OLGA KERN PLAYS RACH 2

MASTERWORKS 5: OLGA KERN PLAYS RACH 2 With Romeo & Juliet Friday, February 5 & Saturday, February 6, 2027 Rachmaninoff’s hugely successful Piano Concerto No. 2 remains an audience favorite, as well as a challenge to pianists more than 125 years after it was written. Rachmaninoff, an accomplished pianist, couldn’t have predicted that his work would inspire so many songs and films with its moving, sweeping melodies. The phenomenal Olga Kern returns to perform with the Charleston Symphony in this monumental work, showcasing her skillful talent. Prokofiev’s Suite from Romeo and Juliet easily stands on its own, as it first premiered in concert, without the full ballet score. With captivating music, Prokofiev skillfully portrays the characters, the story, and the setting of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers’ tragedy. PROGRAM Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920) Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) “Clouds” (from Roman Sketches) Piano Concerto No. 2 Suite from Romeo and Juliet ARTISTS John Morris Russell, Conductor Olga Kern, Piano NOTEWORTHY Grammy Award-nominated artist John Morris Russell has been the conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra since 2011, is Music Director of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, and has worked with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Pops and National Symphony Orchestra. Charles Tomlinson Griffes, an American composer, wrote a short, four-piece piano suite, Roman Sketches. “Clouds,” which musically depicts the sky, was the final piece in the suite. At 17, Kern was awarded first prize at the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition, and in 2001, she launched her U.S. career, winning a historic Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition — the only woman in the last 50 years to do so.