General admission is free for this event (Nov. 9 only).
 

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Ludwig van Beethoven

Harmonium, John Adams

Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1, Joan Tower

Indra Thomas, soprano

Joanna Porackova, mezzo soprano

Giovanni Formisano, tenor

Ron Loyd, baritone

In collaboration with

University Choir and Chamber Choir, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Jonathan Richter, director
 
Members of the Nashoba Valley Chorale

Anne Watson Born, director
 
Nashua High School North Concert Choir

Brianne Biastoff, director
 
The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra joins forces with four acclaimed soloists—Indra Thomas, Joanna Porackova, Giovanni Formisano, and Ron Loyd—and the choral forces of the University Choir and Chamber Choir from University of Massachusetts Lowell, Members of the Nashoba Valley Chorale, and the Nashua High School North Concert Choir to present two powerful works for chorus and orchestra, one classic and one contemporary, side-by-side in concert.

Ludwig van Beethoven completed his Symphony No. 9 (1824) three years before his death. This monumental final symphony, a masterpiece of lyrical beauty and heroic triumph, moves toward utopian celebration with the stirring “Ode to Joy,” for which Beethoven introduced soloists and chorus into a major symphony for the first time. 

As a modern complement to Beethoven’s Ninth, John Adams‘ minimalist choral work Harmonium (1981) sets to music the haunting poetry of John Donne and Emily Dickinson. Adams has described the genesis of his composition as “one of human voices – many of them – riding upon waves of rippling sound.” The program opens with Joan Tower‘s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 1 (1986) performed by the CSO brass.

The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra thanks the Massachusetts Cultural Council for supporting our 2019-20 season.