McGill, Copland & Bernstein

It’s a night of all-American music! First up: Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto with Anthony McGill center stage. Commissioned and inspired by Benny Goodman, it moves from lyrical and serene to an ever-so-brief soliloquy for the soloist to a rollicking final movement fusing jazz, South American folk tunes, and American dance rhythms. From On the Town—his love letter to the Big Apple—a dance-y Broadway show about the adventures of three sailors on shore-leave during World War II—Bernstein extracted a high-spirited suite that will set your feet to dancing, too! In between, Copland’s quintessentially American Appalachian Spring—full of tenderness, hope, and belief in the future. Listen for fiddle tunes and the beloved Shaker melody “Simple Gifts.”