Fernanda Lastra, conductor
Emily Birsan, soprano
It’s as Italian as you can get: Respighi, of Fountains of Rome fame, wrote this sparkling tone poem for small orchestra on viewing paintings by Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510): “Spring.” “The Adoration of the Magi,” and “The Birth of… Read moreShow less
Fernanda Lastra, conductor
Emily Birsan, soprano
It’s as Italian as you can get: Respighi, of Fountains of Rome fame, wrote this sparkling tone poem for small orchestra on viewing paintings by Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510): “Spring.” “The Adoration of the Magi,” and “The Birth of Venus.”
Chicago-based soprano Emily Birsan sings Barber’s free-flowing, gentle setting of the childhood recollections of journalist and screenwriter James Agee (1909-1955) from his novel A Death in the Family, creating a perfect portrait of a bygone era.
Mahler’s most frequently-performed symphony doesn’t wrestle with heavy themes; it’s a childlike reverie inspired by the German folk tales in Des Knaben Wunderhorn by von Arnim and Bretano (1806) a century before Mahler’s time. In the final movement, the soprano sings a curious song of a child’s view of Heaven and what it’s like to live there.
