Christ on the Mount of Olives by Beethoven
Power in the Blood by Cyrus Chestnut*

This highly original program is a unique hybrid, whose intimately linked halves offer parallel tellings of a gripping sacred drama.

Beethoven’s beloved oratorio, with its high-wire solos and thunderous choruses, will be accompanied by a full orchestra. Power in the Blood, a sequence of spirituals arranged and threaded together by Cyrus Chestnut, will be accompanied by an acoustic trio featuring Chestnut himself, whom Time magazine called "the best jazz pianist of his generation”. With virtuosity and verve, each composer reflects and magnifies the spiritual force of the other.

*World premiere

Read the Conductor’s Note

Read Cyrus Chestnut’s Program Note