DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

JADER BIGNAMINI , Music Director Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation

TERENCE BLANCHARD

Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair

NA’ZIR MCFADDEN

Assistant Conductor, Phillip & Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador

PVS CLASSICAL SERIES

Title Sponsor:

LEILA JOSEFOWICZ & MENDELSSOHN’S SYMPHONY NO. 3

Friday, May 19, 2023 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, May 20, 2023 at 8 p.m. in Orchestra Hall

DANÍEL BJARNASON, conductor LEILA JOSEFOWICZ, violin

Daníel Bjarnason Blow bright (b. 1979)

Helen Grime Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (b. 1981) Leila Josefowicz, violin

Intermission

Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, “Scottish” (1809 - 1847)

I. Andante con moto - Allegro agitato

II. Scherzo assai vivace

III. Adagio cantabile

IV. Allegro guerriero - Finale maestoso

Saturday’s performance will be webcast via our exclusive Live From Orchestra Hall series, presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

When reflecting on the works of famous artists such as Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh, it is clear that many of their paintings were inspired by the breathtaking landscape and scenery of their travels. The same is true of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony, which was influenced by the composer’s travels to the British Isles, Edinburgh, and the Scottish Highlands with his friend Karl Klingemann, the Secretary of the Hanoverian Legislation. In 1829, ahead of their journey together, Mendelssohn wrote to Klingemann: “NEXT AUGUST I AM GOING TO SCOTLAND, with a rake for folk songs [and] an ear for the lovely, fragrant countryside.”

Daníel Bjarnason’s Blow bright was also born from geographical influences and depicts the energy and brightness of the Pacific Ocean. Bjarnason wanted to portray the same powerful and beautiful radiation of its waves through the orchestra. He also reflected on the ocean’s stark contrast to the waters of the Atlantic during his compositional journey. A study in contrasts is what inspired Helen Grime’s Violin Concerto, from its frenzy of wild virtuosity to sensitive, reflective melodies throughout. This concerto paints its own landscape and allows the audience to travel through it wherever they desire to go.