Only in America

Program LEONARD BERNSTEIN [1918—1990] Three Dance Episodes from On the Town

KRIS BOWERS [*1989] For a Younger Self, concerto for violin and orchestra

JOAN TOWER [*1938] Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, No. 1

AARON COPLAND [1900—1990] Symphony No. 3

Conductor Michael Francis and the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin embark on a symphonic journey to America. With his award-winning music for films such as Green Book or series such as Bridgerton, the American composer Kris Bowers celebrated a meteoric rise. He wrote his violin concerto For a Younger Self for Charles Yang, a violinist with the energy of a rock star who is now also showing off his skills in Berlin. The concert concludes with Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3, which Leonard Bernstein described as an “American monument, similar to the Washington Monument or the Lincoln Memorial.” It is hardly surprising that Copland addressed the theme of his Fanfare for the Common Man in the final movement of the symphony. Based on this, composer Joan Tower once again wrote a work in which she allowed the woman disregarded by her male colleague to speak — the Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman.