For the final concert of this season’s Gunter Theatre Series, the Greenville Symphony — led by Music Director Lee Mills — explores the brilliant and surprising worlds of Franz Joseph Haydn and Igor Stravinsky. Though separated by more than a century, these two visionary composers share a spark of imagination and an instinct for delight that shaped classical music as we know it. In the close, resonant space of the Gunter Theatre, their creativity comes alive with striking immediacy.
The evening opens with Haydn’s Symphony No. 102, one of the gems of his celebrated London symphonies. Haydn, often called the “Father of the Symphony,” was not only a great craftsman but a natural entertainer, and this work showcases his signature blend of warmth and humor. This piece is full of musical jokes! In an intimate hall, every clever twist, graceful melody, and unexpected surprise shines with exceptional clarity — and Mills brings out the music’s sparkle with insight and charm.
The second half features Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, a work that helped launch a new musical movement. But first — what is Pulcinella?
Pulcinella is a beloved, mischievous figure from Italian commedia dell’arte, a world of masks, romance, and comic intrigue. Inspired by old manuscripts once attributed to the Baroque composer Pergolesi, Stravinsky transformed this material into something fresh and modern. Light, tuneful lines meet crisp rhythms, unexpected harmonies, and a touch of satire — creating music that is both delightfully familiar and unmistakably Stravinsky.
Stravinsky later called Pulcinella his “discovery of the past,” the turning point that set him on the path to neoclassicism, a style that defined much of his career. Under Mills’s direction, its playful characters and vivid colors step into the spotlight, dancing between elegance and wit.
Together, Haydn’s Symphony No. 102 and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite offer a sparkling conversation across centuries: one composer perfecting the symphonic tradition, the other reinventing it with bold imagination. In the Gunter Theatre’s 400-seat intimacy, these works reveal layers of personality, humor, and beauty.
