Nashville Symphony Pairs Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony with
NASA Deep Space Imagery for January 11-13 Performances
Great seats start at $20, with student discounts available
Music Director Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony return to the Schermerhorn stage on January 11-13 for Cosmos: An HD Odyssey, a unique, multimedia program that features the pairing of Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony with stunning HD images of deep space captured by NASA, as well as a special appearance by renowned violinist Gil Shaham.
Dvořák’s beloved symphony will be accompanied by Cosmos: An HD Odyssey, the final installment of Duncan Copp’s innovative film trilogy in cooperation with NASA that follows previous Nashville Symphony presentations of The Planets and The Earth. Bedrich Smetana’s The Moldau from Má Vlast opens the concerts, and Shaham joins the orchestra as the featured soloist on Alban Berg’s deeply moving Violin Concerto.
Great seats are available starting at $20 (pricing valid while supplies last, additional fees apply) and the Symphony’s Soundcheck program offers $10 tickets to students in K-12, college and grad school.
About the Program
Dvořák penned his Ninth Symphony, which he tagged as music “from the New World,” during a lengthy sojourn to the United States from 1892-1895. In America, the composer found the musical, social and scenic influences he was seeking in the pursuit of a new artistic direction, and the score of the “New World” Symphony reflects the full scope of his experiences on the trip. While Dvořák’s trademark Bohemian flavor is evident throughout, the piece is also heavily influenced by both the Native-American music and African-American spirituals he encountered in America.
Pairing the symphony – widely regarded as one of the finest in the entire genre – with Copp’s film for these performances is particularly fitting, given that Neil Armstrong brought a recording of the work with him on the Apollo 11 moon landing mission.
As the featured soloist on Berg’s Violin Concerto, Shaham will be showcasing the talent and unrivaled technique that has made him one of the foremost violinists of our time and earned him both a GRAMMY® Award and the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant.
Berg, who is known for infusing atonal music with the emotional elements of Romantic lyricism, dedicated the concerto to the memory of Manon Gropius, the daughter of Gustav Mahler’s wife Alma and her second husband. The composer had witnessed Manon’s development into a promising actress prior to succumbing to polio when she was only 18, and inscribed the concerto’s score “to the memory of an angel.” Coincidentally, the concerto is also regarded as an unintended Requiem for Berg himself, who died shortly after its completion and never heard the piece.
About the Filmmaker
Dr. Duncan Copp is an international film producer and director with extensive knowledge and expertise in astronomy. His first commission was National Geographic’s Rocket Men of Mission 105, which followed the training and flight of a space shuttle crew during their mission to the International Space Station. His other credits include Hunt for the Death Star(Channel Four and National Geographic), which won a Gold Hugo at the Chicago International TV and Film festival; Magnetic Storm (Channel Four and PBS / NOVA); Global Dimming(for the BBC and PBS / NOVA) and In the Shadow of the Moon (Channel Four / Discovery / Film 4 / THINKFilm / Vertigo Films), the intimate story of the Apollo astronauts, which has received over 15 awards internationally, including the Audience Award for Best International Film at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
Copp’s latest productions include the NOVA / National Geographic special Secrets of the Sun focusing on the exciting discoveries helping to unlock the secrets of our nearest star, and NOVA’s Doomsday Volcanoes and Neil Armstrong: First Man on the Moon. In 2009, he was the recipient of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics distinguished public service medal for stimulating public interest in science and technology, specifically in space exploration.
Tickets for Cosmos: An HD Odyssey may be purchased:
Online at NashvilleSymphony.org/CosmosVia phone at 615.687.6400At the Schermerhorn Symphony Center Box Office, One Symphony Place in downtown Nashville
Additional information, including program notes, performer bios, a Spotify playlist and audio of Giancarlo Guerrero discussing the program, can be found at: www.NashvilleSymphony.org/Cosmos.
The GRAMMY® Award-winning Nashville Symphony has earned an international reputation for its innovative programming and its commitment to performing, recording and commissioning works by America’s leading composers. The Nashville Symphony has released 29 recordings on Naxos, which have received 24 GRAMMY® nominations and 13 GRAMMY® Awards, making it one of the most active recording orchestras in the country. The orchestra has also released recordings on Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and New West Records, among other labels. With more than 140 performances annually, the orchestra offers a broad range of classical, pops and jazz, and children’s concerts, while its extensive education and community engagement programs reach 60,000 children and adults each year.
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