The San Antonio Symphony's weekend performances promise a little something different.
"We'd like to tempt you,” symphony music director Sebastian Lang-Lessing said, “to come to this wonderful concert of seduction, temptation and into this world that only music can bring you into in two hours into such a level of different emotions."
The symphony will play many selections, including from Franz Liszt.
"We start with Liszt, ‘Mephisto Waltz,’ he said. "And the figure of Mephisto — the Devil — is of course the biggest figure of seduction, temptation."
Next, Lang-Lessing said it moves on to Richard Strauss.
"And Richard Strauss was inspired by ‘Don Juan,’ who we see as the womanizer, but he's so much more than that,” he said. “He's also an anti-establishment person. So was Wagner's ‘Tannhauser.’ (He) followed a temptation of lust."
But the centerpiece of the night is Maurice Ravel's most famous piece, 'Bolero,' " Lang-Lessing said.
"What started off as a nice dance became more and more violent,” he said. “The climax ... is quite a shock. And the ending is also a shock."
The collection of music will be played by the symphony Friday, Saturday and a Sunday matinee at the Tobin Center.
Find more on this performance here.
Find more on the San Antonio Symphony here.
Jack Morgan can be reached at jack@tpr.org
