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JOSHUA BELL PLAYS MENDELSSOHN | Premium
FRI , APR 21 , 8 PM
ANNA RAKITINA , CONDUCTOR JOSHUA BELL , VIOLIN
ELLEN REID When the World As You ’ ve Known It Doesn ’ t Exist MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto ELGAR Variations on an Original Theme , “ Enigma ”
You can always count on the superstar violinist Joshua Bell to perform Mendelssohn ’ s deeply poetic concerto with “ huge tenderness , rendering the audience to jelly ” ( Bachtrack ). The young Russian conductor Anna Rakitina navigates the mysteries and charms of Elgar ’ s titillating Enigma Variations , and she introduces one of the most compelling voices in contemporary music : the Pulitzer prizewinning composer and sound artist Ellen Reid , who weaves the intimate tones of three wordless sopranos into a score that reflects on women ’ s suffrage .
TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO
FRI , MAY 5 , 8 PM
ROBERT TREVINO , CONDUCTOR KHATIA BUNIATISHVILI , PIANO
AUGUSTA READ THOMAS Prayer Bells TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No . 1 RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances
Prepare to get goosebumps when the horns sound , the strings surge , and the wondrous Khatia Buniatishvili plays those first heroic chords that launch the spine-tingling ride of Tchaikovsky ’ s Piano Concerto No . 1 ! The Grammy ® -winning composer Augusta Read Thomas charts a spiritually resonant journey in Prayer Bells , and conductor Robert Trevino returns to close the program with Russian Romanticism in Rachmaninoff ’ s Symphonic Dances , a reflective look back from an unabashedly nostalgic composer .
TO AWAKEN THE SLEEPER
FRI , JUN 16 , 8 PM
JAMES CONLON , CONDUCTOR RODRICK DIXON , NARRATOR
ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed ALVIN SINGLETON 56 Blows JOEL THOMPSON To Awaken the Sleeper ( BSO Co-Commission ) SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No . 10
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra revisits Adolphus Hailstork ’ s reverent memorial to Martin Luther King Jr . ( a work it premiered in 1980 ), and it touches the visceral hurt in Alvin Singleton ’ s 1994 reaction to police brutality . Joel Thompson , a young composer who is revolutionizing concert music with his deeply moving stands on race and justice , adds a gripping meditation on the words of James Baldwin . Artistic Advisor James Conlon concludes with a fresh look at the selfreflective symphony Shostakovich wrote in the aftermath of Stalin ’ s reign of terror .
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