Photo via Wisconsin Philharmonic - Facebook
Wisconsin Philharmonic
Music director Alexander Platt of the Wisconsin Philharmonic has selected compositions for a spring program “celebrating DC and Marvel Comics, and Star Wars.” You, and especially the younger members of your family, will recognize themes from Superman, Batman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Black Panther, The Avengers and Spider-Man. And for the older people, there’s the Overture to William Tell by Rossini reaching back to the days of “The Lone Ranger” (I’m dating myself).
Classical composers, in the years before comics, movies and TV also composed pieces that were programmatic in nature such as Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, or “comic” in tone, such as Schumann’s Carnaval. Operas are obviously tied to stories. Classical composers have frequently worked in Hollywood and were featured by the Philharmonic in their program last year, “Classical Magic.”
Hearing and seeing the music performed in a concert setting is a wonderful way to introduce more traditional symphonic music to a wider audience. Carol Young will be the guest pianist joining the orchestra in the first movement of Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Young is the winner of the Chapman Memorial Piano Prize of the Shining Stars 2024 Competition sponsored by the Wisconsin Philharmonic. Abby Jo Lorenz is the narrator for this program.
“In the strains of Rossini’s ‘William Tell’ Overture, you really have a thrilling call to freedom—in this case, based on the actual story of a young man in Switzerland, fighting for the cause of liberty,” says conductor Alexander Pratt. “His futuristic comrade in that quest would most definitely be Luke Skywalker, the hero of the original movie Star Wars—a film that gave the world some of the greatest movie music of all time. Set truly in a heroic mold, John Williams’ original score, here presented in an indestructible symphonic medley, truly never wears out its welcome!”
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
To quote from the Wisconsin Philharmonic’s site: “Get ready for a heroic musical adventure!”
The Wisconsin Philharmonic will perform “Superheroes” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13 at Oconomowoc Arts Center, 641 E. Forest Street, Oconomowoc.
