Share

Each year, The Buffalo Academy for Visual & Performing Arts joins the BPO for an in-depth side-by-side experience for the music department students, while also providing a showcase for all the disciplines at BAVPA, including visual arts, media arts, drama and dance.

Under the baton of Fernanda Lastra, this concert opens with Berlioz’s Roman Carnival, a musical depiction of Italy’s festive spirit. The evening continues with Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5, featuring the prodigiously talented Avery Gagliano, with a performance expected to weave a narrative of adventure and enchantment, echoing the composer’s impressions of Egypt. Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, “Italian,” concludes the program, a vibrant and joyful celebration of Italy’s landscapes, light, and color. This symphony, one of Mendelssohn’s most beloved works, captures the composer’s own Italian journey’s essence, making for an exhilarating conclusion to an evening of music inspired by travel and discovery.

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra hosts incredible guest artists each year on our Classics Series. We make many of these masters available to the community in our Masterclass series. These artists will work one-on-one with talented local students in front of a live audience. All events are FREE with a required reservation.

Join JoAnn Falletta and the BPO for a vibrant celebration of American music, starting with Copland’s El Salón México, a piece that captures the spirit and rhythms of Mexican dance halls. The concert features the world premiere of Adolphus Hailstork’s Concerto for Saxophone, performed by the exceptional Tim McAllister, promising a work of great emotion and virtuosity that explores the saxophone’s expressive range. Ginastera’s Variaciones concertantes offers a showcase of Argentine musical traditions, while Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story close the evening with thrilling, jazz-infused melodies and the drama of New York’s city streets. This program highlights the diversity and innovation of American music, celebrating its power to tell stories and evoke vivid landscapes.

The season concludes with a powerful pairing of Beethoven and Strauss, under the skilled direction of JoAnn Falletta. Kenneth Broberg, celebrated for his profound musical insight and technical mastery, performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work of deep emotional resonance that showcases the composer’s revolutionary spirit. The concert culminates with Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, a grandiose tone poem that offers a complex, autobiographical portrait of the composer himself. This piece, with its vast orchestral forces and dramatic themes, provides a fitting close to a season of exceptional music-making. The program promises an evening of reflection on personal and artistic heroism, exploring the themes of challenge, triumph, and the artist’s role in society.

Join the BPO Diversity Council in a unique fundraiser and awards ceremony supporting the BPO’s efforts to build diversity in orchestral music. The awardee of the 2025 BPO Diversity Council IDEA Award will be honored at this event. Check back soon for more information!

Tchaikovsky’s dramatic Piano Concerto No. 1 soars under Sasha Malofeev’s dazzling musicianship on Opening Night. Leonard Bernstein’s brilliant overture to the witty operetta Candide—inspired by Voltaire’s satire—contrasts Richard Strauss’ famed Der Rosenkavalier Suite, evoking an era of splendid waltzes, courting rituals, and romance.

An eclectic offering of popular tunes from contemporary culture, the silver screen, and musical theatre, performed by two outstanding entertainers who were Buffalo born-and-bred before hitting the big time on the international stage as well as Broadway.

Menacing timpani rolls set the tone for Rossini’s solemn Overture to Semiramide, a deceivingly upbeat narration of family rivalries. Bartók’s Dance Suite—featuring five original Hungarian folk soundscapes composed for the 50th anniversary of the merger of Buda and Pest—offers a vibrant musical journey. Chopin’s poetic Piano Concerto No. 1 stands as a sparkling showcase of virtuosity.