Nashville Symphony | Leonard Slatkin, conductor | Teller, narrator | Hilá Plitmann, soprano

You know him as one half of the legendary Emmy-winning illusionist duo Penn & Teller. But beyond his career as a magician, he's also an author, director, and classical music aficionado. This January, you'll hear the debut of Teller's original narration for Camille Saint-Saëns' suite The Carnival of the Animals. 

Composers have long looked to the animal world for inspiration in expressing human emotions and experiences, from humor and grace to pathos and even love. It's no wonder that the Carnival, along with Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee and Gershwin's Promenade (Walking the Dog), have become favorites of audiences around the globe.

That's why Music Director Leonard Slatkin has paired them with Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan. Dylan's lyrics, in songs like "Blowin' in the Wind" and "All Along the Watchtower," speak timelessly to the complexities—and the joys—of the human condition. Set to new music by John Corigliano and performed by Israeli-American soprano Hila Plitmann, the playfulness of Dylan's poetry here becomes a fitting companion to the animal-inspired symphonic world of Teller and Saint-Saëns.

Program

Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture
Corigliano: Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan
Rimsky-Korskaov: Flight of the Bumblebee
Gershwin: Promenade (Walking the Dog)
Anderson: The Waltzing Cat
Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of the Animals