Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Yuja Wang Piano
Bonds The Montgomery Variations
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Still Symphony No. 2 (“Song of a New Race”)
If you were lucky enough to witness Yuja Wang’s sold-out performances of the Rachmaninoff piano concertos in January 2023, then you’re likely already ordering your tickets for this return engagement. Reading Wang’s reviews is like witnessing a flood of superlatives; each is more glowing than the last, with terms like “breathtaking,” “charismatic,” and “flawless” among the accolades.
Opening the program is Margaret Bonds’s beautifully ruminative tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., inspired by her visit to Montgomery, Alabama, and based on the spiritual “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.” Bonds, who studied with Florence Price and William Dawson, was a lifelong advocate for social and racial justice.
William Grant Still’s Second Symphony was premiered by The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1937, conducted by Leopold Stokowski, who declared Still “one of our greatest American composers.” Then and now, this lyrical work is a showcase for the legendary Philadelphia Orchestra strings.