Featured Artists
Marin Alsop
Wu Man
Written in 1937, in the midst of Stalin’s cruel artistic purges, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 shows little of the terrible strain the composer and his compatriots felt. The government defined truth and beauty, and the consequences of coloring outside those lines were dire. Seemingly on a whim, an artist’s work could be condemned, and the artist himself banished. Despite the overriding climate of fear, his Fifth was a triumph; the Leningrad premiere received an ovation that lasted more than half an hour. It remains an extraordinary tribute to inspiration that defies restraint. Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop leads the program which also includes Beethoven’s Lenore Overture No. 3 and Jiping’s Pipa Concerto No. 2 performed by virtuoso Wu Man.
Program
Beethoven
Lenore Overture No. 3
Jiping
Pipa Concerto No. 2
Shostakovich
Symphony No. 5