Martines - Overture to “Isacco”
Composer Marianna Martines
A remarkable figure in the musical life of 18th-century Vienna, Marianna Martines was a celebrated composer, keyboardist, and singer at a time when few women could achieve such recognition. A student of both Joseph Haydn and Niccolò Porpora, and a contemporary of Mozart, Martines developed a distinctive voice that blended the elegance of the Classical style with the expressive lyricism of Italian opera. Isacco figura del Redentore (Isaac, Figure of the Redeemer) is a sacred oratorio based on the Old Testament story of Abraham and Isaac, drawing a parallel between Isaac’s near-sacrifice and Christ’s Passion. The work was first performed in 1780 and showcases Martines' gift for dramatic storytelling through music.The Overture to Isacco is an energetic and brilliant opening, structured in three concise sections that recall the sinfonia style typical of Italian opera. It brims with vivid orchestral colors, crisp rhythms, and lyrical melodies. The music’s spirited character and clear formal design immediately draw the listener into the emotional world of the oratorio, setting the stage for the profound drama to follow.Today, Martines is increasingly recognized not only as a historical curiosity but as a masterful composer in her own right, and works like the Isacco overture reveal her extraordinary talent and her rightful place alongside the great figures of the Classical era.
Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 21, K. 467
Mozart composed his Piano Concerto No. 21 during one of the most astonishingly productive periods of his life. Written in 1785, the concerto was completed just one day before its first performance in Vienna, with Mozart himself as the soloist. It stands among his most beloved concertos, praised for its seamless fusion of virtuosic brilliance and lyrical beauty. Throughout, Mozart’s mastery of balance between soloist and orchestra, drama and charm, is fully on display, offering a shining example of the Classical concerto at its height.
Chi-Chen Wu, piano
Dr. Chi-Chen Wu
As a pianist active in performing, recording, teaching and research, Dr. Chi-Chen Wu is equally at home in the worlds of contemporary and classical music as well as historical performance practice. Recently making her Carnegie Hall debut with the Helios trio, Wu has appeared as recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist in the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Luxembourg, Japan, Taiwan, China, Thailand, among others. She has performed at numerous festivals including Aspen, Monadnock, and the Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concert Series. Her live performances have been broadcast on NPR’s live performance programs Simply Grand Concert Series, From The Top, and many others. Chi-Chen’s musical collaborations include performances with Augustin Hadelich, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Zuill Bailey, Guy Johnston, members of the Juilliard String Quartet, Takács String Quartet, and musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (Continue reading here).
Oliveira - Resiliens
Winner of the 2025 LCO Call-for-Scores
Resiliens describes the resilience principle in this follow way: in order to not to predict certain musical gestures by the listener and, therefore, to generate interest, some musical materials receive several ways of pressure, such as application of abrupt sounds in the middle of the musical discourse, momentary interruption, superimposition of melodies in a passacaglia, and receive several ways of variation as well. The power of recovery of certain sonorities is demonstrated too after the use of dissonances and overpressure in the string friction.
Composer Helder Oliveira
Helder Alves de Oliveira, Brazilian composer, pianist and music educator, holds a PhD in Music Composition from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), under the guidance of professor Liduino Pitombeira. He studied composition with Danilo Guanais, Manoel Nascimento, Rodrigo Cicchelli and Liduino Pitombeira. Helder was a 2019–20 Fulbright Visiting Researcher at LSU, under the supervision of professor Jeffrey Perry, and has received several composition awards in Brazil, USA, Germany, Portugal, Canada, Ireland and Denmark, such as two Funarte Classic Composition Awards (2012 and 2016), 1st place in the 5th Concurso de Composição da Academia de Flauta de Verão, 1st place in the A Hymn for Mercy Competition 2019, the Internationalen Eisenacher Bach Kompositionspreis 2020, 2021 Dolphy Prize, and 1st place in the 2023 Northwest Horn Symposium Composition Contest (Continue reading here).
Beethoven - Symphony No. 8, Op. 93
Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony occupies a unique place in his symphonic output. Written in 1812, during a period of personal stress and ill health, it is perhaps his most cheerful and humorous work—bursting with invention, charm, and wit. While it follows the classical four-movement structure, the Eighth is no mere throwback. It teems with Beethoven’s signature boldness, rhythmic surprises, and an unmistakable sense of mischief. Unlike the weighty Seventh Symphony, which preceded it, the Eighth is more compact and light-hearted. Beethoven jokingly referred to it as “my little Symphony in F,” though the music itself is anything but slight. Though it was initially overshadowed by his more monumental works, the Eighth Symphony has since been embraced for its charm, craftsmanship, and the unique glimpse it offers into Beethoven’s playful side.