Signature Series V: Shaped by Nature
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with pianist Stewart Goodyear
May 7-8, 2027 at 7:30 PM at Maryland Hall
Tickets start at $25
Benjamin Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op. 33a
Sergei Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26, with Stewart Goodyear, piano
Ferde Grofé Grand Canyon Suite
This concert is approximately 1 hr 50 min with a 20 minute intermission.
MUSIC PROGRAM
This program explores three vivid sound worlds — the restless English coast, the electric pulse of modern virtuosity, and the vast, cinematic sweep of the American West — each shaped by composers who transformed landscape into legend.
Benjamin Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from the opera Peter Grimes stand at the center of 20th-century British music. Orchestral interludes are not merely scene changes. They are psychological weather. Divided strings and shimmering textures suggest a vast, indifferent sea that will outlast every human drama. Beneath the sound lies the aching question sung by the opera’s tragic outsider: What harbor shelters peace?
Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is one of the most brilliant and beloved concertos of the 20th century. Composed in 1921 during the composer’s self-imposed exile from Russia and premiered by Prokofiev himself, the concerto blends razor-sharp wit, romantic sweep, and machine-age energy. Deceptive lyricism explodes into percussive sparkle and sardonic bite. Castanets snap. Harmonies shift sideways without warning. The finale bristles with rhythmic argument between piano and orchestra, culminating in a dazzling, hard-won triumph.
Performing this “devilishly difficult” concerto is Stewart Goodyear. Returning to Annapolis for the third time, Goodyear bridges tradition and innovation with rare fluency. His interpretations are an ideal match for Prokofiev’s mercurial brilliance.
Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite defines the sound of American symphonic storytelling. Each movement is a musical postcard of the West: the glowing stillness of “Sunrise,” the shimmering mystery of the “Painted Desert,” the rhythmic hoofbeats of “On the Trail,” the burnished lyricism of “Sunset,” and the theatrical spectacle of “Cloudburst,” complete with wind machine and thunder sheet. Grofé once described being spellbound by the canyon at dawn, unable to describe it in words. So he described it in sound.
Photo credit Alison Harbaugh, Stormking
TICKETING
Tickets start at $25. Check the online seating chart to select $25 seats.
Single tickets for this performance will be available for sale beginning August 1, 2026.
A Sunday 3 PM matinee including only Britten’s Four Sea Interludes and Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite is available. Due to the shortened program, we have priced the performance accordingly. Learn more.
Signature Series Subscribers can use their 20% off discount to save on additional tickets to this concert. Please purchase tickets through your Patron Portal starting August 1, 2026. The discount will be automatically applied.
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).