Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra offers a night of romance

The romantic sounds of two works by Claude Debussy will bookend Camille Saint-Saens’ “Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor” when the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra presents “La Mer” on May 4 at the Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church. Around 70 musicians will perform.

“This concert sort of started with the concerto,” revealed Music Director and Conductor Stephen Alltop. “I had been hearing a lot about Alexander Hersh. He’s a very fine player and he had just made his Carnegie Hall debut. I thought it would be really nice to feature him. We talked about what he might do and he has a special love and connection with the Saint-Saens first cello concerto.”

“I have such a special feeling towards it because it was the first cello concerto I was assigned by my teacher when I was 10 years old,” Hersh reported. “I thought I had made it. I felt like a grownup.”

Hersh said that it’s an incredible piece. “There’s three sections, but it never stops,” Hersh said. “It’s only 18 minutes, which is pretty short for a cello concerto, but it’s packed with so much drama and sweep and energy. It’s timeless. It was great when I was 10 and it’s even better now.”

The cellist said that he has performed the concerto several times since his experience with it when he was 10.

“It’s a really great concerto,” Alltop agreed. “It’s very rhapsodic, it has a really elegant middle movement, almost classical, but very romantic in the outer sections. He’ll be wonderful in that.”

Following the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra performance, Hersh will have a busy touring schedule at concerts and festivals in Spain; Mexico; Portland, Oregon; California; and Miami, Florida. “And I have my own chamber musical festival in Chicago at the end of August, called NEXUS Chamber Music,” Hersh said.

Hersh, who comes from a long line of professional musicians has been playing the cello since he was five years old. “I’m the fourth generation,” he said. “I knew I wanted to be a professional musician from as long as I can remember.”

He earned an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston.

In scheduling the upcoming concert, Alltop decided to “go all French.”

The concert will open with Debussy’s “Iberia.”

“It’s very sophisticated music but also really evocative of Spain,” Alltop said. “You feel Spanish dancing. There’s the kind of perfume of the garden at night in the second section and then the festival.”

The final selection will be Debussy’s “La Mer.”

“It’s one of the most unique poems. It’s so thoroughly in Debussy’s own language,” Alltop said. “It’s such an attractive piece. He so vividly depicts the play of the waves in the ocean. You feel like you’re at the sea.”

He noted that the piece calls for eight cellos in one passage. Fortunately, the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra has a large cello section.

Alltop concluded, “One of the fun things about being a music director is selecting the music for the season.”

There will be a 5:45 p.m. preconcert lecture by Assistant Conductor Eli Chen.

Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.

‘La Mer’

When: 7 p.m. May  4

Where: Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra at Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church, 149 W. Brush Hill Road, Elmhurst

Tickets: $35-$45; seniors $32-$42; students $12

Information: 630-941-0202; elmhurstsymphony.org