Thrillers,
from Screen to Stage

October 25th, 2025, 2PM
Riverside Philharmonic

Coil Theatre - 3890 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92501

This program is as much a cinematic journey as it is a concert. Bernard Herrmann’s iconic scores for Psycho and Vertigo set the stage with their unmistakable suspense and sweeping psychological depth, the kind of music that lingers in the imagination long after the lights fade. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s overture to Phantom of the Opera adds a touch of theatrical grandeur, its lush melodies a reminder of music’s power to haunt and seduce. And as the evening builds, the orchestra turns to Berlioz’s March to the Scaffold, Saint-Saëns’s Danse macabre, and Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King—a progression of works that revel in the macabre and the mysterious, drawing listeners into worlds of shadow, drama, and ecstatic release.

At the heart of the program are violinist Sam Fischer and cellist Clement Chow, whose artistry will be on full display in Miklós Rózsa’s Tema con variazioni. The piece, with its intricate dialogue between soloists and orchestra, is an ideal showcase for their virtuosity and sensitivity—Fisher’s crystalline phrasing matched against Chow’s resonant, lyrical tone. Together, they transform Rózsa’s score into a living conversation, weaving moments of intimacy with bursts of exuberance.

This is an evening designed not just to entertain but to unsettle, to thrill, and to remind us of the spellbinding power of live orchestral performance.

Conductor and Maestro: Tomasz Golka

Special thanks to The City of Riverside,

Virginia Blumenthal and Donna Knox for making this concert possible.