SHÉHÉRAZADE & SIBELIUS
Jean Sibelius
Born December 8, 1865 in Hämeenlinna, Russian Empire Died September 20, 1957 in Järvenpää, Finland
SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN D MAJOR, OP. 43 [ 1901-1902 ]
Instrumentation: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings.
Jean Sibelius was Finland’ s first and greatest musical hero. He rose to fame at the turn of the 20 th century on the strengths of his First Symphony and the tone poem Finlandia, works that gave voice to a burgeoning national identity just when Finland began agitating for independence from Russia. It was also around 1900 that Sibelius’ music started appearing in concert halls around Europe, and he was particularly pleased in 1901 to receive a kind word from Richard Strauss, who was just a year older than Sibelius but already a star. Adopting Strauss’ preferred format, Sibelius planned a series of four tone poems related to the Don Juan legend, but the sketches he started in Italy and completed in Helsinki ultimately took an abstract form in the Symphony No. 2.
Sibelius disavowed any political underpinnings in the Second Symphony, but that did not stop the Finnish people from embracing it as an anthem of their struggle after the Helsinki premiere in 1902. Much of the perceived“ protest” aspect of the music traces to the second movement, with its trudging pizzicato, lugubrious bassoon melody, and impassioned climaxes. The scherzo, a blur of perpetual-motion string figures and hovering woodwind lines, continues the sense of struggle.
Sibelius’ widow explained that the finale’ s somber music over a spinning bass line was composed in memory of a sister-in-law who committed suicide. This unsettled material lends extra poignancy to the symphony’ s ultimate resolution in a realm of uplift and triumph.
AARON GRAD has been the exclusive program annotator for the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra since 2005, and contributes program notes to various other Symphony Orchestras, ensembles, and presenters. His concert reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, and Playbill Arts regularly publishes his feature articles and interviews online.
Beethoven, Immortal
TWO CENTURIES LATER, HIS MUSIC STILL SPEAKS.
In 2027, the world marks 200 years since the death of Ludvig van Beethoven, a composer whose music continues to feel urgent, personal, and revolutionary.
From moments of breathtaking intimacy to thunderous force, come hear why his voice remains one of the most transformative and enduring in all of music.
Evgeny Kissin Yeol Eum Son
BEETHOVEN’ S NINTH: NEW YEAR’ S CELEBRATION
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Peter Oundjian, conductor Joélle Harvey, soprano Kelley O’ Connor, mezzo-soprano Issachah Savage, tenor Dashon Burton, bass-baritone Baltimore Choral Arts Society, chorus Anthony Blake Clark, music director
FRI, JAN 1, 8 PM MEYERHOFF SAT, JAN 2, 8 PM STRATHMORE SUN, JAN 3, 3 PM MEYERHOFF
VALERIE COLEMAN Umoja:
Anthem of Unity BEETHOVEN Elegaic Song BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9,
" Choral "
EVGENY KISSIN IN RECITAL
Evgeny Kissin, piano FRI, APR 30, 7:30 PM MEYERHOFF
BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 1 in F Minor
BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 13 in
E-Flat Major BEETHOVEN Diabelli Variationss
Please note the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra does not perform on this program.
BEETHOVEN’ S COMPLETE PIANO CONCERTOS WITH YEOL EUM SON
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Jonathon Heyward, conductor Yeol Eum Son, piano
THU, FEB 25, 7:30 PM MEYERHOFF SAT, FEB 27, 6 PM MEYERHOFF SUN FEB 28, 3PM STRATHMORE BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5
FRI, FEB 26, 8 PM MEYERHOFF BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2 BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
BEYOND THE SCORE ®: BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 5
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Marta Gardolińska, conductor
SAT, MAY 1, 7:30 PM MEYERHOFF SUN, MAY 2, 3 PM STRATHMORE
Beyond the Score ®: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5: Fate Knocks?
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5
Beyond the Score ® is a production of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Gerard McBurney, Creative Director for Beyond the Score ®.
NOV-DEC 2026 | OVERTURE | 9