The Evanston Symphony Orchestra continues its 71st season, “Symphonic Blockbusters.” The next concert, conducted by Music Director Lawrence Eckerling, will begin at 2:30 p.m. on March 5 in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall on the Northwestern campus. The program includes works by Hector Berlioz and Frederick Chopin and features the ESO debut of pianist Sean Chen, the third-prize winner of the 2013 Cliburn Competition. Mr. Chen is replacing Kate Liu, who withdrew because of a performance-related injury.
The major work on the program is the “Symphonie Fantastique” of Hector Berlioz, an example of impressive advances in the art of orchestration, which premiered in December 1830 in Paris. Mr. Chen will take the solo role in the First Piano Concerto of Chopin, premiered in Warsaw in October 1830.