American Riffs and Rhapsodies

This concert offers our most thorough exploration of the American classical music idiom within a single program. From Henry Cowell’s evocation of colonial era hymnal music to Samuel Barber’s brief but melodically rich, youthfully optimistic Symphony No. 1, from Leonard Bernstein’s supremely swinging Prelude, Fugue and Riffs to Morton Gould’s highly unorthodox but quintessentially American Tap Dance Concerto, Copley Symphony Hall will be filled with music that is by turns bold and brassy, confident yet introspective. Special treats include California composer Steven Stucky’s ecstatic, multilayered Rhapsodies and the great Duke Ellington’s Harlem, a symphonic love letter to a neighborhood and culture out to change the world.