SSO Season Finale, “Variation & Virtuosity,” Set for May 3

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) will host “Variation & Virtuosity,” its Season Finale performance, on Saturday, May 3, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. at Springfield Symphony Hall.

The concert will feature guest conductor Marcelo Lehninger and Pianist Natasha Paremski and a program that spans Brazil, Russia, and closes with Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No. 7, bookending the SSO’s season opener that featured his Symphony No. 5.

Tickets are available, starting at $25, at SpringfieldSymphony.org, or by calling the SSO box office at (413) 733-2291.

The concert will feature pieces in variation structures. Conductor Lehninger’s Brazilian roots are reflected in the opening piece, Temporal Variations (Beethoven Revisited) composed by Ronaldo Miranda. Next will be what is known as one of the greatest of the variation structures and one of the great compositions of the classical music literature, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, performed by Paremski on piano. 

To close the season, the orchestra will perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. This is a dynamic symphony that Beethoven considers one of his best compositions, and bookends the SSO’s season opener, when the Orchestra performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

“We conclude our season with what will be a stirring concert led by conductor Marcelo Lehinger with prior experience with the Boston Symphony Orchestra,” said Paul Lambert, president and CEO of the SSO. “He will be joined on stage by our own fabulous musicians and pianist Natasha Paremski who has performed around the world. It is not an exaggeration to say the season we billed as a ‘Tapestry of Music’ was among the most diverse for the SSO and we will leave our regular season on a high note.”