Reach for the Stars
Romantic Reveries
•
26-May-2026
BEETHOVEN 𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦 Overture No. 3
JANÁČEK 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥 Suite (arr. Jilek)
Franz Welser-Möst leads a pair of works centered on freedom: Beethoven’s propulsive 𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦 Overture No. 3 and excerpts from Leoš Janáček’s intensely dramatic opera 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥.
Welser-Möst discusses freedom as a defining force in Beethoven’s music, describing 𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦 as philosophy made audible. In this overture, he hears a journey per aspera ad astra — through difficulty, toward the stars — much like the American Dream. Welser-Möst also reflects on Janáček’s precise, unrelenting style and the way the Czech language colors his music — declaring the Suite’s ending “an enormous triumph of the human spirit.”
Up Next in Romantic Reveries
-
Breathe: Osmo Vänskä
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”
Conductor Osmo Vänskä leads the Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s masterfully orchestrated and emotionally expansive Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique” — a musical journey that encompasses desperation as well as joy.
Off the podium, Vänskä recalls a childhood in Finl...
-
Beethoven’s Fifth
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5
Music Director Franz Welser-Möst leads an exuberant performance of Beethoven’s fiery Fifth Symphony — from its iconic first four notes through its euphoric finale.
At Vienna’s Leopold Museum, surrounded by some of his favorite paintings and sculptures, Welser-Möst explo...
-
Adès’s Tempestuous Debut
SIBELIUS Prelude and Suite No. 1 (from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵)
SIBELIUS 𝘚𝘪𝘹 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴
ADÈS 𝘔ä𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘵ä𝘯𝘻𝘦
ADÈS Five Spells (from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵)Composer-conductor Thomas Adès’s Cleveland Orchestra conducting debut features two musical interpretations of Shakespeare’s 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵 — one by Sibelius, and the ot...
