Candlelight Concert - Mendelssohn Symphony & Mendelssohn Piano Concerto

Artists

David Hayes, music director
Henry Kramer, piano

Program

Hailstork – Lachrymosa: 1919
Mendelssohn – Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25
Mendelssohn – Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 11

David Hayes conducts the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia featuring virtuoso pianist Henry Kramer performing Felix Mendelssohn’s brilliant Piano Concerto No. 1. The program opens with Adolphus Hailstork’s Lachrymosa: 1919, a moving and richly lyrical work full of expressive melodies in an intimate orchestration. Mendelssohn’s captivating concerto, renowned for its virtuosic energy and melodic beauty follows, showcasing Kramer’s extraordinary artistry. The concert concludes with a performance of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 11, written just prior to his famous Octet for Strings, when the composer was only fifteen years old!

Henry Kramer made his debut with the Chamber Orchestra in 2024 performing Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet and Strings with Mary Elizabeth Bowden. He has a reputation for exuding a rare sensitivity with insightful and exuberant interpretations. He was a prizewinner in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and received an Avery Fisher Career Grant by Lincoln Center – one of the most coveted honors bestowed on young American soloists.