The Columbian: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra rides wave of enthusiasm into 45th year, opens season with Prokofiev

The Columbian
By James Bash

Eager to build on the success of August’s Vancouver Arts & Music Festival that drew crowds to Esther Short Park, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is loading up a panoply of terrific concerts for its 45th season.

Music Director Salvador Brotons has scheduled a vibrant mix of beloved gems and less familiar works. That should appeal to patrons and attract newbies to Skyview Concert Hall, where the hometown orchestra has performed since 1999.

This weekend, the orchestra will kick off the season with Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 4 and two pieces that are favorites of classical music audiences: Ravel’s “Bolero” and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, which will feature virtuoso Antonio Pompa-Baldi.

A native of Italy, Antonio Pompa-Baldi started playing on a toy piano when he was just 3. The following year he began piano lessons and quickly excelled on the keyboard. As a young teenager, he won several competitions in Italy before winning the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 1999 and the silver medal at the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition

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Photo Credit: Paul Quackenbush