Fairfax, VA  -- The Fairfax Symphony's November 21st Masterworks concert focuses on lively dance rhythms from Brazil, France, and Spain, combined with the influential and entertaining rhythms of American jazz.

The concert opens with Manuel de Falla's Three Cornered Hat (El Sombrero de Tres Picos), a ballet commissioned by Sergey Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes, with original sets designed by Picasso.  Chinese pianist Chu-Fang Huang, a Young Concert Artist, will perform Gershwin's beloved Rhapsody in Blue, a piece that defines American rhythms. Written in 1924, when Gershwin was just 26 years old, Rhapsody in Blue, with its dynamic language of jazz, redefined the public's idea of "classical" music, and led to Gershwin being commissioned to write a full-blown piano concerto for the New York Symphony.  Huang also will be featured on Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, a piece that was significantly influenced by Ravel's love of American jazz, particularly the works of George Gershwin.
 The concert concludes with Ginastera's Estancia, another ballet, this time inspired by life on Argentine's ranches.  Estancia is a bravura work that consistently elicits cheers and ovations from the audience.
 
Chu-Fang Huang has appeared extensively with orchestras and in recital across the U.S. and abroad.  Her performances have been described as "one of the finest I've ever heard in concert" (Chicago Tribune), imbued with "expressive magic and technical allure" (The Plain Dealer), "music-making on a grand level" (The Washington Post), and "refreshingly direct, honest and sensitive" (The New York Times).

About the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra has emerged over the years as one of the finest regional orchestras in the U.S. and is hailed as "the pride of Fairfax County."  Henry Fogel, immediate past president of the League of American Orchestras, said of his visit to the FSO, "I was extraordinarily impressed with the quality of the Orchestra. The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra plays at an extremely high level of professionalism, and makes music with a wonderful combination of both technical excellence and passion and commitment."