Posts in Program Notes
Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1

Although Strauss’s music eventually releases its late Classical imprint and adopts the broad, sweeping style of late Romanticism, this concerto offers us hints of what is to come, foreshadowing the great “horn moments” in Strauss’s epic tone poems such Don Juan, Ein Heldenleben, and Don Quixote.

Read More
Sibelius: Symphony No. 5

The symphony opens in an atmosphere of mysterious beauty. In the first movement, tempo molto moderato, one might imagine time-lapse photography of wildflowers unfolding in a vast landscape, or as Sibelius wrote, “I begin to see dimly the mountain I shall ascend. God opens His door for a moment and His orchestra plays the Fifth Symphony.”

Read More
Elgar: Sea Pictures

Elgar did not need to have some unifying theme more than the sea itself in this work. His home audience knew the sea well and did not require an academic discussion to remind them how important it was for their way of life. Pure enjoyment of poetry on the sea set to music sufficed.  

Read More
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5

“A sacrifice to the bitch goddess of greed and nothing else. He had no success in the United States and Europe for several seasons, and his concerts in the Soviet Union were triumphs. When I saw him for the last time he was despondent about his material fate in France. He returned to the Soviet Union, and when he finally understood his position there it was too late.”

Read More
Program NotesLuke Smith