A concert of fresh American rhythms and Nordic romanticism awaits under the baton of Canadian conductor Tania Miller. From the American continent come Copland’s celebrated Appalachian Spring and his Clarinet Concerto, performed by Pablo Barragán. The second half of the evening will be filled with the power, beauty, and lyricism of the Finnish landscape in Jean Sibelius’s First Symphony.

Aaron Copland
Appalachian Spring, orchestral suite from the ballet

Aaron Copland
Clarinet Concerto

Jean Sibelius
Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39

Pablo Barragán – clarinet
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
Tania Miller – conductor

North American and Latin American folk music, along with jazz, formed the foundation from which the musical language of American composer Aaron Copland emerged. His ballet Appalachian Spring ranks among his best-known works and earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1945. The composition depicts a wedding celebration on a Pennsylvania farm at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was immediately embraced by audiences as a reflection of national identity, hope, and fulfillment during the difficult years of World War II.

Aaron Copland also infused Latin American and jazz rhythms and harmonies into his Clarinet Concerto, composed between 1947 and 1949. The concerto was written for Benny Goodman, the “King of Swing,” who was not only the leader of his world-famous big band but also an outstanding clarinetist. In Ostrava, the piece will be performed by the brilliant Spanish clarinetist Pablo Barragán, returning to the orchestra for the third time. The concert will also mark the Ostrava debut of the experienced Canadian conductor Tania Miller.

An incredible vitality flows from the First Symphony of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, composed between 1898 and 1900. The grand symphony of the thirty-four-year-old composer is a sweeping romantic work that follows in the tradition of symphonists such as Tchaikovsky and Bruckner, yet it is deeply infused with the unique, brooding spirit of Finnish nature and legendary sagas.