For opening night, George Li, one of the most sought-after young pianists on the scene today, tackles one of the greatest piano concertos ever written. Filled with joy, beauty, and heartbreaking tenderness, this is not the stomping and thrashing-about Beethoven of caricature. From the rising “fountains” of piano in the opening moments, to the ever-so-soft transition from the second into the final movement, the romance of this piece distances it from its classical predecessors. The season opens with the Star Spangled Banner, of course, followed by Jesse Montgomery’s Banner, a rhapsody on the theme of its famous predecessor.

Tchaikovsky’s theme and variations in a Rococo style is one of the most performed cello concertos in the repertoire. The composer himself defined “Rococo” as “a carefree feeling of well-being.” It’s a warm-hearted, gracious, and charming work, featuring Amos Yang, the Festival’s own Principal Cello, as soloist. Mozart fans will love Schubert’s fifth symphony, an uplifting piece full of jaunty and light melodies, any one of which you’re likely to find yourself humming on the way home.

It’s a rare treat to hear two world-class pianists at the same time, so mark your calendars for this performance by George Li and Peter Henderson, the Festival’s Principal Keyboard. They’ll play Schubert’s Fantasy in F Minor, a haunting piece, in which according to one critic, “we hear Schubert’s soul pouring itself out like a nightingale in the flowering shrubs.” Following, Festival musicians join Li for Schumann’s Piano Quintet, a piece widely regarded as one of the composer’s finest compositions. It was the first piano quintet ever written and was premiered featuring the composer’s spouse, pianist Clara Schumann (a gifted musician in her own right!).

In 1942, the BBC commissioned Benjamin Britten to put six English poems to music as a portrayal of life in England. The authors included Tennyson, Blake, and Keats. Tenor Nicholas Phan and Principal Horn William VerMeulen will converse through music in Britten’s resulting Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings. In Mother Goose., Maurice Ravel set five fairy tales to music as a gift to two children of his good friends for them to play on the piano. He later turned it into a complete ballet score, which the Festival Orchestra will perform in this concert.