Breathy flute interjections, chirping trumpets, and even an old typewriter bring to life the quicksilver music of Sea-blue circuitry written by Grammy award-winning American composer Manson Bates. Symphonie espagnole—typically considered a violin concerto, given the emphasis the solo violin receives—uses Spanish musical topics throughout and is one of the pieces that launched a vogue of Spanish music in nineteenth-century Europe, and was a major influence on other composers, including Tchaikovsky. Using the traditional four-movement structure of a sonata, Tchaikovsky’s Manfred symphony is based on Byron’s poem of the same name that depicts the eponymous Manfred wandering the Alps and summoning spirits in an attempt to assuage his guilt over a lost love. Much like Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Manfred also makes use of an idée fixe—a recurring melody similar to the Wagnerian Leitmotif that refers to the character of Manfred throughout his journey.

Kristian Alexander | conductor
Jing Ye | violinist
Daniel Vnukowski | host