DuPage Symphony Orchestra "Echoes of East and West"
Virtuoso percussionist Mitya Nilov, lauded for performing "with passion and intensity," joins the DSO at Wentz Concert Hall to present Keiko Abe's mesmerizing Prism Rhapsody for marimba and orchestra. Claude Debussy's "Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun" and Gustav Holst's "Japanese Suite" round out the Oriental-flavored first half of the program. Ludwig van Beethoven's seminal "Symphony No. 5 in c minor" - probably the most famous as well as the most influential symphony in the entire orchestral literature - makes up the second half of the concert, and serves as the first offering in the DuPage Symphony's salutation to the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth. From its unforgettable motto opening of the initial "Allegro con brio" movement to the dual-themed "Andante con moto," through the mysterious "Scherzo" to the brilliant and triumphant "Finale," the Beethoven Fifth captivates the listener's attention throughout, with its remarkably wide expressive range and its compelling structural power.