William Grant Still’s spirited and sophisticated "Festive Overture" exhibits traditional architecture, but exudes Hollywood style. It lies halfway between jazz and classical music. Dvořák’s warm-hearted, ecstatic, and deeply lyrical "Cello Concerto" is a showcase for both soloist and orchestra. The brooding intensity of Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony—his final work—wields an inexorable power over audiences.

Arvo Pärt borrows from the sound of ancient chants to create a style of purity and austerity. Mozart’s 29th Symphony is among his earliest masterpieces: imaginative, unpredictable, balanced, and perfect. Jazz musician-composer-arranger Mary Lou Williams holds a unique place in the development of jazz, especially through the incorporation of classical music into her work. Akron’s EarthQuaker Devices soars to new heights in a sequel to 2022’s live ASO recording.

Lohengrin’s Prelude paints a picture of the descent of the Holy Grail, “radiating fiery beams and shaking the soul with emotion,” in Wagner’s own words. No symphonies surpass those of Bruckner for sheer magnificence of sound. He called the Fourth his
“Romantic” Symphony, for its connection to the spirit of medieval legends. The melodies resound with echoes of Schubert, but the magisterial drama comes from Wagner.

Composer Clarice Assad and trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden introduce a work co-commissioned by the ASO, based on paintings by surrealist Gertrude Abercrombie. The evening takes inspiration from folk song and popular music, in Higdon’s "Reel Time" to American folk traditions at the heart of Montgomery’s "Strum." Tchaikovsky echoes of Mozart and Brahms in "Souvenir de Florence" but in his own deeply personal voice.