St. Louis Symphony - Rachmaninoff's Third - Taking Flight

By Sam Wisman

Published May 1, 2026 at 8:45 AM CDT

Piano soloist Gabriela Montero receives an ovation following a performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, with conductor Samuel Hollister and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra - April 2026

Assistant Conductor Samuel Hollister makes his SLSO classical debut leading the orchestra in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s exhilarating Third Symphony and an imaginative work that gazes skyward by composer and environmentalist Gabriella Smith. Gabriela Montero takes on Prokofiev’s emotionally turbulent Third Piano Concerto in her SLSO debut.

An agreement with the St. Louis Symphony allows us to share audio for this program up to two weeks after the program's original air date. You can find more episodes here.

Host

Rod Milam
St. Louis Public Radio

Commentator

Lauren Eldridge Stewart
Assistant Professor of Music at Washington University

Conductor

Samuel Hollister

Program

Gabriella Smith's Tumblebird Contrails

Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26
Gabriela Montero, piano

Variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Improvised encore)
Gabriela Montero, piano

Backstage intermission interviews

Hosts Rod Milam and Lauren Eldrigde Stewart speak with conductor Samuel Hollister, SLSO President & CEO Marie-Hélène Bernard, and piano soloist Gabriela Montero

Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44

These broadcasts are produced by St. Louis Public Radio and made possible in partnership with St. Louis Public Radio and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.