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Maestro Grant Cooper |
This weekend, the West Virginia Symphony presents a concert called “The Wonder of Love,” featuring Berlioz’s Fantastic Symphony and Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer (with mezzo-soprano soloist Audrey Babcock); the concert opens with Wagner’s Prelude to Tristan and Isolde.
WV Symphony Artistic Director and conductor Grant Cooper stopped by the studio to talk about the music they will be playing this weekend.
First, here’s a lovely summary of what this music is all about:
Intrigued? Here’s the rest the interview. We talked in more detail about the theme of the concert and how it is realized in the music. At first, we focused on Berlioz’s dramatic Symphonie Fantastique, with some discussion of programmatic pieces and film music:
The Wonder of Love and Symphonie Fantastique
Maestro Cooper also discussed combining voice and the orchestra to bring Mahler’s tale of love and loss to life:
Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer
Do you need to experience great love and loss to create this music? How does a group of musicians each with their own stories and experiences come together to give a unified interpretation of these romantic works? How do age and experience shape our perception of music? Keep listening:
Love, loss, and romantic music