Events

MIKHAIL GLINKA (1804–1857) 
Ruslan and Lyudmila: Overture 

Born into an aristocratic family, a career as a composer was out of the question. Instead, at his father’s insistence, Mikhail Glinka entered the government bureaucracy. His fascination with the folk songs of the family’s serfs simmered below the surface, until the fall of 1830, when torn between filial duty and artistic yearnings, he traveled abroad to Italy. 

That winter Glinka heard Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini conduct the premieres of their respective operas, Anna Bolena and La sonnambula (The Sleepwalker). He immersed himself in the musical cultures of Milan and Vienna, and was studying composition under the distinguished teacher, Siegfried Dehn in Berlin, when word reached him of his father’s death in 1834. Glinka returned home, having determined to be a Russian composer, writing Russia music, to do for Russian music what Donizetti and Bellini did for Italian music. 

“A nation creates music; the composer only arranges it.” – Mikhail Glinka 

And so he did, becoming the first Russian composer to attain recognition in his own country. Considered the father of Russian classical music, his works’ distinctive Russian style influenced later countrymen, most notably Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Igor Stravinsky. 

Ruslan and Lyudmila, Glinka’s second opera, is based on a satirical fairy tale by Alexander Pushkin. who had intended to write the libretto but was killed in a duel before he had the chance. Lyudmila, daughter of the prince of Kiev, has three suitors, of whom Ruslan is her favorite. When an evil dwarf abducts her, her father promises Lyudmila’s hand to whoever rescues her. Ruslan defeats the dwarf with the help of a magic sword, but Lyudmila has been placed in a deep sleep and cannot be wakened. Fortunately, a kind wizard provides Ruslan with a magic ring that revives Lyudmila and saves the day. 

The overture, based on music from the wedding banquet in the opera’s final act, is an audience favorite and is frequently performed, although full productions of the opera outside of Russia are rare. 

PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1685–1750)   
Variations on a Rococo Theme 

The closest he came to writing a cello concerto, Tchaikovsky composed the Variations for a colleague at the  

Moscow Conservatory, the eminent German cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen (1848–1890). He first wrote out a cello and piano version for Fitzenhagen, who heavily edited the solo part to make it more “cellistic” and virtuosic. Such a partnership was not unusual, especially when the composer did not play the solo instrument.  

Fitzenhagen’s changes in hand, Tchaikovsky finished the orchestration in early 1877. He was out of the country when work premiered in Moscow with Fitzenhagen as soloist. Two years later, Fitzenhagen played the first performance of the Variations outside of Russia, at a festival in Wiesbaden, Germany. He reported to Tchaikovsky, “I have the great joy of informing you that I made a great impression with your Cello Variations. I pleased the public so much that I was called back three times…” 

Between the two performances, the work continued to evolve. Not unusual per se, except it was Fitzenhagen who made the significant changes. Unbeknownst to Tchaikovsky, Fitzenhagen not only further modified the solo part, but reshuffled the order of the variations, composed transitional passages, and even deleted an entire variation.  

When his publisher, P.I. Jurgenson, brought the unauthorized changes to Tchaikovsky’s attention, the composer offered few objections, and Fitzenhagen’s edition was published. (Tchaikovsky reportedly had a much more negative reaction several years later but when asked what he was going to do about it, answered, “Oh, the hell with it! Let is stay the way it is.”)  

The original Tchaikovsky version was “rediscovered” and re-premiered in Moscow in 1941, and the supremacy of each version has been hotly debated by biographers, scholars, and performers. Tonight, Zlatomir Fung will perform the standard version as prepared by Fitzenhagen and (at one time, at least) approved by the composer. 

JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957)   
Symphony No. 5 

Perhaps no composer has closer links to his country’s political life than Finland’s Jean Sibelius. His works, deeply inspired by Finnish landscape and nature, gave musical voice to his country’s long struggle to free itself from centuries of domination—first by Sweden, then by Russia. Almost two years before Finland finally won its independence on December 6, 1917, the Fifth Symphony premiered on December 8, 1915 at a concert marking the national celebration of his fiftieth birthday. 

While the work was favorably received, the famously perfectionistic Sibelius was not satisfied, and revised the work extensively, not once, but several times, so much so that he considered the final revision practically a new work. This definitive version—the one audiences are most familiar with today—was conducted by Sibelius himself for the first time in Helsingfors on November 24, 1919, just under two weeks after Armistice Day (November 11). 

“It was as if God the Father was throwing pieces of mosaic from the edge of heaven and asking me to figure out what the pattern was.” 

Despite the challenges to arrive at a definitive version, entries from his notebook reveal the euphoria the composer derived from his work. With the vast forests, lakes, and northern lights of the Finnish landscape for thematic inspiration, Sibelius used the cyclic (or “rotational” as Sibelius scholar James Hepokoski calls it) form of Finnish folk music to shape the Fifth Symphony’s movements and melodies. So, rather than stating a melody as a whole and then breaking it down to riff on its parts, Sibelius starts with a small kernel of a musical idea, repeating and it over and over, allowing it to evolve into its full form … or another melody.  

“Today at ten to eleven I saw sixteen swans. One of my greatest experiences! Lord God, what beauty! They circled over me for a long time. Disappeared into the solar haze like a gleaming silver ribbon.” 

The final movement opens with the horns introducing what the composer called his “swan hymn,” inspired by his observation [above] of a flock of swans flying in formation over his home. But whereas the first movement is a gravitational spiral, growing in intensity with each revolution before reaching its explosive conclusion, Sibelius brings the symphony to its climax with a grand slow down before finally capping it off with six isolated, powerful chords. 

The concert will showcase 80 minutes of music and will include a 20-minute intermission.

Whenever you want! Seriously, the tradition of clapping only at the end of pieces was only for a short time in the history of music. Typically, people like to clap after a great solo in a jazz tune, an impressive dance move, or after a great movement (section) in a symphony. If you really like a piece, clap at the end of the movement and yell "encore" if you want to hear more. (We love playing encores!)

Reserved Seating:

Tier 1 ticket - $74
Tier 2 ticket - $69
Tier 3 ticket - $58
Tier 4 ticket $42

Under 30/Student:

Tier 2 ticket - $39
Tier 3 ticket - $34
Tier 4 ticket - $20

*all ticket prices do not include box office fees

Tickets start at $42 for adults, $20 for under 30 and students, and go up to $74 based on the seat location. The least expensive seats are in the back of the balcony and the front row closest to the stage.

Here are some other helpful tips you should keep in mind:

• Interested in additional savings? Buy a subscription! Contact us at 406-252-3610 or visit our offices at 2820 2nd Avenue North and we'd be more than happy to find the best deal for you. Subscriptions for our 2023–2024 season are available!
• If you’re a student, veteran, or active duty military, be sure to bring your student/VA/Military ID for great discounts!

Third-party tickets are not accepted. All tickets must be purchased through the Alberta Bair Theater Box Office.

More than anything, we want you to have fun and express your own style when you come to the Billings Symphony, so dress in a way that works for you. Some people love dressing up and going out—if that’s you, do it and you won’t be the only one, we promise. If you prefer to be more casual, then you probably won’t be the only one dressed casually, either. In short, you do you, and we’re just glad you’re joining us.

On-Street Parking

On City streets, there is both metered parking and posted parking. Metered parking times range from 2 hours to 10 hours and is free after 5 pm and on weekends.

There are two free handicap parking spots on the corner of North Broadway in front of U.S. Bank.

Garages

Park 1
Credit/Debit Cards Only. Located at 2912 Third Avenue North and is open to the public 24-hours per day – the office is open Monday through Friday, from 10:30am-6:30pm. There is free parking on Sundays.

Park 2
Credit/Debit Cards Only. Located at 2651 First Avenue North, Park 2 is open to patrons 24-hours per day – the office is open from 7:15am – 11:00pm, Monday through Saturday.

Park 3
Accepts Cash. Located adjacent to City Hall at 210 North 27th Street and is open 7am-11pm – the office is open Monday through Friday from 10:30am – 6:30pm. There is free parking on Sundays.

Park 4
Located at 515 North 31st Street. The garage and office are open only Monday through Friday from 5:30am – 9:30pm. After 9:30pm, parkers are unable to remove their vehicles from the garage.