"Two of the works on this program are associated with my Italian American heritage. Since my childhood, I have loved the Mendelssohn for its energy. The composer was only 22 when he visited Italy, the inspiration for this work, and in it you really feel the exuberance of his youth. Then you have Respighi, who was Italy's great orchestral master. There is no better example of the power and splendor of the full symphony orchestra than his
Pines of Rome; this is the grandaddy of all symphonic poems. After intermission, Garrick Ohlsson scales 'the Mountain,' as pianists call Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto...They were made for each other!" -
John DeMain
