The Fort Wayne Philharmonic will close its 80th season and 2023-24 Masterworks series simultaneously with a May 4 performance at Auer Performance Hall at Purdue University Fort Wayne. 

William Walton’s early masterpiece “Symphony No. 1 in B-flat minor” will open the show followed by an intermission and a performance of Rachmaninoff’s “Concerto No. 2 in C minor for Piano & Orchestra, Op. 18,” considered by many to be the greatest, and probably most popular, piano concerto ever written. 

The performance also features a return of guest pianist Fabio Bidini, who performed an electrifying rendition of Rachmaninoff’s third piano concerto with the Phil several years ago.