Description: Story-telling is at the heart of our second Masterworks.  We open with Mendelssohn’s overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Written when he was just 17, it perfectly captures the spirit of the play—a curious combination of playfulness and foreboding.  After intermission is Ravel’s evocative ballet score for Mother Goose.  Marrying his extraordinary palate of orchestral color and texture with his melodic gifts, he sets familiar tales like Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast.  In between Chopin’s gorgeous and virtuoso second piano concerto. While it has no literal story to tell, Chopin relies on a musical narrative to lead us through a full range of emotions. 

Drew Petersen is the winner of the 2017 American Pianists Awards.