Nicholas Hersh, conductor
In February, Hersh and the MSO will explore the sounds of the 1920’s and 30’s in the U.S. and France. We’ll open the program with William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony which debuted to critical acclaim at Carnegie Hall in 1934 with Leopold Stokowski leading the Philadelphia Orchestra. Hersh then takes us to France to discover what an actual American in Paris would have heard in the 1920s with Lili Boulanger’s colorful and energetic D’un Matin de Printemps (Of a Spring Morning). The evening will end with An American in Paris. This Gershwin favorite is a vivid musical postcard that puts us in the footsteps of an American traveler exploring the streets of Paris. Be transported to the City of Love with this Gershwin classic that inspired the movie-musical of the same name, starring Gene Kelly, that went on to win six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Musical Score.
PROGRAM
W. L. Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony
L. Boulanger: D’un Matin de Printemps (Of a Spring Morning)
George Gershwin: An American in Paris