Nashville Symphony | Eric Jacobsen, conductor | Joshua Kováč, cello

“When I started learning the cello, I fell in love with the instrument because it seemed like a voice—my voice.” 

That's how Mstislav Rostropovich, the greatest cellist of the 20th century, described his relationship with this storied instrument. Tonight, you'll know why.  

Joshua Kováč (born 2007) is a Tennessee native who won the Nashville Symphony’s own Curb Concerto Competition. Tonight, he steps into the spotlight as a soloist in his own right to perform Victor Herbert’s Cello Concerto No 2. Known for Broadway hits like Babes in Toyland and Naughty Marietta, Herbert was also a virtuoso cellist, and this piece is the work of a composer who knew the instrument from the inside out. 

Conductor Eric Jacobsen, himself a Juilliard-trained cellist who founded one of this country’s most innovative ensembles, The Knights, frames the evening with Rossini's irresistible Barber of Seville Overture and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4: fate-haunted, fierce, and electrifying to the very end. 

Program

Rossini: Overture to Barber of Seville 
Herbert: Cello Concerto No. 2 
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 

The Lawrence S. Levine Memorial Concert 

* A concerto is a piece that features a soloist stepping into the spotlight of a full orchestra, showcasing their virtuosity and prowess in a spellbinding musical conversation with all the other instruments around them. Our 2026/27 season highlights 10 concertos, many of them by American composers, to celebrate the extraordinary musicianship of your Nashville Symphony musicians and guest artists.