What to expect at the Symphony! Should I stay or should I go?

Congratulations! You’ve been invited to attend the Symphony!

Now…what should you expect? Are the people in the audience with you going to be…

The Symphony Audience OLD?RICH?

The Symphony Audience STUFFY?SNOBBY?

And what will I hear when I get there? Will it be…

Boring…or just…boring?

The truth is…Symphony Orchestras want you in the audience!

So what are they doing about it?

Alternative programming

Alternative formats

But even without these things, can symphony concerts still be interesting?

So…what will I be hearing? This guy...

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ) Russian – late-Romantic period First Russian composer to achieve international success - conductor Studied to become a civil servant Nationalist composer

Critical response, emotional turmoil "The furious peroration sounds like nothing so much as a hoard of demons struggling in a torrent of brandy, the music growing drunker and drunker. Pandemonium, delirium tremens, raving, and above all noise worse confounded!” Depression, emotional instability Depression, emotional instability Patronage of Nadezhda von Meck

Romeo & Juliet Fantasy- Overture Symphonic poem Final version completed in 1880, premiered in 1886 (first version – 1870) Lots of references in pop culture – The Sims, Ren & Stimpy, South Park, SpongeBob

Piano Concerto No. 1 First version – 1875 Final version – 1888 Among the best known of all piano concertos Rubinstein, the pianist for whom the work was written, was not initially impressed

Symphony No. 5 Composed and premiered in 1888 "... a complete resignation before fate, which is the same as the inscrutable predestination of fate..."

And now…the big questions… What do I wear?When do I clap?

Life is a collection of experiences…

…and…it’s just one night!