https://my.bsomusic.org/overview/19596

PROGRAM

Jonathon Heyward, conductor
Francesca Dego, violin

MARK SIMPSON Israfel [based on Israfel by Edgar Allan Poe] (U.S. premiere)
PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 2
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

ABOUT

Music Director Jonathon Heyward welcomes Italian-American violinist Francesca Dego for Prokofiev's dark and brooding Violin Concerto No. 2. Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique evokes the passions of a tortured artist, while Mark Simpson's Israfel adds to the mysterious mood in homage to one of Baltimore's most famous residents: Edgar Allan Poe.

• Italian-American violinist Francesca Dego, a rising star in Europe praised for her "finespun tone, exquisite timing and enchanting musical inquisitiveness" (BBC Magazine), makes her BSO debut. In 2022, Dego joined Music Director Jonathon Heyward and the London Symphony Orchestra in a celebrated recording of music by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

• Hector Berlioz's groundbreaking Symphonie fantastique depicts the opium-induced fantasy of a tortured artist unlucky in love. This five-movement symphony uses vivid melodies and inventive orchestration to bring its gripping story to life, making it clear to follow for both new and seasoned listeners.

• Mark Simpson's Israfel pays homage to a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, telling of an angel "whose heart-strings are a lute, and who has the sweetest voice of all God’s creatures." This is part of the "Tales of Poe" Festival of spooky, Poe-inspired events at the BSO this fall.

  Thursday, October 23, 2025 8:00PM, Music Center at Strathmore

  Friday, October 24, 2025 8:00PM, The Clarice

  Sunday, October 26, 2025 3:00PM, Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall