta. Renowned for his artistic elegance and use of folk melodies, Stravinsky ranks as one of the great composers of the twentieth century.
Guest soloist Nadia Shpachenko will perform the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. Shpachenko, a winner and performer in the Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival Young Artists Auditions in 2000, was botn in Ukraine. She began studying piano, cello, and composition at the age of five, and at thirteen she won recognition as both pianist and composer. Currently, she is completing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree
at the University of Southern California on a full scholarship.
The Rachmaninoff No. 2, written in 1901 after a hypnosis-generated suggestion by the composer's neurologist, fills the musical spirit with rapturous melodies that are familiar and welcome to music aficionados and neophytes alike.
"I really enjoy playing Russian music," Shpachenko said, "and the
Rachmaninoff piece is grand and wide, and very nostalgic for me to play. It is a touching concerto, and I hope it will touch the listeners." Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, written in 1878, will conclude the concert. "This is the first of his really great and popular symphonies," explained Fetta. "The piece is huge, and the big symphony orchestra will fill the stage and the space."
"This will be a terrific concert," said Fetta, "with quintessential
Russian music performed by an excellent orchestra under the warm summer skies. This is what music is all about."
The Friday evening concert will begin at 8:15. Intermission ushers
will be representatives of Discovery Shops; Hartnell, Horspool & Fox, a Professional Law Corporation; and the American Association of University Women. Intermission speaker will be Florence Beeler, Program Consultant for the Redlands Community Music Association. Continuing the tradition begun in 1924, this and all concerts are free of charge, and a free-will offering will be collected at intermission.
For more information about this concert, call the Redlands Bowl office at 909/793-7316 or visit the web site at www.redlandsbowl.org. The Redlands Bowl is located between Grant and Eureka Streets in Redlands, off of Brookside Avenue.