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 and Latin American folk music, along with jazz, formed the fertile ground from which the musical voice of American composer Aaron Copland grew. His ballet Appalachian Spring is among his most famous works and earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1945. The piece portrays a wedding celebration at a Pennsylvania farmhouse at the beginning of the 20th century. Audiences immediately embraced it as a reflection of national identity, hope, and renewal during the difficult years of World War II.

Copland also infused his Clarinet Concerto (1947–1949) with Latin American rhythms and jazz harmonies. The concerto was written for the “King of Swing,” Benny Goodman — not only a world-famous bandleader but also an exceptional clarinetist. In Ostrava, the piece will be performed by the virtuoso Spanish clarinetist Pablo Barragán, returning to the orchestra for the third time. For the first time, the orchestra will be led by the experienced Canadian conductor Tania Miller.

A tremendous vitality radiates from the First Symphony of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, composed between 1898 and 1900. This grand, sweeping symphony, written by the thirty-four-year-old composer, follows in the tradition of Tchaikovsky and Bruckner but is suffused with the brooding spirit of Finnish nature and mythic sagas.