A memorial in music. Those lost in some of the greatest tragedies of the 1900s are paid tribute by composers who lived through them.Maestro Leon Botstein shares the stories behind the music in a lively 30-minute Conductor’s Notes Q&A at 7 PM in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. Free for all ticket holders.

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
Symphony No. 6
Violent, chaotic, often disturbing. It’s no wonder that post-WWII audiences found catharsis in Vaughan Williams’ sixth symphony, embracing it with over 100 performances within two years of its premiere. Still, the composer insisted, “It never seems to occur to people that a man might just want to write a piece of music.”

GYÖRGY LIGETI
Requiem
In 1944, Ligeti was sent to a forced labor camp while his brother was sent to Mauthausen and his parents to Auschwitz. Only the composer and his mother survived. He later said, “One dimension of my music bears the imprint of a long time spent in the shadow of death.” His Requiem is one of those works.

ALFRED SCHNITTKE
Nagasaki
A powerful oratorio in remembrance of an unspeakable tragedy. Performed only once during the composer’s lifetime, Schnittke’s Nagasaki is based on three poems by Russian and Japanese authors, and was influenced by composers ranging from Shostakovich and Prokofiev to Bach, Stravinsky, and even Carl Orff.

This project is made possible with the support of The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust.

VIDEO

WQXR’s Elliott Forrest & ASO’s Music Director, Leon Botstein, discuss Requiem for the 20th Century

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 6