On Sunday, Oct. 2, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO), featuring Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev, will give the first performance of the George Flynn Classical Concerts series at the new Morgan School auditorium, at 71 Killingworth Turnpike in Clinton. Tickets are free upon request and may be obtained by calling 860-669-1208 or sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to George Flynn Classical Concerts, P.O. Box 473, Clinton, CT 06413.

The program, which includes works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn, features Yakushev performing both of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerti, rarely heard and widely considered among the composer’s most lyrical and beautiful works.

“Audiences can expect an uplifting afternoon of great music and music-making,” said NHSO conductor William Boughton. “It’s rare for a pianist to perform two concertos in one concert, so this is a real tour de force. Shostakovich’s two piano concertos are very different, with the first being influenced by Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, and Mahler; the second concerto has the most wonderfully romantic slow movement and was used in the film Fantasia 2000. Mendelssohn wrote two ‘travel’ symphonies. The Italian symphony has the most brilliant joie de vivre, an effervescence capturing the atmosphere of the country and its people.”

The concert will begin with Beethoven’s Overture to Egmont—Egmont being a character who, in Goethe’s play by the same name, refuses to give up his belief in liberty and his fight for independence.

“This is something all American people can identify with,” said Boughton. “As with all the arts, classical music contains some of man’s greatest achievements. It elevates us above ourselves and gives meaning to our existence. Music encapsulates our struggles, heartache, and anxiety and shows what beauty man is capable of creating.”

Boughton builds a rapport with his audiences by speaking directly to them before each piece.

“I try to create the right ambiance for the performance, to set the scene and the meaning of the work,” he said. “Music is about our emotions, not some kind of academic exercise.”

Yakushev, a native of Russia, has earned numerous awards and honors and has performed with some of the most celebrated orchestras in his native St. Petersburg as well as in Singapore, Seoul, and throughout the United States.

“He is a brilliant young pianist of incredible technical ability,” Boughton said, “a spontaneous musician where almost anything can happen in performance, keeping the orchestra and conductor on their toes and the audience on the edge of their seats. I love working with Ilya. There is nothing routine about his performance and interpretations.”

Yakushev said he enjoys playing smaller venues.

“Depending on the hall and the atmosphere,” he said, “connecting with the audience is easier in a smaller space. In the case of Clinton’s new school, I can say I am grateful and thrilled to see musicians bringing music to new halls, giving them the ‘heartbeat’ by playing music. I will be honored to be a part of this first-ever classical concert at the new Morgan School.”

For more information, visit www.georgeflynnclassicalconcerts.com or follow it on Facebook.