Jean Sibelius Finlandia, Op. 26 Jean Sibelius was born in Tavestehus, Finland in 1865 and died in Järvenpää in 1957. He composed Finlandia in 1899 and led the first performance at a benefit concert for the Press Pension Fund at the Swedish Theater in Helsinki the same year. Finlandia is scored for 2 flutes, 2… Read More
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Beethoven & Rachmaninoff Program Notes
Purchase Tickets Ludwig van Beethoven Concerto for Piano & Orchestra No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn in 1770 and died in Vienna in 1827. Though we can’t be sure, he seems to have composed this concerto in 1795; it also seems likely that the first performance was… Read More
Dvořák’s “New World” Program Notes
Jean Sibelius Concerto for Violin & Orchestra in D minor, Op. 47 Jean Sibelius was born in Tavestehus, Finland in 1865 and died in Järvenpää in 1957. He composed his Violin Concerto between 1902 and 1904, and conducted the first performance with violinist Victor Nováček and the Helsingfors Philharmonic the same year. The concerto is… Read More
The Schumann Circle Program Notes
Johannes Brahms Tragic Overture in D minor, Op. 81 Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg in 1833 and died in Vienna in 1897. He composed this overture in 1880, though some of the materials had been previously composed in 1869. Brahms revised the work in 1881. The work was given its first performance in 1880… Read More
2019-20 Season Announcement
Music Director designate Eckart Preu announced his inaugural season as Music Director at the Portland Symphony Orchestra on January 26 in Merrill Auditorium. PSO Executive Director Carolyn Nishon welcomes Eckart with a brief summary of the director search project and PSO Director of Education and Community Engagement John Elliott introduces the PSO’s 2019-20 Family Discovery… Read More
Jaime Laredo Program Notes
Johann Sebastian Bach Concerto for Violin & Orchestra in A minor, BWV 1041 J.S. Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany in 1685 and died in Leipzig in 1750. He likely composed this work between 1717 and 1723, although some scholars think it came a few years later. The circumstances of its first performance are unknown…. Read More
Scheherazade Program Notes
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy after Shakespeare Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russia in 1840 and died in St. Petersburg in 1893. He composed Romeo and Juliet in 1869, revised the score extensively in 1870 and reworked the ending in 1880. The first performance took place in Moscow in 1870 with… Read More
Mozart with Kahane Program Notes
Wolfgang Amadè Mozart Concerto for Piano & Orchestra No. 17 in G major, K. 453 Wolfgang Amadè Mozart (he never used “Amadeus” except when making a joke) was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756 and died in Vienna in 1791. He composed this concerto for his student Babette Ployer in 1784. The first known performance… Read More
Mahler’s First Program Notes
Ernest Bloch Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello & Orchestra Ernest Bloch was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1880 and died in Portland, Oregon in 1959. He composed this work in 1915-1916, and led the first performance in Carnegie Hall, New York with Hans Kindler the soloist. The score calls for solo cello, 3 flutes, piccolo,… Read More




