FIERY PASSION

SUZHOU SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2025-26 SEASON OPENING CONCERT

2025.09.13（SAT）19：30

Jinji Lake Concert Hall SCAC

Conductor     XU Zhong

Soprano         ZHOU Xiaolin

R. STRAUSS 

Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30

WAGNER   

Wesendonck Lieder

STRAVINSKY  

Firebird Suite (1919 Version)

NOTICE TO AUDIENCE

1. DURATION Approximately 92 minutes with a 15-min intermission. 

2. SUGGESTED AGE 8 and above. 

3. Minimum height for children :1.3m. 

Tonight's concert will guide us through the grand landscape of music spanning from the late Romantic era to the early twentieth century. These three masterpieces represent the most important artistic achievements of that era: exceptional mastery of orchestral color and power, dramatic and narrative potential, broad and flowing melodic lines, revolutionary expansion and color use of harmonic possibilities, and ultimately, an emotionally rich and expressive artistic style. First, we have Richard Strauss's majestic tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30. The work itself is an epic of intellectual evolution, full of philosophical dramatic tension that showcases exploration and struggle. The piece extensively uses different chromatic harmonies and ninth chords to enhance its musical color and expressiveness. Through woodwind’s playful parts, strings' interwinding melodies, and brass section’s declaration of the well-known “Sunrise” motif, Strauss constructed an enormous and fascinating musical world. After this, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder will transport us to its intensely emotional realm. The orchestral accompaniment for this soprano and orchestra song cycle is a master piece on its own. Its complex and diverse orchestration carries emotional depth and dramatic impact. Chromatic harmonies created an atmosphere full of intense yearning and tension, while the music is filled with love, suffering, longing, and transcendence——foreshadowing composer's mature concept of “music drama”. The second half of the concert brings Stravinsky's brilliant Firebird Suite. Adapted from the ballet of the same name, this suite is well known for its vivid tonal color and fantastic imagination. Stravinsky tastefully blends elements of Russian folk music with the essence of French Impressionist orchestration. The innovative use of dissonant chords and polytonality vividly depicts the gloomy atmosphere of mythical scenes. Different characters and dramatic conflicts have given the music itself with powerful imagery and driving narrative.