Orpheus with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers

Dr. Aaron S. Litwak ’42 Concert Orpheus continues its 40th anniversary excursion through the great Western symphonies with the heroic and magisterial final symphony by Mozart, his C-Major Symphony No. 41, and the early-career “Classical” Symphony by Sergei Prokofiev, in which the Russian master, soon to evolve into a firebrand modernist, paid homage to the purity and balance of the Viennese classical tradition. Enriching the evening’s musical palette is the Concerto for Violin by Samuel Barber, premiered in Philadelphia in 1939. As soloist for its first excursion through Barber’s landmark creation, Orpheus has enlisted the formidable talents of Anne Akiko Meyers, praised by conductor Andrew Litton: “Such luxuriant richness of tone invested Barber with a rare profundity, while the moto perpetuo finale had a brilliance that convincingly carried its own dramatic logic.” The Huffington Post praised her playing as “shamefully gorgeous.” The New York Times wrote, “Her playing was unspooled with impressive refinement, emotional freedom and tonal depth” and the Los Angeles Times praised her “Vigorous mastery, unflinching technical skills and stylish elegance.”