Our orchestra season in Adrian closes with two works that we’re inspired by visual works of art. Bernstein’s 2nd Symphony was inspired both by Auden’s long form poem “The Age of Anxiety,” which wrestles with the struggles of loneliness in the modern age. Bernstein felt the work was also inspired by Hopper’s “Nighthawks” painting, depicting three lonely souls in an otherwise deserted New York City bar, late in the evening. Scored for piano and orchestra, this work has everything, wandering and lost opening in the clarinets, a jazzy, relentless middle section for combo and percussion, which finally leads to solace and resolution in a glorious finale.

Act 2 brings out the big guns, with the orchestra showpiece, “Pictures at an Exhibition” in the dazzlingly colorful and evocative orchestration by Maurice Ravel. This cross-cultural collection of shorts wraps up with one of the most famous melodies in classical music, with “The Great Gate of Kiev” ringing in the end of the orchestra’s 2019-2020 season.

Artists: 

Adrian Symphony Orchestra
Bruce Anthony Kiesling, conductor

Andrew Tyson, piano