James Gaffigan & Janine Jansen

The tone colors of the strings in William Grant Still’s Mother and Child evoke the lovely flower meadows and the cradling one associates with the tender bonds between mother and child. Dvořák’s American Suite: raw, promising, yearning, impetuous, exciting – a musical depiction of the New World. Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium) begins with a sighing, exquisitely flowing solo violin line, and with the addition of strings, harp, and percussion, turns into an unconventional, raging mix of styles with a “hint of jazz” at the end. The solo part is entrusted to the exceptional violinist Janine Jansen. Gershwin’s portrait of the French rush hour in An American in Paris concludes the concert. James Gaffigan will be conducting the BRSO for the third time in this very special program, which also promises to be incredibly exciting.