The two orchestras of the University of Arizona will share the Crowder Hall stage for their final performances of the 2023-24 season.
The evening will cohere around two themes: journey and homeland. The UArizona Philharmonic begins with Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture, inspired by two short works of the German Romantic poet, Goethe. Smetana’s vivid and colorful depiction of the Moldau River, a symbol of Czech national pride, follows. We follow the river on its journey from the tiniest mountain trickle all the way downstream to a triumphant expanse of a broad river.
After the intermission, the Arizona Symphony offers Symphony No. 2 by the Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius. In this masterpiece many hear a call to Finns’ ethnic independence and national pride, in response to Russia’s imperial threat. The symphony is a symbolic journey from bucolic innocence through conflict and struggle to assert a national identity, culminating in a broad, triumphant statement of Finnish national pride.
Watch in person or via livestream.
