USC Symphony Orchestra: Segev Plays Elgar

Israeli cellist joins the USC Symphony Orchestra for Elgar’s Cello Concerto for the final concert of the season on April 18. The Washington Post declared cellist Inbal Segev “a near-miracle.” The Anchorage Daily News wrote, “Soloist Inbal Segev’s ferocious energy had the listeners on the edge of their seats as if they were watching a NASCAR race in sound.”

The program also includes Tchaikovsky’s captivating Swan Lake Suite, written at his sister’s home where he loved to dream up family activities for his nieces and nephews. He composed the little ballet for their entertainment and participation, and Tchaikovsky himself demonstrated the steps and pirouettes required of the dancers. Several years later it would become the basis for his first full-length ballet, Swan Lake.

Two concertos for the cello are performed more often than any others. One is by Antonin Dvorak; the other is Edward Elgar’s intimate and contemplative Cello Concerto in E minor. Unlike any other ever written for the instrument, the concerto may be Elgar’s work with the most universal appeal. Pablo Casals, Paul Tortelier, Jacqueline du Pré and Yo-Yo Ma are among the cellists who have made landmark recordings of the concerto.