Festival Saturday 1: Pastorale

Tales of the verdant countryside unfold under the baton of Yaniv Dinur in the first orchestral program of the 2023 Festival. Exuberant and joyful, Felix Mendelssohn’s incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream depicts the magical forest world of elves and fairies and the raptures of young love. Festival faculty pianist Anne-Marie McDermott will dazzle in Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto, which his wife Clara described as “fresh and beautiful.” The program concludes with Beethoven’s “Pastorale” Symphony. From bird calls to burbling streams to the terrifying power of an afternoon thunderstorm, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony is a timeless expression of his reverence for the natural world.