Fairfax Symphony Orchestra presents Beethoven Symphony No. 9

LESHNOFF: Symphony No. 4 “Heichalos” (Regional Premiere)

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9

Distinguished by (The New York Times) as “a leader of contemporary American lyricism,” composer Jonathan Leshnoff is renowned for his music’s striking harmonies and powerful themes. Leshnoff’s Symphony No. 4 is a powerful new work written for the Violins of Hope, a collection of restored instruments that survived the Holocaust. The composer draws inspiration from an ancient Jewish mystical text, Heichalos, to explore spiritual and ethical questions at the heart of the Jewish experience.

Beethoven crafted the Ninth Symphony in an epic struggle between despair and transcendence to reach new heights with the words “all men become brothers.” His glorious final symphony celebrates the bonds that unite humankind and has been described as his “great vision of the future.”