The Season 63 Masterworks Series is made possible by the Brian and Patricia Giese Foundation.

Masterworks II: Connections with Alex Kovling, horn

November 1 & 2 at Maryland Hall

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Music Program

Adolphus Hailstork Three Spirituals

Óscar Navarro Connection: Horn Concerto, Alex Kovling, horn 

Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93

Music Matters. It’s the thread that connects us. An ancient rhythm that moves through our memories. A power so great it can bring together sounds from hundreds of years ago in ways that resonate today.

Classical music lovers will be visibly moved by Shostakovich Symphony No. 10. Composed during the oppressive regime of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin from 1950-1953, the piece reveals Shostakovich’s fear and loneliness.  And yet, the piece speaks to human connection. Artistic Director José-Luis Novo says “the second movement is four minutes of hair-raising symphonic music that will keep you on the edge of your seat”. The third movement is notable for a moderate dance-like nocturne. The notes spell out “E La Mi Re A” in a combination of French and German. This motif, called out twelve times on the horn, represents Elmira Nazirova, a student of the composer with whom he fell in love.

Adolphus Hailstork’s Three Spirituals for Orchestra may seem very different from Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10; however, both pieces reveal men with a shared dream to live free of oppression, fear, or discrimination. Three Spirituals for Orchestra was composed in 2005 and is structured by three movements, based on traditional spiritual songs, “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” “Kum Ba Yah,” and “Oh Freedom”.

Navarro’s “Connection” stirs emotions like curiosity, anger, complicity, humor, and passion into a grand concerto that immerses the listener in the work through a fusion of styles and unique harmonic language.

Enjoy ASO Principal Horn Alex Kovling playing an incredible horn solo, an unusual and delightful performance making its premier in Annapolis at these concerts.

Take a deeper dive! Learn more about the music by visiting this link.

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