The South Bend Symphony recently completed the masterworks concert series celebrating their 90th anniversary season. They presented works by Romantic composers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
University of Notre Dame pianist Päivi Ekroth performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, which is one of Rachmaninoff’s most technically demanding concertos. This is Ekroth's personal favorite concerto, not only due to its complexity and beauty but also because it was the catalyst for her moving to the United States in 1996.
A native of Finland, Paivi heard the late Alexander Toradze perform Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3 in Helsinki. Päivi was so inspired by this performance that she decided to move to South Bend, Indiana in order to study with him at Indiana University South Bend.
Twenty-seven years later, Ekroth found herself performing that same piece with the South Bend Symphony and Maestro Alastair Willis on the stage of the Morris Performing Arts Center.
If you missed this dazzling performance you can listen to it on WAUS 90.7 FM on Sunday, June 4th at 6 pm.