The Pathétique by Tchaikovsky and Four Last Songs by Strauss

We will open with Antrópolis, a work full of rhythm and color by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. The title plays on the word “antro”—which in Mexico refers to nightlife venues—and “polis”, meaning city. Ortiz evokes the vibrant sound of legendary dance halls and cabarets in Mexico City, places filled with life, music, and memory. Written in 2017 for the Louisiana Philharmonic and premiered at Carnegie Hall, Antrópolis is a personal tribute to those spaces and to the city's sonic landscape.

German soprano Julia Kleiter will perform Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, written shortly before his death. In them, the composer bids farewell to the world with serene music, full of beauty and acceptance. Kleiter is one of the leading lyric voices of her generation, with an international career that includes the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna State Opera, and New York’s Metropolitan Opera, and a repertoire ranging from Mozart to Strauss and Mahler.

We will close with Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, premiered just days before his death in 1893. A work full of emotion and mystery, it is considered his most personal and moving legacy.

With this concert, Andrés Salado begins his tenure as principal conductor of the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, leading a program of great emotional intensity.

Program and cast

Julia Kleiter, soprano
Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès
Andrés Salado, conductor

Program

G. Ortiz: Antrópolis 2019
R. Strauss: Last four songs
P. I. Txaikovski: Symphony No. 6, in B minor, op. 74, “Pathétique”