Opening Night: The Witching Hour

Saturday, October 11
Singletary Center for the Arts

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Program

Anna Clyne - This Midnight Hour

Franz Liszt - Totentanz (Dance of Death)

Spencer Myer, piano

Intermission

Hector Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique

Artists

Lexington Philharmonic

Mélisse Brunet, conductor

Spencer Myer, piano

Duration

2 Hours

About the Music

“’Tis now the very witching time of night” (Shakespeare’s Hamlet). The Witching Hour explores the sublime, the mystical, and the spectral across three spellbinding works.

The night begins with This Midnight Hour by Anna Clyne, an atmospheric work inspired by the dark resonance of the low strings and two poems — La musica (The Music) by Juan Ramón Jiménez and Harmonie du soir (Evening Harmony) by Charles Baudelaire. From cascading string gestures to ghostly quarter-tone viola waltzes, the piece takes listeners on a haunting visceral journey.

Acclaimed pianist Spencer Myer then joins the orchestra for Liszt’s Totentanz (Dance of Death), a dazzling tour de force that transforms the ancient Dies Irae chant into a thrilling display of virtuosity. Fierce and flashy, this work crackles with energy and theatrical flair — Liszt at his most audacious.

We conclude The Witching Hour with Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. This revolutionary work, fueled by the composer’s unrequited love and opium-induced visions, is a kaleidoscope of emotion, from pastoral longing to bizarre hallucination. With the thunderous “March to the Scaffold” procession and the grotesque revelry of the “Witches’ Sabbath,” this piece is a masterwork of dramatic storytelling, brimming with bold instrumentation, eerie effects, and orchestral virtuosity.

Tickets & More

Single tickets to Opening Night: The Witching Hour are offered at three pricing levels for adults. Section A is $78, Section B is $53, and Section C is $28. Adult single tickets are subject to a $5 processing fee. Youth & Students with a valid ID are $11. Avoid the fees and become a subscriber.

Date

Saturday, October 11

Times

Concert Begins at 7:30PM

Venue

Singletary Center for the Arts
405 Rose Street
Lexington, Kentucky
40508

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Meet the Artist & Composers

Spencer Myer

Pianist
Lauded for “superb playing” and “poised, alert musicianship” by The Boston Globe and labeled “definitely a man to watch” by London’s The Independent, American pianist Spencer Myeris one of the most respected and sought-after artists on today’s concert stages.
Spencer Myer’s current season includes touring throughout the United States, highlighted by his Opening Night debut with Kentucky’s Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Myer continues as half of the Daurov/Myer Duo, having teamed up with the award-winning cellist Adrian Daurov in 2012.
Spencer Myer is a Steinway Artist.
More at spencermyer.com
Anna Clyne

Composer
Described as a “composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods” by the New York Times and as “fearless” by NPR, GRAMMY-nominated Anna Clyne is one of the most in demand and widely performed composers today, working with orchestras, choreographers, filmmakers, and visual artists around the world.
In 2020, AVIE Records released Mythologies, a portrait album featuring Clyne's works Masquerade, This Midnight Hour, The Seamstress, Night Ferry, and <<rewind<<, recorded live by the BBC Symphony Orchestra with soloists Jennifer Koh and Irene Buckley and conductors Marin Alsop, Sakari Oramo, Andrew Litton, and André de Ridder. Alsop, a longtime champion of Clyne’s work, praised her, stating: “Anna Clyne is someone I look to for great music. It’s always emotional and driven by her heart, but skillfully composed.”
More at annaclyne.com.
Franz Liszt

Composer
Born: October 22, 1811
Died: July 31, 1886
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most prolific and influential composers of his era, and his piano works continue to be widely performed and recorded.
Totentanz (Dance of Death): Paraphrase on Dies irae, S.126, is the name of a work for solo piano and orchestra by Franz Liszt notable for being based on the Gregorian plainchant melody Dies irae as well as for stylistic innovations. It was first planned in 1838, completed and published in 1849, and revised in 1853 and 1859.
Hector Berlioz

Composer
Born: December 11, 1803
Died: March 8, 1869
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the Symphonie fantastique and Harold in Italy, choral pieces including the Requiem and L'Enfance du Christ, his three operas Benvenuto Cellini, Les Troyens and Béatrice et Bénédict, and works of hybrid genres such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and the "dramatic legend" La Damnation de Faust.
Berlioz wrote the Symphonie fantastique in 1830 accompanied by semi-autobiographical programme notes for the piece that allude to the romantic sufferings of a gifted artist who has poisoned himself with opium because of his unrequited love for a beautiful and fascinating woman (in real life, the Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson, who in 1833 became the composer's wife).