Season Finale: Tonal Transformation

Conductor

Mei-Ann Chen

Program

Brittany J. GREEN In the Beginning

Adolphus HAILSTORK Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra (2024)

Feat. saxophonist Timothy McAllister 

I. Allegro

II. Lento

III.  Molto vivace

Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 ("Fate")

TONAL TRANSFORMATION is the final subscription concert for Chicago Sinfonietta’s 2024-25 Season. Maestra Mei-Ann Chen’s program features transformative collaborations of musical styles, instrumentation, and inspiration. Having journeyed this season through music celebrating youth, women, culture, heritage, creativity, emotions, and more, Chicago Sinfonietta pays tribute to those that allow us to transform our artform for the better.

North Carolina-based composer, DJ, and educator Brittany J. Green’s music works to facilitate intimate spaces that ignite visceral responses. Her piece In the Beginning serves as an exploration of origins and new beginnings, with "the excitement of new worlds forming, colliding, and shifting into place." Through intricate melodies and evocative harmonies, Green invites listeners on a journey through time and space, delving into the essence of creation and emergence.

Adolphus Hailstork's Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra  is a dynamic and expressive musical work that showcases the versatility and virtuosity of the saxophone. Specifically composed for Timothy McAllister, "one of the foremost saxophonists of his generation" (The New York Times), this work is a virtosic exploration of the saxophone's wide range of tonal colors. With its rich harmonies, intricate melodies, and rhythmic vitality, the concerto offers a captivating journey through a impressive range of emotions and musical landscapes.

We conclude our 37th season with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's formidable Symphony No. 4 , known as his "Fate" symphony. This powerful and emotionally charged masterpiece showcases the composer's ability to convey profound human emotion through music, exploring themes of fate, destiny, and the human struggle against adversity, with moments of soaring beauty set against searing passages of dark brooding. Famous for it's ominous brass fanfare introduction, the symphony eventually transitions to a bright, vibrant energy in the finale movement, bringing our season to a close.

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