Join us on Friday, February 6, departing from the front commons at 6:30 pm for Masterworks: An Evening with Emanuel Ax

In this program, the Charleston Symphony will perform two pieces that were written by Johannes Brahms 25 years apart: Symphony No. 3, written at age 50, and Piano Concerto No.1, composed in 1858 at just 25 years old.

Brahms was himself a virtuoso on the piano, and his pieces for the instrument, such as his First Piano Concerto, are known to reflect his superb skill. Not to be missed on this performance is one of the world’s greatest living pianists, Emanuel Ax, who returns to perform with the CSO for the first time since 2011.

Brahms’s significant talent for orchestration is demonstrated in the complex and expressive Third Symphony. The work traverses and celebrates the delicacy of quietness balanced with energetic intensity. Much-admired conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto, the music director of the North Carolina Symphony, will debut with the CSO at this concert. Prieto was described by The Times (London) as “a dynamic presence on the podium” in 2023.