ABOUT THE EVENT

Jonathon Heyward, conductor
Julia Bullock, soprano

Heralded as Gustav Mahler's most sophisticated and yet most accessible work, the Fourth Symphony is likely the new listener's easiest point of access to the great composer. Finished when Mahler was barely forty, this complexly orchestrated masterpiece embraces themes of spirituality, wonder and the metamorphosis of the human spirit with music so beautiful that it rivals the sound of angels on high. Mahler's epochal Symphony is performed by one of the classical world's most respected ensembles and one of Maryland’s most significant cultural institutions: the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Led by Jonathon Heyward, the BSO is internationally renowned and locally admired for its performances, recordings and community and educational initiatives. The program includes Dvořák's Concert Overture and Jessie Montgomery’s Five Freedom Songs. Jessie Montgomery, in collaboration with soprano Julia Bullock (also performing in the Mahler symphony), drew from a 19th-century anthology of spirituals to create a work that articulates a powerful expression of their shared experience as Black Americans.

PROGRAM

DVOŘÁK: Carnival Overture
JESSIE MONTGOMERY: Five Freedom Songs
MAHLER: Symphony No. 4

FUNDING

This performance is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the University of Maryland's Arts for All initiative.