The El Paso Symphony Orchestra concludes its 94th anniversary season at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 25 and Saturday, April 26, 2025, at the Plaza Theatre, 125 W. Mills Ave, El Paso. Led by conductor Bohuslav Rattay, the “Fabulous Finale” opens with Dvořák’s “Carnival Overture.” Carnival, composed between July 28 and September 1, 1891, is lively and tender, reflecting the composer’s love of nature and his homeland.
22-year-old Austrian pianist Kiron Tellian will join the El Paso Symphony Orchestra to perform Rachmaninoff’s masterpiece and technically demanding “Concerto for Piano No. 3, op. 30, D minor.” Tellian was in El Paso in May 2024 to compete in the Borderland Chopin International Piano Competition, where he won First Prize.
Tellian is pursuing his bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School in New York, studying with Maestro Sergei Babayan. He is a proud recipient of the prestigious Kovner Fellowship. Growing up in Vienna, Tellian began studying piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW) at the age of 7 and went on to play his debut with an orchestra at the age of 9. Tellian won numerous first prizes at national and international competitions for piano, chamber music, and composition in Austria, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, Slovakia, Russia, England, the USA, and Japan.
The season finale concludes with a tantalizing story of the love triangle between three puppets and their desire to become flesh and blood in Stravinsky’s Petrushka. Petrushka fuses music, ballet, and history in perfect balance, featuring many Russian and folk elements that represent Stravinsky’s background.
“If Petrushka were a person, it’d be that friend who shows up uninvited, spills wine on your carpet and then leaves you with a profound life lesson you didn’t ask for,” said Rattay. “The score itself is a riot—Stravinsky basically said, ‘Let’s take every musical rule, set it on fire, and see what happens.’ You’ve got clashing rhythms, wild tempo changes, and instruments that sound like they’re arguing with each other.
“Stravinsky didn’t just compose music; he threw a party and dared everyone to keep up,” Rattay continued. “The ballet’s mix of folklore, farce, and sheer musical madness makes it a classic, even if it leaves you wondering whether to laugh, cry, or applaud the sheer audacity of it all.”
For those wishing to learn more about the program, composers and artists, Nathan Black will present Opening Notes at 6:30 p.m. before each performance in the Philanthropy Theatre, next door.
Tickets are $49, $44, $37, $23 and $17 plus fees. Student tickets for $9 and $12 plus fees are available. They can be purchased through ticketmaster.com, the Plaza Theatre Box Office, or by phone at 915-532-3776.
