Thomas Søndergård will conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic at an upcoming performance at the Hollywood Bowl. The concert opens with “Ballade” by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, played by pianist Kirill Gerstein, and continues with Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” a work that has been used in films like “Groundhog Day,” and the “Walking Dead” television series.
“Ballade” by Coleridge-Taylor was commissioned by another composer, the famous Edward Elgar, who saw talent in the young man and wanted to encourage him. It is described as:
“. . . a clever young man’s piece, a wild orchestral ride brimming with invention and energy.”
The centerpiece of the concert is Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100, by Sergei Prokofiev. The artist composed the work in 1944, about a year before the end of World War II, when he was living outside Moscow in a composer’s colony. He conducted the first performance himself, in 1945, just two weeks after the premiere of his Eighth Piano Sonata, which was a success. Symphony No. 5., coming as the war turned in the allies’ favor, is a reaffirmation of human resilience. Prokofiev said the work:
“. . . [sings] the praises of the free and happy human being—of such a person’s strength, generosity and purity of soul.”
The concert is scheduled for July 8. Events like this can benefit when organizers use poster printing services to create advertising.