Canadian Larysa Kuzmenko composed Fantasy on a Theme by Beethoven in celebration of his birthday. Haydn's high-spirited and dramatic Cello Concerto No. 1 remained undiscovered for two centuries until its chance 1961 find at the Czech National Library. Fittingly, Grieg's four charming Symphonic Dances, inspired by Norwegian folk, played a key role in formalizing Norway's national identity.

As the first of a trilogy of cantatas, Orff's irreverent Carmina Burana draws from a 13th century compilation of vagabond songs and poems detailing fate's fickleness, pagan delights, and corruption, with hypnotic sensuality and powerful rhythms. Hindemith's reworked Symphonic Dances emerged from a discarded ballet collaboration.

Our season concludes with three iconic compositions and two orchestral world premieres. Bernstein's toe-tapping Three Dance Episodes from On the Town, Copland's distinctively American Appalachian Spring Suite, and Gershwin's jazz-infused Rhapsody in Blue are paired with two works rooted in Western New York. Michael Daugherty's Niagara Falls is a musical journey through one of the world's great scenic wonders, while Buffalo-born Paul Moravec's Serenade—inspired by the Great Western Staircase at the New York State Capitol—offers a stirring narrative of ascent and aspiration.