The Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes is setting a spooky mood a little early this year with its “Phantoms and Fantasies” concert at the Corning Museum of Glass.
“We’re performing a Halloween program a little earlier,” said Music Director Toshiyuki Shimada. “They’re already selling pumpkins and decorating houses, so I think it’s acceptable to celebrate now.”
The first half of the concert features classical favorites with a dark twist, including Gounod’s Funeral March of a Marionette — familiar to many as the theme from The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. “It’s a delightful piece, and any Halloween concert must have Saint-Saëns’ Danse macabre,” Shimada said. The orchestra will also play Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain — “a masterpiece… scary in a way, but it ends with peace at dawn” — and two movements from Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. “It’s such a great imagination, such a romantic piece,” Shimada added.
The second half shifts to the silver screen. “We’re performing Franz Waxman’s music from Bride of Frankenstein, Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho — especially that famous stabbing scene — and John Williams’ scores for Harry Potter and E.T.,” said Shimada. The program closes with songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, featuring soprano Katrina Kuka and tenor Seamus Buxton.
The Corning Museum of Glass will add to the atmosphere with lighting and visual effects. “It’s interesting, delightful — and not too scary,” Shimada promised.
“Phantoms and Fantasies” takes place Saturday, October 18 at 7:00 p.m. in the Corning Museum of Glass auditorium.
For more information, visit osfl.org