SIGNATURE SERIES II: FORCES OF NATURES
Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky, with violinist Vadim Repin
November 6-7, 2026 at 7:30 PM at Maryland Hall
Tickets start at $25
Luke Soneral An Overture: The Mouse and its Shadow
Dmitri Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77 (99),
Vadim Repin, violin
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Tempest, Op. 18
Igor Stravinsky Divertimento from Le baiser de la fée (The Fairy’s Kiss)
This concert is approximately 2 hours in length, with a 20 minute intermission.
MUSIC PROGRAM
Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 is one of the most powerful and personal concertos of the 20th century. Written for Ukrainian-born David Oistrakh, a renowned violinist, under the shadow of Stalinist repression and withheld from publication until after the dictator’s death, the concerto speaks in coded language — dark introspection, biting irony, and searing virtuosity. The work reveals the psychological damage the Soviet regime inflicted on Shostakovich, and calls on listeners to reject the politics of revenge and hate while embracing the healing cycle of forgiveness: both the forgiver and the forgiven grow stronger through grace and mercy. Russian violinist Vadim Repin is celebrated for a rare combination of technical perfection, depth, and musical authority. His expertise in the Shostakovich repertoire is unsurpassed, having studied under his lineage.
Tchaikovsky’s The Tempest transforms Shakespeare’s play of the same name into a sweeping symphonic seascape, where storm-tossed drama, glowing lyricism, and the eternal presence of nature unfold in richly colored sound. Surging climaxes and an unforgettable love theme make it one of Tchaikovsky’s most cinematic and emotionally immediate orchestral works. Tchaikovsky’s music is artistic and intuitive; the physical storm brought to life by the music is a metaphor for human nature.
Igor Stravinsky’s The Fairy’s Kiss (Le Baiser de la fée) is one of the most refined and moving tributes one composer has ever paid to another — music in which memory, nature, and artistry are inseparably entwined. A neoclassical ballet composed in 1928 as a tribute to his countryman Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky on the 35th anniversary of the great composer’s death, the music was written for a neoclassical ballet inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ice-Maiden. The ballet functions as a poetic allegory for Tchaikovsky’s own artistic life. Icy textures and glittering sonorities evoke nature as an elemental, even fateful force, while a subtle nostalgia for pre-revolutionary Russia underlies the score.
Opening the program is a glimpse of the future: Luke Soneral’s An Overture: The Mouse and Its Shadow, a brand-new work by a pre-college composer already earning national recognition. Soneral’s music marks the arrival of a prodigious talent with a bright trajectory ahead. Its inclusion underscores the ASO’s commitment not only to iconic classical music, but to the next generation of composers shaping the orchestral world.
TICKETING
Tickets start at $25. Check the online seating chart to select $25 seats.
Single tickets for this performance will be available for sale to non-subscribers beginning August 1, 2026.
Signature Series Subscribers can use their 20% off discount to save on additional tickets to this concert. Please purchase tickets with the discount through your patron portal starting August 1, 2026.
Student tickets to this performance are $15. Military, Law Enforcement, and First Responder ticket discounts are also available. Please call the Box Office at 410-263-0907 to redeem these discounts starting August 1, 2026.
THANK YOU
This performance is made possible in part with the support of the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC.org) and Arts Council of Anne Arundel County (ACAAC.org).