"Completely Novel and Ingenious": Brahms' Fourth
The critic Eduard Hanslick was ecstatic in his praise of Brahms’ fourth and final symphony, lauding its “craftsmanship, strength, unbending consistency, and earnestness…” This simultaneously lyrical and robust symphony caps the Philharmonic’s season in a blaze of romantic vigor. Noted Seattle-based actress Sydney Maltese joins the orchestra for the U.S. premiere of Australian composer Jenny McLeod’s colorful setting of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Emperor and the Nightingale, preceded by a performance of Percy Grainger’s rumbustious take on the English folk song Green Bushes.
GRAINGER | Green Bushes
McLEOD | The Emperor and the Nightingale (U.S. premiere)
Soloist | Sydney Maltese, Narrator
BRAHMS | Symphony No. 4 in e, Op. 98
June 7th
2 pm
Benaroya Hall
Tickets
Upcoming
"The Sounds of Primitive Magic": Orff's "Carmina Burana"
Premiered in 1937, Carl Orff’s “scenic cantata” Carmina Burana lost no time establishing itself as the most popular choral work of the 20th century. The Philharmonic’s much-anticipated 2020 Carmina had to be delayed due to COVID, and we are thrilled to finally be able to offer it to our audiences again, in a performance featuring three superb vocal soloists and two of the region’s finest choirs. Ukrainian composer Victoria Vita Polevá has cited her religious faith and “love of humanity” as principal inspirations for her creations. The Philharmonic celebrates this major contemporary composer with the U.S. premiere of her symphonic poem Null, a work of staggering power in which time seems to stand still. The program begins with Morton Gould’s stirring Fanfare for Freedom, and guest soloist Mark Robbins brings his glowing artistry to Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4.
"Passionate and Fascinating": Schumann's Fourth
This festive program opens with the U.S. premiere of the sparkling Suite para Orquestra by Spanish composer Rosa García Ascot. Violinist Tokuji Miyasaka, winner of the Philharmonic’s 2024 Don Bushell Competition, is the dazzling soloist in the Violin Concerto No. 1 by Niccolò Paganini, the composer/performer whose legendary virtuosity caused contemporaries to suspect him of an alliance with The Devil. We conclude with Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, a work in which the composer displays amazing structural unity wedded to his characteristic rhapsodic intensity.