The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) launches their 2025/26 season with a concert that showcases early masterpieces by three iconic composers of the Western classical canon, along with a work by HPO composer-in-residence Abigail Richardson-Schulte.
HPO Music Director, James Kahane leads the orchestra for a program of music by Sibelius, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich along with Richardson-Schulte, and features pianist Roman Rabinovich.
“Despite them being early career works, each composer already had distinct and well-established skills that allowed them to be proud of their work — which wasn’t always the case with other composers and artists,” said Music Director James Kahane in a statement.
“I am thrilled to begin the journey of our 25-26 season alongside the orchestra musicians and incredible talent Roman Rabinovich as soloist.”
The Music
The program includes the early works of four composers.
Jean Sibelius, En Saga
The work is titled Satu in Sibelius’ native Finnish, and translates to fairy tale or legend. He wrote the work, his Op. 9 as a tone poem in one movement for orchestra, and completed it in 1892 at the age of 27. He revised it a decade later at the invitation of Ferruccio Busoni, who wanted to conduct it in Berlin. While it’s evocative of Finnish landscapes and legends, Sibelius described the piece as “an adventure in an inner landscape”, and later added, “in no other work have I revealed myself so completely.”
Sergei Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 1
Prokofiev wrote his Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1911 at the age of 22, when he was still a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. It’s the shortest of his concertos at about 15 minutes long, and he wrote to perform himself to enter a piano competition in 1912. His strategy worked, and he won both a grand piano, and the grand prize at the Rubinstein competition. Critical opinion was mixed; Prokofiev was already pushing the traditional boundaries of form and harmony.
Abigail Richardson-Schulte, Eris
The HPO’s composer-in-residence wrote Eris in 2007, early in her career. It takes its inspiration, and name, from the Greek goddess of the same name. Eris was the goddess of strife and discord, and she gave birth to evil spirits. She played a key role in sparking the Trojan War in mythology. Eris is also the name of a dwarf planet in our Solar System, the second largest. The piece takes listeners to the icy plains of the planetoid, where perhaps the disruptive goddess lives.
Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 1
Shostakovich wrote his Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10, in 1924–1925. He wrote the symphony at the age of 18 to complete the graduation requirements of the Leningrad Conservatory where he studied. Dmitri had only been 10 when the February Revolution swept in Communist rule of Russia, and studied in now-St. Petersburg during tumultuous times. There were fuel and even food shortages. In 1921, Alexander Glazunov, composer and director of the conservatory, wrote a luckily successful petition to bureaucrats to increase Shostakovich’s rations. His father died before graduation, and he had to take on extra work playing piano for silent films to help the family. His personal style and voice are already apparent in the music.
Pianist Roman Rabinovich
Pianist Roman Rabinovich launched his career with a timely win at the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition. Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Roman emigrated with his family to Israel. He studied at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music.
He has since performed at prominent stages in North America and in Europe, including Carnegie Hall, Cité de la Musique, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Wigmore Hall, and has become known for his wide ranging repertoire. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras and ensembles such as the Israel Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Prague Symphony, KBS Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Sarasota Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, and Edmonton Symphony, among others.
In addition to his performing career, Roman is also a composer and visual artist.
The Concert
The concert takes place on September 20 at FirstOntario Concert Hall in Hamilton. Abigail Richardson-Schulte will also host a pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. on the day of the concert, as well as a Talk & Tea event on Friday, September 19 to discuss the history of the works.
- Find tickets and more details [HERE].
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