ALSOP CONDUCTS CHOPIN & PROKOFIEV founded the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship . The only conductor to receive a MacArthur Fellowship , she has also been honored with the World Economic Forum ’ s Crystal Award . The Conductor , a documentary about her life , was nominated for an Emmy and recognized with a Naples International Film Festival award .
Hayato Sumino
Taking the concert world by storm , pianist / composer Hayato Sumino breathes new life into the term virtuoso . An exclusive Sony Classical recording artist , Artist Ambassador for Apple Music Classical , Steinway Artist , and CASIO Ambassador , Hayato continues to forge his own path in the arts , boasting over 1.3 million YouTube followers and 180 million views under the pseudonym “ Cateen .”
Adela Loconte
His passion and spontaneity draw his fans to the concert hall , regularly selling out shows worldwide . His 2024 debut at Royal Albert Hall created a media frenzy , where “ something truly unforgettable was created by Hayato Sumino ” ( Classic FM ). This past summer , an extensive sold-out 24-recital tour of Japan culminated in a celebration for Hayato ’ s July 14 birthday at Budokan ( Tokyo ), where he performed for more than 13,000 fans .
Immediately following was his Ravinia Festival debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra , and international debuts at the Rheingau , Gstaad , and Ravinia festivals , leading this fall to an 11-concert tour as soloist in Mozart ’ s Piano Concerto No . 26 with Marin Alsop and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra , and debuts at the Berlin Philharmonie , Elbphilharmonie , Tonhalle Zürich , Munich Prinzregententheater , Tonhalle Düsseldorf , and the Liederhalle Stuttgart . Hayato was featured on Forbes Japan ’ s “ 30 under 30 ” list in 2023 , which recognizes “ young entrepreneurs , leaders and trailblazers ,” spearheading “ the transformation of industries and finding innovative ways to navigate new business realities .” His debut album with Sony Classical is released this fall and includes works by Bach , Debussy , Fauré , and Hayato ’ s own arrangement of Ravel ’ s Bolero .
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
Heather O ’ Donovan
James Lee III
Born November 26 , 1975 in St . Joseph , Michigan ; Resides in Edgewood , Maryland
CHUPHSHAH ! HARRIET ’ S DRIVE TO CANAAN [ 2011 ]
James Lee III ’ s BSO-commissioned work honoring the life of Harriet Tubman returns under Music Director Laureate Marin Alsop ’ s baton . Regarded as the “ Moses ” of her people , Tubman freed herself from slavery by escaping north , then returning to the South 19 times in eight years to guide over 300 enslaved individuals to freedom . In Lee ’ s Chuphshah ! Harriet ’ s Drive to Canaan , the Hebrew word “ chuphshah ” signifies freedom from servitude , while Harriet ’ s drive to the biblical promised land of Canaan represents her role conducting others to freedom in the North and Canada .
After an opening flourish , Chuphshah evokes Tubman ’ s perilous escape to freedom , fraught with physical dangers and the omnipresent specter of retribution . Increasing warmth and rhythmic ease suffuse the music as Tubman reaches the North , though tinged with sadness for those still in bondage . Throughout , Chuphshah quotes from songs and spirituals , including “ Follow the drinkin ’ gourd ” ( in reference to the shape of the constellation of stars that pointed the way north ) and “ Let my people go .” Tubman strategically employed such songs as a conductor on the Underground Railroad , varying the tempo or otherwise signaling musically when it was time to emerge from hiding and move . ( Tubman also carried a gun , not for protection but to convince reluctant travelers of the risks of returning .) Repeated references to “ Battle Hymn of the Republic ,” a patriotic song of the Union cause , suggest the bitter struggle of the American Civil War , during which Tubman contributed as a nurse and a scout for the Union army . Though denied a military pension at the time , when “ General Tubman ” passed away around the age of 90 in 1913 , she was laid to rest with military honors ; Chuphshah recalls this proud moment .
Instrumentation : Three flutes , three oboes , three clarinets , three bassoons , three horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , harp , and strings .
Frédéric Chopin
Born March 1 , 1810 in Żelazowa Wola , Poland ; Died October 17 , 1849 in Paris , France
PIANO CONCERTO NO . 2 IN F MINOR [ 1829 – 30 ]
Frédéric Chopin ’ s compositions possess an ineffable quality . Chopin himself , unable to find words in his adopted French , borrowed from his mother tongue and offered “ Żal ,” a Polish term translated by scholar Alan Walker as a combination of longing , regret , nostalgia , melancholy , and grief .
Żal is what Robert Schumann rightly recognized when he described Chopin ’ s output as “ cannons buried in flowers .” The dismay that Chopin , a proud Pole , felt toward the oppressive Russian rule of his homeland exposed itself not only in the
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