Nashville Symphony | Nicholas Hersh, conductor | Nashville Symphony Chorus | Tucker Biddlecombe, chorus director | Gabriella Reyes, soprano | Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo soprano | Alek Shrader, tenor | David Leigh, bass

Program

Carlos Simon: Fate Now Conquers
Maurice Ravel: Shéhérazade
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (“Choral”)

Conductor Nicholas Hersh’s inaugural Nashville Symphony series concert brings together a leading American composer and two classic works. Inspired by an entry in Beethoven’s journal, Carlos Simon composed Fate Now Conquers to evoke the unpredictability of fate through musical gestures. Ravel’s inspiration for his song cycle Shéhérazade came from the Sinbad episode from Arabian Nights, where the heroine/narrator spins out tale after tale to save her life. And Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, one of the most frequently performed symphonies in the world, is considered by critics to be one of the supreme achievements in the history of music.