This second concert in the ASYO's season begins with Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte. Originally written for solo piano, this piece is based on the pavane, a slow processional dance from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and pays tribute to Spanish customs.
The program also includes Chinese composer Huang Ruo's Folk Songs for Orchestra, which is a wholly original composition based on the composer's favorite Chinese folk songs, including "Flower Drum Song from Feng Yang" and "Love Song from Kang Ding," one of the country's most famous folk songs.
Closing the afternoon's concert is Dvořák's Symphony No. 8, a bright and cheery symphony which evokes a sunny summer day in the composer's home in Bohemia. You can almost hear the birds chirping and the leaves blowing in the wind as we close out the second ASYO concert of the season.
Performed in Atlanta Symphony Hall on February 27, 2022.