Famous Last Words

This season finale celebrates the full arc of a composer’s creative life—reminding us that while we often celebrate youthful brilliance and first masterpieces, we less often pause to honor the depth, clarity, and wisdom found in a composer’s final works. Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture opens the evening with vitality and wonder, a testament to imagination at its most exuberant. Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs, performed by soprano Shanelle Woods, glow with warmth and acceptance, offering a radiant reflection on life’s beauty rather than its end. The program concludes with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, the Pathétique, whose unforgettable final movement transforms farewell into profound expression. Conducted by Matthew Wardell, these closing concerts invite us to listen not backward with sorrow, but forward with gratitude—for lives, voices, and music fully realized.

Featured Works:
Overture to the Magic Flute – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Four Last Songs – Richard Strauss
Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique” –  Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Featured Artists:
Matthew Wardell, conductor
Shanelle Valerie Woods, soprano