Beethoven’s Pastoral

Overview

Irritated with the bustle and bother of city life in Vienna, Beethoven found inspiration for his “Pastoral” Symphony on long, rambling walks in the countryside. The composer weaves shepherd tunes and bird calls into the music in a celebration of nature, amplified in these performances with artwork from the Kimbell Art Museum’s landscape collection. The concert opens with American composer Missy Mazzoli’s ballet suite Orpheus Undone and closes with Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, drawn from a series of poems about the mysteries of the night.

Artwork compliments of the Kimbell Art Museum