The heart-rendering passion and touching tenderness of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture" sets the stage for the DSO's early springtime concert. This carefully crafted tone poem is replete with the hallmarks of Tchaikovsky's mature style: his long-breathed, aching melodies; his affective harmonies; and his clever utilization of rhythmic patterns to propel the music. Howard Hanson's "Symphony No. 2 in D-flat Major," the so-called "Romantic," constitutes the second half of the program. Its three-movement structure is unified by the recurrence of the haunting "Interlochen theme," as well as by its quintessentially American mode of simple and direct expression. The first-place winner of the DuPage Symphony's 2020 Young Artists Auditions, a concerto competition for local high-school musicians, will be the featured soloist on this program. Don't miss your chance to hear two stirring orchestral masterpieces and to endorse the talents of one of our local young superstars!