Summary: Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO May 22-24. Jaap van Zweden conducts two World War II-era pieces showcasing the glorious sound of the CSO. Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, mostly written in Leningrad while the city was under siege, became symbolic of the indomitable spirit of both that city and of the Soviet people. Britten's Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from his opera Peter Grimes portray the sea on England's eastern coast in all its power and transformative beauty.
