The Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra hit it out of the park last night with a “Romantic Russians” concert. Tchaikovsky and Borodin were masters of 19th century Russian music. The concert opened with Alexander Borodin’s Prince Igor:  Polovtsian Dances. That warmed up the audience for a spectacular performance by Jason Hardink. The renowned pianist played Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto #1 in G minor, Op. 25. It was nothing short of amazing. It reminded me of Emperor Joseph II who told Mozart his piece had “too many notes”. The concerto  did not contain too many, but the thousands of notes Hardink memorized and played at lightning speeds were impressive. After the break, the orchestra captivated all of us with a brilliant performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s immensely popular Symphony #4 in F minor, Op. 36. The symphony has been called Tchaikovsky’s “defiant musical statement against inexorable fate”. Every instrument participated in bold and articulate ways. It was a magnificent performance.