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Concerts & Tickets

"A Spirit in search of serenity": Honegger's Third

The Swiss composer Arthur Honegger’s third symphony, subtitled Liturgique, was written as a postlude to World War II, and is a fervent outcry against war and its concomitant dehumanization, and a plea for abiding peace. The program begins with Bell and Drum Tower by Alexis Alrich, a work that, to quote one commentator, “navigates the scenes and moods of Beijing by replicating the metallic and percussive qualities of Chinese bell towers.” Franz Liszt’s alternately heroic and tender Piano Concerto No. 2 will be performed by the winner of the Philharmonic’s 2023 Don Bushell Competition, the blazingly talented Nathan Zhao.

2 pm

Benaroya Hall

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"My best work": Tchaikovsky's Second

Welsh composer Grace Williams (1906-1977) composed her exquisite and powerful Fairest of Stars, a setting of texts from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, in 1973; this final work by Williams to feature solo voice is presented in its U. S. premiere by soprano Stacey Mastrian, whose operatic and recital performances have garnered critical acclaim for “effortless mastery” and “showstopping heights”. Ms. Mastrian and the orchestra will also present Sibelius’ little-known symphonic poem with voice, Luonnotar. The Philharmonic then concludes its 2023-24 season in grand fashion with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2, the Ukrainian, a work in which the composer unreservedly expresses his love for the Ukrainian people and their folk music.

2 pm

Benaroya Hall

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