HSO Concertmaster Stephen Cepeda brings the passion, fury, and dark humor of Shostakovich’s virtuosic Violin
Concerto. The HSO then performs Ravel’s romantic drama Daphnis & Chloe along with La Valse, a waltz-gone-wild.
Masterworks II: Violinist Stephen Cepeda Plays Shostakovich is sponsored by
AARP Montana, SMA Architecture, and Stockman Bank
STEPHEN CEPEDA
Violinist Stephen Cepeda has served as Concertmaster of the Helena Symphony Orchestra for nineteen years. He has
appeared as soloist with the HSO on several occasions, including performances of violin concertos by Beethoven, Sibelius,
Mendelssohn, Brahms, Korngold, Britten, and Tchaikovsky. Performing with Maestro Scott, Mr. Cepeda appeared as soloist
with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra on multiple occasions, and a performance the Lamont Symphony
Orchestra at Denver University. In the summer of 2009, he completed a tour throughout Southeast Asia performing
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, including a recital at the United States Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Mr. Cepeda is a founding member of the award-winning Meritage String Quartet, which was featured on the Emmy awardwinning
television series 11th and Grant on PBS. Beginning his studies at the age of five with Daniel Reinker, Mr. Cepeda has
studied with some of the nation’s finest violinists, including Stephanie Sant’ Ambriogio, and Julius Schulman. While attending
University of Houston’s Moores School of Music studied with renowned violinist Andrzej Grabiec. With a passion for
teaching, Mr. Cepeda was an adjunct professor at Montana State University, and now maintains an active violin studio in
Helena.
SHOSTAKOVICH’S VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 IN A MINOR
After the Soviet government denounced Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and other composers in 1948, charging them with the sin of
“formalism,” the Soviet musical community went into a period of darkness that ended only with Stalin’s death five years later.
While Shostakovich completed his first violin concerto in 1947, he waited until two years after Stalin’s death to unveil the work
when there seemed to be a thaw from the Stalin years.
Composed for the renowned virtuoso violinist, David Oistrakh, the Violin Concerto was originally numbered as Opus 77, but
because it did not premiere until 1955, it was renumbered as Opus 99. Toward the end of his life, Shostakovich decided to
restore the original opus number to the Concerto in order to establish the work’s true chronology, while retaining the later number
as well, in order to emphasize the point of the delay from the time of its composition to the time of its premiere, and to demonstrate
to the world what he did to preserve his creativity for his own survival.
In Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich, the controversial biography of Shostakovich, the composer explains the
inspiration behind the First Violin Concerto:
Jewish folk music has made a most powerful impression on me. I never tire of delighting
in it; it’s multifaceted, it can appear to be happy while it is tragic. It’s almost always
laughter through tears… [But] this is not purely a musical issue; this is also a moral issue.
The Jews became the most persecuted and defenseless people of Europe [during World
War II]. It was a return to the Middle Ages. Jews became a symbol for me. All of man’s
defenselessness was concentrated in them. After the War, I tried to convey that feeling in
my music.
MASTERWORKS SERIES PRESENTED BY AARP MONTANA
The Helena Symphony is elated to announce we will continue our partnership with AARP to bring exceptional
symphonic music to thousands across western Montana. As the Masterworks Series presented by AARP Montana, this
continued collaboration will support audiences within the concert hall, bringing the highest quality symphonic performances
and guest artists to Helena. The Helena Symphony is grateful for the generosity of the entire AARP Montana team!
Season subscriptions for the remaining concerts of the Helena Symphony Masterworks Concert Series presented by AARP
Montana are available for purchase. In addition to the substantial discounts on season tickets, subscribers also receive the new
Bring A Friend Pass, The Art of Listening Newsletter, first access to Non-Series Concerts, and several other benefits. Single
concert tickets ($22-$71.59 plus a $5 transaction fee) can also be purchased online at www.helenasymphony.org, by calling
the Symphony Box Office (406.442.1860), or visiting the Symphony Box Office located on the Walking Mall at the Placer
Building (21 N. Last Chance Gulch, Suite 100) between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tickets for the Non-Series Concerts, Mozart by
Candlelight and Christmas in the Cathedral, are also available.
END.
See below for Season concert listing.
Maestro Scott, guest artists, and Director of Patron Services Scott Kall are available for interviews by contacting
the Symphony at 406.442.1860 or [email protected]
Masterworks Concerts Series
I. Saturday, 14 September 2024, 5:30 p.m., Helena Civic Center
Opening Night – Gershwin & 100 Years of Rhapsody in Blue
Saturday, 14 September 2024, 7:30 p.m., Helena Civic Center Ballroom
Opening Night After Party
II. Saturday, 26 October 2024, 7:30 p.m., Helena Civic Center
Violinist Stephen Cepeda Plays Shostakovich
III. Saturday, 16 November 2024, 7:30 p.m., Helena Civic Center
Sunday, 17 November 2024, 2:00 p.m., Helena Civic Center
Hansel & Gretel
IV. Saturday, 22 February 2025, 7:30 p.m., Helena Civic Center
Pianist Roman Rabinovich, Prokofiev, and Dvorák
V. Saturday, 22 March 2025, 7:30 p.m., Helena Civic Center
Behold the Sea!
VI. Saturday, 3 May 2025, 7:30 p.m., Helena Civic Center
Beethoven’s Emperor & Pictures at an Exhibition
Non-Series Concerts
1. Saturday, 20 July 2024, 8:30 p.m., Carroll College
Intrepid Credit Union Symphony Under the Stars
2. Monday, 2 December 2024, 6:30 p.m., Cathedral of Saint Helena
Tuesday, 3 December 2024, 6:30 p.m., Cathedral of Saint Helena
Christmas in the Cathedral
3. Friday, 24 January 2025, 7:30 p.m., St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
Saturday, 25 January 2025, 7:30 p.m., St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
Mozart by Candlelight
Education Concerts
Annual Youth Concert for 4th & 5th Graders
Wednesday, 16 April 2025, 1:00 p.m., Helena Civic Center ~ Saint-Georges’ Sword & Bow
Symphony Kids
Symphony Kids 1: Saturday, 28 September 2024 ~ The Grimm Princesses
Symphony Kids 2: Saturday, 2 November 2024 ~ The Four Musicians
Symphony Kids 3: Saturday, 1 February 2025 ~ The Billy Goat’s Gruff
Symphony Kids 4: Saturday, 5 April 2025 ~ Once Upon A Time
** All Symphony Kids take place at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church at 10 a.m.**