Program

Aaron COPLAND / Letter from Home
Camille SAINT-SAËNS / Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33
Sergei PROKOFIEV / Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100

Key Notes

• Saint-Saëns is well known for his composition The Carnival of the Animals, which contains “The Swan,” another frequently-performed feature for solo cello.

• Composed in 1944, Copland’s title Letter from Home is in reference to soldiers serving in WWII receiving letters from family.

• Also written in 1944, Prokofiev’s fifth symphony offers another perspective on this time in history. Prokofiev said that he “conceived of it as glorifying the grandeur of the human spirit, praising the free and happy man—his strength, his generosity, and the purity of his soul.”