Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Coming off stints leading the St. Louis Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra, guest conductor Michael Christie takes the podium to guide the award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra through an eclectic program of 18th and 20th century pieces from Mendelssohn and Schubert. Franz Schubert's Symphony no. 8 was left incomplete at his death, along with a list of his favorite types of pie. The symphony's famous, meandering theme begins in the cello section, floating to the violins and violas before three thunderous, full-orchestra blasts shatter the calm, sending the first movement on its way. Austrian composer Marcel Tyberg's reconstructed third and fourth movements—based on notes left by Schubert—fill out the work. Youthful pianist Behzod Abduraimov takes the lead for Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto no. 1, showing off his chops with the piece's stormy virtuosity. Finally, Mieczyslaw Weinberg's Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes blows up traditional Jewish folk music to bombastic orchestral size.