Asheville Symphony Opens Masterworks Series with Helene Milestone Program
A program of renewal, resilience, and celebration featuring world-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax.
The Asheville Symphony launches its 2025–2026 Masterworks Series with Masterworks 1: Eroica on Saturday, September 20, 2025, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Asheville.
Music Director Darko Butorac leads a program of renewal, resilience, and celebration featuring world-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax.
This milestone performance marks a moment of reflection for the Asheville community in the wake of Hurricane Helene, a year after the storm. The centerpiece of the program is Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, performed by Ax, who is one of the most celebrated pianists of our time, alongside Beethoven’s monumental Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.” The program also includes the world premiere of The Things We Say to Death, composed by Asheville Symphony musician Amber Ferenz, commissioned and written to honor all those who endured loss during Helene.
“Opening our season with Emanuel Ax and such a powerful program is both an artistic triumph and a symbol of our community’s enduring strength,” says Asheville Symphony Executive Director Daniel Crupi. “This concert also marks Emanuel’s first return to Asheville since headlining the Symphony’s inaugural Asheville Amadeus Festival in 2015, making this concert a particularly meaningful milestone for our orchestra and our community.”
A portion of concert proceeds will benefit the River Arts District Artists (RADA) Foundation, which is leading revitalization efforts in one of Asheville’s most vital creative communities.
Ax’s distinguished career includes longstanding collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Leonidas Kavakos, as well as a celebrated recording career with Sony Classical. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates from Columbia, Yale, and the New England Conservatory, among others. His current season includes performances across Europe and North America.
Tickets for Masterworks 1: Eroica are available now at ashevillesymphony.org or by calling the Asheville Symphony box office at (828) 254-7046.
