Florence Price (arr. Ranz) Adoration (4 min.)

This concert includes the Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s first performance of a work by Florence B. Price (1887- 1953). Price is renowned as the first Black female American composer to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra. Her work Adoration was originally written for organ and has been widely performed in the past 15 years. Listen for the lush, devotional warmth of the solo clarinet and string orchestra in this arrangement of the original work.

Camille Saint-Sa ns Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor (19 min.)

A favorite of cellists and audiences the world over, Saint-Sa ns’ A minor concerto was unveiled in Paris in 1873. Breaking with tradition, the standard three-movement concerto is compressed into one continuous movement with contrasting sections. We welcome the renowned cellist (and local favorite) Jan Vogler back to Colorado Springs for Saint-Sa ns’ masterful first concerto.

Robert Schumann Symphony No. in B-flat major “Spring” (30 min.)

“I wrote the symphony in that rush of spring which carries a man away even in his old age,…” – Robert Schumann Sketched over four bitter days in January, in Schumann’s first symphony we hear the composer longing for the springtime. Newly married and expecting his first child with his wife Clara Schumann, is it any wonder that he yearned for the happy, abundant season ahead? The symphony begins with the strings creating a spring valley in bloom, being called to life by the brass. The second movement depicts a graceful evening. Merry play ensures in the Scherzo, and the last movement is a grand farewell to Spring.