Echoes of Russia
Tchaikovsky’s devastating Pathétique, rising young violinists, and a season finale built for the concert hall.
A program filled with elegance, tension, rising talent, and one of the most emotionally overwhelming endings in orchestral music.
On Sunday, May 17, 2026, the La Mirada Symphony closes its season with Echoes of Russia, a program moving from theatrical energy and virtuosic violin performances into the emotional collapse of Tchaikovsky’s legendary Pathétique.
Under the direction of Music Director and Conductor Alan Mautner, the concert brings together Dmitri Kabalevsky, Mozart, Henri Vieuxtemps, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for an afternoon that grows increasingly intense as it unfolds.
It is music designed for a live room. The orchestra surges forward. The silences stretch. The emotional atmosphere changes from movement to movement until the final notes fade almost into darkness.
The final movement does not end in triumph. It fades into silence.Echoes of Russia · May 17, 2026
The afternoon begins with momentum and contrast.
The concert opens with Dmitri Kabalevsky’s Overture to Colas Breugnon, a work filled with theatrical brightness, rhythmic propulsion, and quick-moving orchestral color.
Dmitri Kabalevsky’s Overture to Colas Breugnon, Op. 24, opens with explosive energy, rhythmic drive, and a sense of theatrical excitement that immediately pulls the audience into the concert. Written in 1938 as the curtain-raiser to his opera of the same name, the overture is celebrated for its bright orchestral color, virtuosic momentum, and playful spirit.
The emotional architecture of the concert is built through contrast — elegance against intensity, control against emotional release.
Two rising violinists step onto the stage.
Winston Tian performs Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K.216, one of the composer’s most graceful and transparent concertos. The work demands balance, clarity, and precision while still feeling alive and lyrical.
David Wang then performs the Allegro non troppo from Henri Vieuxtemps’ Concerto in A Minor, Op. 37, a Romantic work filled with sweeping phrasing, dramatic tension, and virtuosic momentum.
Together, the performances reflect the La Mirada Symphony’s continued commitment to presenting young musicians before a live orchestral audience.
The Pathétique still lands like a shockwave.
After intermission, the La Mirada Symphony performs Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, the Pathétique, one of the most emotionally devastating symphonies ever written.
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, known as the Pathétique, was the composer’s final completed symphony and remains one of the most emotionally powerful works in orchestral music. Premiered in 1893 just nine days before Tchaikovsky’s death, the symphony is often viewed as deeply personal, filled with themes of love, loss, vulnerability, and resignation.
Unlike most symphonies of its time, the Pathétique does not end in triumph. Instead, the final movement fades into grief and silence, creating one of the most haunting endings ever written for the concert hall.
- Adagio: Allegro non troppo
- Allegro con grazia
- Allegro molto vivace
- Adagio lamentoso
The ending changes the entire room.
The third movement of the Pathétique often feels like the symphony’s conclusion. It surges forward with energy and momentum so intensely that audiences sometimes begin applauding before realizing the piece is not over.
Then the final movement begins, and the emotional atmosphere completely shifts. Instead of triumph, Tchaikovsky offers vulnerability, resignation, and grief.
Experiencing that transition live is what makes the symphony unforgettable. The silence after the ending becomes part of the performance itself.
For audiences who love emotionally charged orchestral music, this is the kind of concert that stays with you long after the final note disappears.
Concert details.
La Mirada Symphony Presents
Echoes of Russia
Date: Sunday, May 17, 2026
Pre-Concert Lecture: 2:15 PM
Concert: 3:00 PM
Location:
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
14900 La Mirada Blvd
La Mirada, CA 90638
Admission:
Free Admission · No Tickets Required · General Seating
Hear it live.
Join the La Mirada Symphony for a season finale featuring Kabalevsky, Mozart, Vieuxtemps, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, Pathétique.