Yannick Conducts Beethoven’s “Pastoral”

Yannick conducts a trio of masterworks in which three very different, but equally influential, composers are presented.

Creator of more than 150 compositions including operas, ballets, symphonies, chamber works, choral pieces, and solo vocal works, William Grant Still was known as the “Dean of African American Composers”—far too narrow a title for such a boundless artist. A born musician who never missed an opportunity to learn and grow, he created music influenced by life around him—from the spirituals sung to him by his grandmother to the burgeoning jazz that spilled from clubs. His astonishing accomplishments were a series of “firsts”: the first Black composer to be performed by a major U.S. orchestra (the “Afro-American” Symphony), the first to have an opera produced by a major company, and the first Black conductor to lead a major orchestra (the Los Angeles Philharmonic), among others.

It is revelatory to hear Still’s work adjacent to Beethoven’s; both of these symphonies evoke vivid images of a place and time. Beethoven’s Sixth captures his consuming love of nature, in all its moods. Listen for the gentle running of water, bird song, soft breezes and rustling leaves, a shattering thunderstorm, and the breaking of the sun through the clouds, culminating in a feeling of utter serenity—it’s all there for the savoring.

The centerpiece of this program affords an opportunity to hear one of the Orchestra’s own in a solo role. Principal Viola Choong-Jin Chang draws praise for his big-hearted tone, “flooding out as if in a big, spacious sphere. Chang’s expertise … gave him more than a few show-stopping moments. The prolonged ovation was well deserved” (The Strad).