St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Concert Rebroadcasts
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Concert Rebroadcasts
From Mozart to Wagner
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Richard Wagner Prelude to Act I from Lohengrin
W.A. Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9, “Jeunehomme”
Intermission interviews with:
Hannu Lintu, conductor
Chris Tantillo, SLSO violist
Jan Liesiecki, piano
Samy Moussa Elysium
Ottorino Respighi Church Windows
Live from Powell Hall at the Jack C. Taylor Music Center, this is the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Tonight, guest conductor Hanulintu will lead the orchestra in a program that opens with Ricard Wagner's prelude to Act One from Loingren. The concert continues with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's piano concerto number nine in E-Flat Major Kirko 271 Jonome, featuring pianist Jan Lashewski. After intermission, the concert continues with Sami Mousas, Elysium, and will conclude with Otorino Respigi's church windows for symphonic impressions. Good evening. I'm Rod Milam and welcome to another live broadcast of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's 2025-26 season on St. Louis Public Radio and simulcast on Classic 1073. You can listen to us online, see a copy of tonight's program notes, and much more. All you have to do is go to our website, stlpr.org slash symphony. During our intermission, we'll have a chance to speak with Hanulintu, SLSO violist Chris Tantillo, and Jan Lashewski. Joining us now is commentator Lauren Eldritch Stewart. Good evening, Lauren. Good evening, Rod. Well, the prelude to Act One of Wachner's Lorengrin, which opens tonight's concert, is not your typical boisterous opera overture, is it?
SPEAKER_00It is actually quite the opposite, beginning softly and ethereally with a kaleidoscope of colors. But first, let's look at the backstory. Wagner composed much of Lorengrin when he was a Kapellmeister in Dresden. He sided with the rebels in the revolution of 1848, so when the Prussians regained control, he fled, first to Franz Liszt's home in Weimar, and then to Switzerland. There he finished the opera, dedicating it to Liszt who conducted the premiere in August 1850 in Weimar. Wagner was still in exile, so he could not attend. Wagner wrote his own libretto based on a medieval legend. In the story, the character Loingren is a knight of the Holy Grail who arrives in a boat pulled by a swan and rescues Elsa of Brabant, who has been falsely accused of murdering her brother, the heir of the dukedom. After defeating Elsa's accuser, Loingren proposes marriage on the condition that Elsa not ask him his name or where he came from, wanting her to just accept him as he is. But Elsa could not keep herself from asking forbidden questions, and the story ends in tragedy. The prelude depicts a vision of the descent to earth of the Holy Grail, the chalice that legend says Christ used at the Last Supper and that caught his blood at the crucifixion. It begins with a shimmering A major chord in the violins that seems to shift in color as it overlaps and is passed to the high winds. It is several minutes before the low strings and later the brass enter. The music increases in volume and orchestration until reaching a climax with full brass and percussion. Wagner described it in these words. And out of this there gradually emerges, ever more and more clearly, an angel host bearing in its midst the sacred grail. After the climax comes a passage filled with tension and mystery as the upper register violins descend as the bass rises, which Wagner said was a band of angels ascending to heaven. The prelude ends as it begins with an ethereal kaleidoscopic chord. As a footnote, Wagner revisited the Holy Grail theme in his 1882 opera Parsifal. Also, the bridal march in Act III of Loingren is widely known beyond the world of opera as Here Comes the Bride.
SPEAKER_05You can see a copy of tonight's program notes by going to stlpr.org slash symphony. You're listening to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's live broadcast from Paul Hall on St. Louis Public Radio and online at stlpr.org.
SPEAKER_00A few words about our guest conductor who is no stranger to the SLSO. Beast concert see Hanulintu making his twelfth appearance with the orchestra. He is music director of the Globinkian Orchestra and chief conductor of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, proving himself a master of both symphonic and operatic repertoire. In 2025, he began his tenure as artistic partner of the Lati Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the International Sibelius Festival. In 2026-27, he will take up the post of music director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Guest conducting highlights of the season have included return engagements with the BBC, Toronto, Baltimore, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. He also conducted Ricard Strauss's Electra.
SPEAKER_05We now have the entrance of our guest conductor for the evening, Hanulintu, and we'll begin with Ricard Wagner's prelude to Act One from Low England. You're listening to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra on St. Louis Public Radio.
Richard Wagner’s Prelude to Act I from Lohengrin
SPEAKER_00And after himself giving applause to members of the orchestra in a similar circle, he has invited the orchestra to rise. Guest conductor Hanalinthu has offered a kiss to the audience, and he is now exiting the stage.
SPEAKER_05Up next is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's piano concerto number nine in E-Flat Major, Kirko 271, Janum, featuring pianist Jan Lashewski. Laurent Mozart's piano concerto number nine in E-Flat Major has a nickname Jeanum. Now, did this come from the composer's age at the time? Was he actually a young man?
SPEAKER_00Well, Ra, we might be excused for wondering that, given that Mozart was 21 years old at the time of this concerto's completion. But we would be wrong. Along with a lot of scholars until relatively recently, the nickname Jeanôme started when French biographers learned about the commissioning pianist for the concerto through letters between Wolfgang Amadeus and his father Leopold. These biographers interpreted Genomet and Genôme as Jeune homme. The Mozarts were actually referring to Victoire Genomie, who was a friend of the family and daughter of a well-known choreographer who had already worked with Wolfgang. There's a lot that sets this concerto apart, besides it being an early work. Unlike the rest of his concerti, Mozart doesn't reserve the piano for a late entry after all the themes have been previewed. We'll hear from our guest soloist Jan Lyshetsky pretty early on in this work. The three movements, Allegro, Andantino, and Rondo Presto, do follow a typical moderate, slow, fast tempo organization, but that's about all that goes as expected. Sometimes themes are presented by the piano, and sometimes they're presented by the orchestra. Stephen Lebbetter writes that the freshness with which the movement proceeds, in that one is never quite sure who will play when, is part of the subtle width that enriches the entire score. Mozart did write cadenzas for this work, which Lysetsky has recorded with Manfred Honig and the Baumberger Symphoniker on Deutsche Grammophone. Regarding the cadenza in the second movement, tonight's soloist has said it's absolutely spectacular. And to have this grand, quite dense cadenza in the second movement of a piece is revolutionary.
SPEAKER_05You can see a copy of tonight's program notes and much more at stlpr.org slash symphony. You're listening to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra live from Powell Hall on St. Louis Public Radio and online at stlpr.org.
SPEAKER_00A few words about tonight's featured soloists. Canadian pianist Jan Lysetsky looks back on a career spanning a decade and a half on the world's greatest stages, working closely with leading conductors and orchestras, and performing more than 100 concerts annually. The 2025-26 season has seen him returning to Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, Golbenkian Orchestra, and Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, as well as the San Francisco Symphony and Houston Symphony. In August, he concluded the Seoul International Music Festival with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 and a solo recital with his acclaimed Preludes program. He has also given recitals across Europe and North America, appearing at the Philharmonie Berlin, Vienna Concert House, Palau Barcelona, Karanark Hall, Toronto, and National Arts Center, Ottawa. Continuing his collaboration with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, conducting from the piano, he performed Beethoven concerto cycles at the UNESCO and Murano festivals. Jan Leshetsky has recorded exclusively for Deutsche Grammophone since the age of 15, releasing nine albums and receiving the Juno Award, Echo Classique, Gramophone Critics Choice, The Alpisson d'Or, and Edison Classique. Earlier this week, he released his new Mozart Concerto album, including Kirkl 271. At 18, he received both the Leonard Bernstein Award and Gramophone's Young Artist Award, the youngest ever recipient of the latter. In 2012, he was named UNICEF Ambassador to Canada.
SPEAKER_05Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. He died in 1791 in Vienna, Austria. The first performance of this piece was probably in 1777 in Salzburg with pianist Louise Victoire Jamy, accompanied by the Salzburg Court Orchestra. The first SLSO performance of this piece was on May 9th, 1974, Walter Siskand conducting with soloist John Browning. The most recent SLSO performance was May 7th, 2015. Nicholas McGuegan was conducting with soloist Orley Shahan. We're waiting for the start of our next piece. But just a reminder that we have coming up, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is going to be celebrating the 15th anniversary of Kevin Macbeth's first concert as director of the St. Louis Symphony In Unison Chorus. Macbeth was appointed at the beginning of 2011, succeeding founder Dr. Robert Ray, to become only the second director in the history of the In Unison chorus. Macbeth reflected on the chorus' achievements under his leadership and shares his hopes for the future in a story in the orchestra's digital magazine, SLSO Stories. Now you can read more about Kevin's story if you would like.org slash stories. The orchestra has tuned, and we are awaiting the entrance of Hanalintu, who is our guest conductor for the evening, as well as our soloist Jan Leshewski. There they are right now, they're coming out, and we're waiting for our next piece, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's piano concerto number nine in E flat major Kirkle 271 Janum. Again, that's featuring pianist Jan Leshewski here on St. Louis Public Radio.
W.A. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9, “Jeunehomme”
SPEAKER_05We just heard Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart piano concerto number nine in E Flat Major 271 is Janam. The ticket for the orchestra was like by Death Conductor Honey 2.
SPEAKER_00And I guess all 50 has been home. And it's now before a standing orchestra taking dial standing handle handling too. Both Link 2 and 50 are now extended. The audience is still on their feet for the wonderful windows of Most Art Hand control number nine. Also, many bows throughout the strange instrument are waving and applause. Ah, we have the re-entrant of our guest followers, Yala Tesky. And also of our guest and Dr. Hanolentu. And it looks like uh the chair has been brought out for Master Windu. So we'll see if we can get an encore out of Yala Testy. But for now, both of them are exiting the stage. And we'll not continue.
SPEAKER_05Something tells me that he might come back out. He might be a little bit more. What he will play. We're not quite sure if he does for example. And then he's coming back out. I think we will hear another encore. Let's find out what is coming up next.
Encore: Johannes Brahms’ Waltz No. 15 in A-flat major
SPEAKER_00The encore was Brahms Watch number 15 in A flat major.
SPEAKER_05So Brahms as the Encore as Anotes comes back out to receive more applause, not just from the Central Symphony Orchestra, but from the audience as well.
SPEAKER_00And Lechetsky is now being exiting the stage.
SPEAKER_05Just a reminder, you can follow along at home with your own program notes. All you have to do is go to our website, stlpr.org slash symphony. During our intermission, we'll have a chance to speak with Hanalintu, Chris Tantillo, and Jan Lecheski. I'm Rod Milam. She is Lauren Eldritch Stewart, and you're listening to a live broadcast of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra here on St. Louis Public Radio.
Interview with Hannu Lintu, conductor
SPEAKER_05Live from Powell Hall at the Jack C. Taylor Music Center. This is the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. My name is Rod Milam, along with Lauren Eldritch Stewart. And joining us in the broadcast booth is guest conductor Hanulintu. Good evening, Hanu, and bravo in the first half of our concert. Thank you.
SPEAKER_04Um good evening.
SPEAKER_05Good evening. So you've conducted the SLSO many times before. What's it like being back in a renovated Powell Hall?
SPEAKER_04It's like um it's like old friend after plastic surgery. You know, just did you recognize this person? But he or she looks better. So it's uh good holes never lose their identity, no matter what kind of renovation is done. And uh it has become, of course, we all know it has become more vibrant, more straightforward, but at the same time it's more transparent and it it's wonderful to work, especially with pieces like Mozart, where we cure every texture and we don't need to pressure, you know, the sound comes automatically. And I think also in pieces like Wagner, the loindering, the string sound and the continuity of the string sound is very much helped by the acoustics. So it's incredible, it's especially because I was here exactly a year ago and and we played in a little bit different kind of a space. So it's great, and it's great to see that orchestra is is happy and an audience seems to enjoy, and of course the building itself is beautiful. Yeah, I've been coming for many years, but now I have feeling that a new era has started.
SPEAKER_05I happen to notice, and it may or may not have to do with the hall, you weren't using a baton when you were conducting. But I've seen you use it before. Is there a reason you decide to use it or not?
SPEAKER_04Don't worry, I'm going to use it on the second half. I very often do Mozart without. Why? Well, there are so many delicate details, fragile gestures, which I think are easier to control with fingers only. Because with baton you very easily start to make too big gestures and too too general gestures and you don't go into details. Whereas in Wagner, which is about big gestures, and to achieve this this kind of uh continuity and legato in the beat, I sometimes find it more liberating not to use the baton. I could have done that also with the baton. But second half, uh contemporary piece, which needs lots of accuracy, uh, and then a big, big romantic piece, you know, batons I made for shepherding large groups of people. But I have been more and more leading the baton because uh through that I've learned more about uh gestures and I think my use of baton is now more delicate than what it used to be before because I have been conducting so much without.
SPEAKER_05Huh. Well, thank you very much for that. Let's get to uh Jan Luteski and his performance. What did he bring to the Mozart Piano Concerto and have you worked with him before?
SPEAKER_04The five funny thing is that we have worked before, but this is the only piece we have played together. Really? Yeah, this was the third or fourth time we are doing the very same piece, so I have had a chance to uh follow the development of his Mozart for many years, and uh what he brings to this piece, you know, the thing is that it's quite an early piece, but it's it's a very long piece. And and actually you have to have a background of playing also Beethoven concertos and and even more romantic pieces, and then come back to this because it is in almost in romantic dimensions. And what what I enjoy is that he's uh he has this wonderful, sparkling, uh brilliant sound, which inspires the orchestra as well. And but every time we have played it, it's a bit different. I asked him when we met yesterday, so what are you going to do this time?
SPEAKER_05Semi Mousta's Elysium gets the first performance for the SLSO. How did you end up putting that in the program along with other pieces that have not been?
SPEAKER_04Well, I mean, explaining how this program was originally built would take hours. So give me the 30 answer. 30 second answer is that Semi is one of the greatest living North American uh composers. And since this program is loosely around the concept of religion in in different kinds of forms, Lohengrin is about Holy Grail, and of course the the church windows matter speaking is about religion, but so is Samit's Elysium in a more sort of ancient Greek kind of way. I like his sounds. I mean he makes big sounds, I like big sounds, and and and he really knows how to write for an orchestra. The dimensions of the piece are perfect, and he happens to be a great guy.
SPEAKER_05Okay, well, let me let you prepare for performing that piece that's coming up next after our intermission. Thank you very much for taking some time out. That is Hanalintu, who is our guest conductor for the evening, and he's going to be conducting Elysium coming up next in our Torino Rest Beaky's Church Windows. Thank you very much for joining us.
Interview with Chris Tantillo, SLSO violist
SPEAKER_00And joining us now is SLSO Viola's Chris Tanz. Hello, welcome to our studio, Chris.
SPEAKER_02Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00So Hanalintu is making his 12th appearance with the SLSO this weekend. What's it like having him on the podium?
SPEAKER_02He's wonderful. We love every time he comes back here. He brings such interesting programs, really diverse programs, and he just approaches it with such conviction. It really is, it's incredible.
SPEAKER_00Besides your position in the orchestra, you're also an avid chamber musician. Why is playing chamber music important to you?
SPEAKER_02Sometimes in the orchestra, especially as an inner voice, you just kind of get lost in the shuffle. It's the sort of thing people always say, you know, you don't necessarily hear the viola when it's being played, but you notice it when it's not there. Chamber music just gives me a way to express my voice in a way that normally probably would not be heard, like in a concert tonight. There are moments where the viola comes out or the viola section comes out, but in chamber music, really, you get to say a lot more.
SPEAKER_00So speaking of all of this chamber music, you and Shannon Williams are curating the final live at the Sheldon concert of the season on April 30th. It's titled Lucid Dreams. Can you tell us how you arrived at that theme?
SPEAKER_02Sure. So Shannon and I obviously wanted to curate this heavily around the viola. So, and we wanted to make sure that all the pieces on the program had two violas in it. So we naturally gravitated towards the bronze strength sixth set number one in B-flat major. It's just incredible writing. Everybody has wonderful things to play, and it's the the viola parts are awesome. And then kind of from there, we kind of broadened our search. We definitely wanted to have some contemporary living composers. That's really important. We do a collaboration with Mizou. So Nate Leslie is writing a piece for quartet, so violin, two violas, and cello, which is really interesting. We're playing a piece by Carolyn Melanay called Wave Field, which is based on some artwork, but uh it's for two violas. It's really, really interesting, kind of back and forth. Then we're playing a piece by Dobrinka Tabakova, who's a Bulgarian composer called Organization. Gonem Light. Again, very like similar to some of the stuff that you're going to hear in Respegee tonight. There's a lot of Gregorian chant, very open intervals and very placid kind of playing. And then the Vaughn Williams Fantasy Quintet, which is not a very often heard piece. Again, for two violas. And so I think Lucid Dreams, we kind of came there because all these pieces just are they're very evocative, I think. They all live in different sound worlds. And it's the sort of thing where you can just kind of close your eyes and just imagine whatever you want to imagine, just like just be immersed in the different sounds of all the different pieces.
SPEAKER_00That was an excellent explanation and really descriptive. Thanks so much for offering that. As the season winds down, can you name a highlight or two of the 25-26 season?
SPEAKER_02Oh man, Mahler 5 last week. Okay. Was pretty fantastic. It's probably one of my favorite pieces of all time, and performing it with Stefan was uh pretty incredible. And let's see. Daphnis. It hasn't happened yet, but I love Daphnis and Chloe. And to be able to perform the whole suite. Normally we just perform the second suite to do the whole suite again with Stefan, who is just so so good at that stuff. Very much looking forward to that.
SPEAKER_00Well, we'll be looking forward to it with you. Now, once the opera season is over, how are you gonna spend your summer?
SPEAKER_02I have a few weeks off, and then I'll spend about five weeks playing out in Sun Valley with the Sun Valley Music Festival. My family is gonna be out for three of those weeks. They have a great time there. My son does piano camp. He's always very excited about the piano camp. And you know, we go bike riding and hiking and just we love being there. And then I come back and I have uh two or three weeks off, and then the season starts up again.
SPEAKER_00And then back to it. Well, we will let you get back to it this evening. But thanks so much for taking a little moment and talking to us, Chris.
SPEAKER_02My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_00That was SLSO Violist Chris Tantillo, who is the co-curator of the final live at the Sheldon concert, Lucid Dreams, on Thursday, April 30th at 730
Interview with Jan Liesiecki, piano
SPEAKER_00p.m.
SPEAKER_05Joining us now is tonight's featured soloist, pianist Jan Lascheski. Thank you, and very good evening, Jan. Bravo on your performance of Mozart's piano concerto number nine, as well as your your encore. So, what's it like working with Hanalintu and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra this week?
SPEAKER_01It's my first time here in St. Louis, and I've been absolutely in awe of not only the orchestra, the hall. I haven't seen it before the renovations, but uh, it's amazing afterwards, and the city. It has so much to offer, so much art, so much architecture. I visit is very compressed, but I still managed to squeeze in quite a bit of sightseeing as well. So I'm very, very glad to be here.
SPEAKER_05I hope you've enjoyed all of our temperature and weather fluctuations over the last couple of days.
SPEAKER_01You know what? When I left Calgary, we had a big snowstorm. I was worried that it wouldn't get out on Wednesdays, and I landed here and it was beautiful and sunny, so this is totally fine. I'll take this over the snow at this time of year.
SPEAKER_05And we don't want any more snow either. So from what I understand, you have quite a bit of a history with Mozart's piano concerto number nine. What first attracted you to it?
SPEAKER_01Yes, Mozart's concerto number nine is the first major piano concerto that Mozart wrote. Of course, it's funny to talk about that, and it's already number nine, and we're very spoiled as pianos because he wrote 27, of course, for our instruments. So number nine is relatively early still. And it's the first one where he really pushed the boundaries. He had new ideas, he had a lot of creativity, and he used the piano, the orchestra together in a unique way, in a new way. So it's an interesting and very highly respected concerto to this day. And actually, just yesterday on Friday, my uh new recording was released with the 9th and 22nd piano concertos with Bambergers and Foneker and Manfred Honek conducting. Uh so it it is funny that it happened to be this week, but with Hannu, it's been a great collaboration as always. It's our third time working together. And funnily enough, also by pure coincidence, we've only played this piece together in three different countries. And he mentioned that as well. It seems like, oh, you've done this, you've played it before, and it's just you two together. It's just so bizarre because I do play many other pieces, mind you. But it has been great working with him again, and it's fun when you work with somebody you know so well because you you work on details, you you change things, you have the spontaneity, the creativity, and that is always supremely enjoyable.
SPEAKER_05So you've been performing with orchestras a lot and with Hanu the same piece over and over again, but you also tour as a recitalist. Is one role being a recitalist and performing with orchestras more difficult than the other, or is there a just a difference between the two forms?
SPEAKER_01I almost feel that like a different profession. Uh of course I'm still playing the same instrument, the piano, but its role is immensely different because in a recital I am entirely responsible for the whole evening from start to finish. To engage the audience, to give them something, to inspire them. That is my role then, and I have nobody to rely upon. So you have that very high and heavy weight on your shoulders. At the same time, you have complete freedom. So you you are able to create in the moment to be completely spontaneous, and you're in the end, it's a curse and a blessing that you're ultimately fully responsible for what you do. When you work with the orchestra, you have a chance to be inspired, to hear something, to learn something, and that is also something I tremendously enjoy. So, but it it is a very different world. And if I've been playing too many recitals and I go back to symphonic playing, you have to actually adjust your sound. You're playing, you're you're you're thinking a little bit. It takes about five minutes, but but you still have to do it.
SPEAKER_05So I guess you're going to have to do it for the recital program that you have touring world of dance. Can you tell us what that tour includes and how you put it all together?
SPEAKER_01I like putting recitals together that are engaging, that aren't just um a number of pieces that I happen to play or that are interesting remotely to the audience. I want to make it a story, and and it's easy to do theme things like world of dance because there's so much music out there that satisfies those requirements. What is dance? How is dance interpreted? Of course, today I played at Brahms Waltz as an encore, but there's waltzes by Chopin, and there's waltzes by other composers that have a completely different take on what it feels like. So it's a great way to present music that is well known and appreciated by audiences, but also new music that they haven't heard. Martinou Genestera, music from all around the world. And where are you headed next? Next is Rotterdam in the Netherlands. I'm playing with Yannick Nazisaga, and uh we're doing a few concerts in the Netherlands and Germany.
SPEAKER_05Well, I hope you don't have any snow there. We didn't give you any snow here. Thank you so much for joining us tonight, and thank you for your music as well.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. Such a pleasure to be here.
SPEAKER_05That is tonight's featured soloist Jan Lesetsky, and our consort is going to continue with Sami Moussa's Elysium. Lauren, the next work on tonight's program, Elysium, is named after an exclusive paradise. How do we get access to the colour?
SPEAKER_00Well, Rod, in composer Sami Moussa's interpretation, it might not be as difficult as we think. Although in many records of Greek mythology, Elysium is sought after and rarely achieved, Moussa draws from the work of the 5th century BCE philosopher Empedocles. His Elysium is the ultimate reward for an ethical life, a metaphor for a beautiful life, for a life well lived on this planet. So, what might we expect this paradise to sound like? A lot of glissandi at the outset, and perhaps glissando or gliding as an overall theme. One potential point to focus on are the perpetual fluid transitions. As Empedocles writes in purifications, but at the last, they appear among mortal men as prophets, songwriters, physicians, and princes, and thence they rise up as gods exalted in honor, sharing the hearth of other gods and the same table, free from human woes, safe from destiny, and incapable of hurt. This work was commissioned by the Vienna Philharmonic, premiered by that orchestra in 2021, and has enjoyed frequent performances by notable institutions since. In a review of the BBC Symphony Orchestra's 2025 performance of the work, also conducted by Hanu Lentu, Mark Brindle writes that what Moussa gives us is music that is vast. It shines with a glowing radiance and yet has monumental impact. It's magisterial in size and has enormous dynamic range to fill the space around it. It's music that appears in contradiction. It can seem motionless at times, then restless at others, pulsating beneath the surface.
SPEAKER_05A reminder, you can follow along at home with your own program notes. All you have to do is go to stlpr.org slash symphony. You're listening to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. We're live from Powell Hall on St. Louis Public Radio and online at stlpr.org. And a few words about the SLSO family. Leonard Sladkin, the SLSO conductor laureate, is going to receive the 2026 Lincoln Medal from the Fords Theater Society, honoring a more than 60-year career shaping American orchestral music. The award recognizes his impact on audiences, commitment to education, and advocacy for musical heritage. A former SLSO music director from 1979 all the way to 1996 and current conductor laureate Sladkin will receive the medal on May 31st, 2026, alongside actor Gary Sinise. He joins a distinguished list of medal recipients and congratulations to Leonard Sladkin. Semi Moussa was born in 1984 in Montreal, Canada. The first performance of this piece was on September 18th, 2021 in Barcelona. The first SLSO performance is the performance we're about to listen to tonight. Instrumentation is two flutes, a piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two basoons, a contra bassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, a tuba, a timpani, a percussion, and strings. The orchestra has just finished tuning, and we're waiting and now have the entrance of our guest conductor Hunneld into our third work tonight.
Samy Moussa’s Elysium
SPEAKER_00And uh guest conductor had a little applause the orchestra. He now invites them to rise. And now they are all turned facing the audience. He seems very pleased with that performance, and he is now exiting the stage.
SPEAKER_05Our concert concludes with Ottorino Raspigi's church windows for symphonic impressions. So Lauren, one might assume that the four movements of this work are each musical depiction of a specific church window. Is that the case?
SPEAKER_00That is a fair assumption, but in this case is a wrong one. Respigi actually composed the music before titling the overall work or its four movements. In fact, the first three are orchestral adaptations of a set of piano preludes he had written earlier. In 1919, Raspegi married the Metal Soprano Elsa Oliveri Sangelcomo, who was a former composition student of his. He introduced the composer to Gregorian chant, which he had studied extensively. Rospeggy developed a great interest in the form, and his music from then on was influenced by it. Later in 1919, he composed three piano preludes on Gregorian melodies. The preludes did not have any extra musical titles. In 1925, he adapted the preludes for orchestra and wrote a new piece to conclude the suite. It was only after finishing that he consulted his friend Claudio Guastala, who was an editor and literature professor for help in titling his work. Waspegee's first thought was to call the suite church doorways, but Guastala thought that the title was too colorless and suggested pieces or church windows. Once they agreed on church windows as the overall title, Wispicky and Guastella were tasked with naming the individual movements. In the opening movement, Guastela thought he heard the passing of a chariot beneath the brilliant starry sky, leading to the title Flight into Egypt as described in the Gospel of Matthew. In the second movement, Guastella heard a clash of weapons, a battle in the sky, which led to the title Saint Michael the Archangel as detailed in the Book of Revelation. The mystical, pure, and convent-like character of the third movement suggested a description of St. Clair and the Little Flowers of St. Francis, leading to the title The Matins of St. Clair. The grandeur of the finale brought to Guastella's mind the 6th-century Pope St. Gregory, whose reforms in church liturgy led to his name becoming attached to the repertoire of Gregorian chant. Thus, the movement was titled St. Gregory the Great. Church Windows was premiered February 27, 1927, by Serge Kosovitsky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
SPEAKER_05We now have the re-entrance of our guest conductor for the evening, Hanubu, and our last word, Artorino Respeaking. Church Windows for Symphonic Impression. You're listening to the Synchro Symphony Orchestra for Synchro.
Ottorino Respighi’s Church Windows
SPEAKER_05We just heard our Torino recipe for the first windows, four symphonic impressions. The Statewood Symphony Orchestra was led by Dr. Dr. Honey.
SPEAKER_00And Hanolans has taken the hand of Holtermaster David Holman. Second associate multimaster with the left Garden Angels. And taking a vow, he's invited the entire orchestra to round. He is now exiting the stage. Members of the audience are standing. And with this monumental road. One for principal clarinetist, Scott Andrews, another for Associate Principal Flutist, Andrew Kaplan, and also for Associate Principal Oboist, Bill Ross. Now for the entire win section. And a lola for the horns. Now also the trumpet. Also the trombones and the tuba. And now this percussion section. Also, Harper's Magic Stout. And our formidable keyboard section, a little bit of a rarity. There was both an organist, of course, principal keyboarders. And also uh players. And now the entire orchestra is once again on the case. Yes, Conductor Honolentzel is now exiting the stage. And now Honolental is re-entering the stage.
SPEAKER_05He said he was going to use the baton, and he brought it up.
SPEAKER_00And once again, asking the entire orchestra to rise.
SPEAKER_05I liked him uh actually giving me a lesson on why one might choose to use a baton with a forceful and a large piece of work. And we certainly on that last bit by Respigie heard a very large, grandiose sort of work that demanded the use of the baton. You're listening to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra live from Powell Hall, here on St. Low's Public Radio and Simulcast on Classic 1073 and online at stlpr.org. You can hear this program in person tomorrow afternoon at 3 at Powell Hall. More information about the concert is available at SLSO.org. Tonight we heard the following works Otarino Raspigi's church windows for symphonic impressions. Also Sammy Moussa's Elysium. Before that, Volfgang Amadeus Mozart to piano concerto number nine in E-Flat Major 271 Jonome, featuring pianist Jan Lecheski. And we began the evening with the prelude from Act One of Ricardo Wagner's Lauren Grin.
SPEAKER_00We are invited to join St. Louis Public Radio for the next live broadcast of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra next Saturday, April 25th, when SLSO assistant conductor Samuel Hollister will lead the orchestra in Gabriella Smith's Tumbleberg Contrails. Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3, featuring pianist Gabriela Montero and Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 3. That's the next live broadcast of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Saturday, April 25th at 7 30 p.m. on St. Louis Public Radio.
SPEAKER_05We invite you to share your thoughts about our live broadcast of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra season. You can find us online or just go to stlpr.org and on social media. Just search for and like the St. Louis Public Radio Facebook page. The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra broadcast is produced by Mary Edwards, with audio engineered by Kyle Pike. Additional assistance is provided by Yvonne Frindle, James M. Keller, Greg Monteneau, Eric Dundan, Maggie Bailey, Rinkel Madison, Gina Belosi, Madeline Petertala, and Alex Wright. Also, a special thank you goes to all the musicians of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Local 2197, live broadcast of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, our production of St. Louis Public Radio.
SPEAKER_00I am Lauren O.
SPEAKER_05And I'm Rod Milan. Please join us again next week.