A bright classical overture by Haydn is followed by American composer Michael Torke’s Ash. Described as being like a recalcitrant Beethoven overture, it is full of vibrant colors and was choreographed as a ballet soon after its composition.
Copland’s ballet Appalachian Spring is an iconic piece of Americana. Created for Martha Graham in 1944, the ballet won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Music. It has achieved enduring popularity as an orchestral suite.
While Sibelius was composing his fifth symphony, he wrote, it is as if God Almighty had thrown down pieces of a mosaic for heaven’s floor and asked me to find out what was the original pattern.” Its last movement has been called the greatest finale of all time!