Paul Dykstra Plays Tchaikovsky with Great Bay Philharmonic —Inaugural Performance!
Paul Dykstra plays Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1 with Great Bay Philharmonic Orchestra
David Upham, Conductor
On October 20th, international pianist Paul Dykstra will perform Tchaikovsky’s famous Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor with Great Bay Philharmonic Orchestra in The Music Hall’s Historic Theater.
This highly anticipated concert is the inaugural performance of the new, regional, and all-professional Great Bay Philharmonic Orchestra, comprised of the finest players in New England.
If you are not familiar with the importance of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No 1, we need to go back 60 years to the Cold War. In 1958, the USSR created the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow with the sole purpose of showing the Soviet’s “cultural superiority.” But when 23-year-old Texan, Van Cliburn, performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the finale, he earned an eight-minute-long standing ovation and the top prize. In fact, before presenting the first-place award to Cliburn, the judges had to ask permission to give it to an American. The Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev said, “Is he the best? Then give him the prize!” The performance became a classical music and cultural sensation and literally helped relieve international tensions at the height of the Cold War. To this day music lovers of all generations associate this masterpiece among the greatest piano and orchestra music of all time.
Join us on October 20th for a remarkable twofold celebration: The inaugural performance of Great Bay Philharmonic Orchestra and the 60th anniversary of the historic performance of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1, with Paul Dykstra at the piano and Great Bay Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of David Upham. The event will also feature Rossini’s The Barber of Seville Overture and Bizet’s Symphony in C Major.
This concert is presented by our Rental Partner, David Wold Associates, and with thanks to generous sponsors: The Closet Connection; the LaPorta Family; Tom Lavoie Photography; Darrell’s Music Hall – Nashua “The Piano People since 1969;” Evolve Senior Living at Rye, “Assisted Living Memory Care & Compassion;” Demeters Steakhouse; Granite State Pathology Assistance, LLC; PARMA Music Festival; Lisa and Frank Pampreen and Family; and Pike’s Kids—Peace, Love & Music.
Excellent seats are available. Get your tickets now here, at TheMusicHall.org, over the phone at 603.436.2400, or in person at the B2W Box Office at 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth.