The Mobile Symphony Orchestra (MSO) ends its season in a blaze of glory with Symphonie Fantastique, Saturday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 18, at 2:30 p.m., at Mobile’s historic Saenger Theatre. Tickets start at $20, students $10, and are available at mobilesymphony.org or 251-432-2010.
“Our season finale highlights three masterful French composers. Maurice Ravel’s La Valse opens the concert with its intoxicating whirl of waltzes, shimmering with kaleidoscopic colors,” MSO Music Director Scott Speck explains. “The ebullient pianist Charlie Albright returns for Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2, showcasing his virtuosic pyrotechnics and lyrical sensitivity in this Romantic masterpiece.”
Albright, who last performed with the MSO in March 2022, is a local favorite.
Audiences here and all over the world are captivated by his high-energy and enthusiastic performance style. He regularly performs in programs featuring artists from all genres, from violinist Joshua Bell to pianist Emanuel Ax to vocalists Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis. He has performed five times with revered cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
“The concert culminates with Hector Berlioz’s visionary Symphonie Fantastique, a symphonic odyssey that delves into the depths of the Romantic imagination,” Speck adds. “From the dreamlike reveries of the ‘Reveries – Passions’ to the electrifying Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath,’ Berlioz’s powerful and innovative symphony unfolds with theatricality and emotional intensity. A thrilling end to a thrilling season.”
Tickets are $20-$96 and can be purchased online at mobilesymphony.org, by phone at 251-432-2010 or at the symphony box office, 257 Dauphin Street. Bring a group of 10 or more and receive 20% off your order!
Student tickets are $10. Through the MSO Big Red Ticket program sponsored by the Alabama Power Foundation and the Figures Foundation, students in grades K-12 can attend any classical Sunday performances free when accompanied by a paying adult. More details can be found online at www.mobilesymphony.org.
Concertgoers can enjoy an informative pre-concert talk before each performance.
These TakeNote lectures begin at 6:30 p.m. before Saturday classical performances and 1:30 p.m. before Sunday classical performances in Room 1927 adjacent to the Saenger entrance on Joachim Street.
Symphonie Fantastique is sponsored by the WKRG and the Laura Lee Pattillo Norquist Charitable Foundation. All concerts have been made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
New Memberships for MSO’s 2025-2026 Season go on sale May 16, and single tickets are on sale August 25.
