Alabama Symphony Orchestra

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The Alabama Symphony Orchestra provides orchestral experiences through concerts, education, and creativity in Alabama

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Requiem: October 23 & 24, 2026
Sep 15, 2026 · original
Requiem Overview On paper, this program, with its Songs on the Death of Children and Requiem Mass, appears all about death. It’s not just the pieces, but the composers, too, whose legacies are shaded by mortality. Both died young—Mozart at just 35 and Mahler at 51. Mozart’s death sparked a rash of speculation and rumor before his body even touched the soil; for Mahler, mortality became a ghost that persistently haunted him. Mahler’s obsession with death is understandable considering the number of losses he suffered in his life. Eight of his thirteen siblings died in childhood, including his favorite brother, Ernst, which hit him particularly hard. He later lost a child of his own, just days before being diagnosed with the heart condition that would eventually kill him. He spent much of his life dogged by the feeling that he was doomed, and an obsessive existentialism lurks throughout his
Thief, Poet, & Songs: October 2 & 3, 2026
Aug 24, 2026 · original
Thief, Poet, & Songs Overture to La gazza ladra (1817) Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) Runtime: Approx. 10 minutes Like Shakespeare plays and Hollywood awards, opera was once strictly divided into distinct plot categories: opera buffa (comedies), opera seria (tragedies), and opera verismo (realism). And just as cinema today has grown more and more intent on defying categorization, opera composers also eventually pressed at the lines that separated their prescribed genres. La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) therefore falls into a category termed “opera semiseria,” equivalent to today’s “tragicomedy.” On one hand, the story is quite silly; Ninetta, a maid in a wealthy household, is wrongly accused of stealing a silver spoon. The real culprit is a magpie, a bird attracted to shiny objects. On the other hand, the tale, which is based on the play La pie voleuse by Théodore Baudouin d’Aubigny
Beyond the Forest, Into the Sky: May 15 & 16, 2026
May 5, 2026 · original
Beyond the Forest, Into the Sky by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra Prelude to Hänsel und Gretel (1893) Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921) Run time: Approx. 8 minutes Engelbert Humperdinck is not a name that would appear today on a list of best-known composers. He did not cultivate a large compositional output, instead devoting much of his life to teaching, and as a result, Hänsel und Gretel stands somewhat alone in his legacy, making him a bit of a compositional one-hit wonder. Though the majority of his small catalog missed out on lasting acclaim, Hänsel und Gretel has carved out a place as a beloved staple in the operatic repertoire. Its success and charm are perhaps a result of the unexpected combination of the whimsical fairytale and the very obvious influence of his idol and mentor, Richard Wagner. If you’re not familiar with Wagner, there’s much to be said about his impact on theater
Heart of a New World: May 1 & 2, 2026
Apr 27, 2026 · original
Heart of a New World by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra The School for Scandal Overture, Op. 5 (1931) Samuel Barber (1910-1981) Run time: Approx. 9 minutes Based on the 1777 play of the same name by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Samuel Barber’s short concert overture, The School for Scandal , was the composer’s first ever foray into orchestral writing. It’s hard to imagine this being his first try when listening to the lush textures and deft orchestration. Critics at the time seemed to agree; the piece won him the Joseph H. Bearns Prize in Music in 1933. The overture’s source material is a “comedy of manners”, an absurdist genre that holds a magnifying glass to the conventions of society, often focusing on personal relationships and invented hierarchies within groups. Many consider Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing or Jane Austin’s Emma to be classic examples, but modern comedies like Sei
The French Connection: April 23, 2026
Apr 15, 2026 · original
Overview Alabama Symphony OThe French Connection: April 23, 2026, Carver Theatre In the early 20th century, there was no more happening place for an artist than Paris. In the years after the First World War, the city attracted a veritable who’s who of creatives—Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, Claude Debussy, Cole Porter—all of whom called Paris their home, as did the three composers featured on this program. Arts culture in early 20th-century Paris was very different from that of other major European centers at the time. While the long-standing musical meccas of Germany and Austria grappled with something of an identity crisis—where could music go now that Mahler and Strauss had pushed tonality to its limits?—Paris emerged as a hub of internationalism and creative cross-pollination. Take the Ballets Russes, for example: the famous company founded by Russia
A London Landscape: March 20 & 21
Feb 19, 2026 · original
Overview On the heels of our previous Masterworks concert highlighting some of America’s most definitive composers, A London Landscape of English composers in the modern era is a look now across the pond at their English counterparts. Many of the works on this program are contemporary to those from the previous concert, making this a unique opportunity to compare how orchestral writing developed in each nation during the modern era, particularly as they emerged from disruption of the world wars. Just like the Americans, British composers turned to the natural world for solace and inspiration. Nature has always gone hand in hand with the development of positive national identity. How could it not? If we find hope and meaning in the natural world by going outside and, to borrow a phrase from the kids, touching grass, then the particular grass we touch is as intrinsic and fundamental to our
Of Passion & Promise: February 20 & 21
Feb 5, 2026 · original
Overview For better or worse, the orchestra and orchestral music are fundamentally European inventions. Symphonic practice and styles were developed over hundreds of years in Western Europe where audiences were well educated in musical practice and held strong, often rigid opinions about what was acceptable and what was not. When symphonic music spread to Eastern Europe and eventually to the United States, it brought with it those well developed practices. But over time, freed from centuries of expectation, it was allowed to absorb new influences, mingle with emerging cultural identities, and gradually evolve into something distinct from its European parentage. American composers were not the only ones to benefit from a more open-minded audience. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought a kind of artistic Russian invasion to the United States. Composers such as Tchaikovs
The Farewell Symphony: January 22, 2026
Jan 12, 2026 · original
Symphony in B minor, “Unfinished” (1822) Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Run time: Approx. 26 minutes The mystery surrounding Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony has frustrated scholars since the work’s premiere. The first and most obvious question—where is the rest of it?—has never been definitively answered. Did he try to write more and then abandon it? If so, why? Did the onset of his health problems have something to do with it? He likely began noticing symptoms of the illness that would eventually kill him around this time. Or maybe he simply got distracted and moved on to other material. These questions are unlikely to be answered with any certainty, but perhaps that’s for the best. The music itself teems with an uncertainty that feels perfectly suited to this backdrop. Right from the opening bars, the minor theme played in the low strings, followed by a trembling melody in the violins, cr
Luminous Legends: Tchaikovsky & Brahms: January 30 & 31, 2026
Jan 5, 2026 · original
Egmont Overture (1810) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Run Time: Approx. 8 minutes In the years following the French Revolution, Beethoven was a great admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte. He saw him—as many did at first—as a self-made revolutionary who would bring democracy to Europe. On the cusp of the Napoleonic Wars, Beethoven was completing his third symphony, which he had reverently inscribed with the subtitle “Intitolata Bonaparte.” The story goes that when, in 1804, Beethoven learned that Napoleon had declared himself Emperor of France, the composer flew into a fit of rage, violently scratching “Bonaparte” from the top of his manuscript, and replacing it with the word “Eroica” or “Heroic.” “Now he, too, will tread underfoot all the rights of man,” he declared, and “indulge only his ambition; now he will think himself superior to all men [and] become a tyrant!” Unfortunately, Beethoven’
Messiah (1742) | Composed by George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
Nov 24, 2025 · original
King of kings, And Lord of lords, And He shall reign forever and ever, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without some timeless traditions, and few are as enduring as Handel’s Messiah. Whether you’ve attended every year to hear the ASO perform this holiday classic or you’re experiencing the grand spectacle for the very first time, we’re confident you already know this work. You’ve almost certainly sung along to parts of it! After all, the “Hallelujah” Chorus is among the most recognizable works of art in history, right alongside the Mona Lisa or Michelangelo’s David. It’s credited in over 500 films! So today, we’re not here to introduce this piece—you’ve met before. Instead, we offer a bit of insight into how this unforgettable work was created, the composer behind it, and how it became such a lasting part of the Christmas season. Who was George Friedrich Han
A Night of Winter Dreaming: November 21 & 22, 2025
Nov 3, 2025 · original
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Born in 1756 in Salzburg, Austria, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is probably best known as a quintessential child prodigy. He composed his first piece at the age of five, and during his short 35-year life, he produced over 800 works. But he wasn’t just quick off the mark and impressively productive, he was also a hugely innovative, progressive, and bold composer, making him one of the most influential figures in classical music history. He’s also become well known today for his boisterous personality, thanks in large part to the 1984 film Amadeus and the unforgettable laugh of Tom Hulce . While the film does take many historical liberties, as most do, it nevertheless presents a delightful and surprisingly truthful portrayal of Mozart the man. Exuberant, playful, and at times even childish, he was by all accounts a joyous, deeply feeling person, brimming with
A World Première Inspired by Bach: November 13, 2025
Oct 21, 2025 · original
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048 Johan Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Run Time: Approx. 11 minutes In 1721, the six pieces we now know as the Brandenburg Concertos were sent by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, as a sort of job application. They were probably not conceived as a formal set; more likely, they were simply a collection of pieces for various ensembles that Bach felt best represented his abilities. That is essentially all we know about these iconic works. The Margrave appears never to have responded, and the works were lost for nearly 150 years. The only other piece of information we have is a letter that Bach enclosed with the manuscripts, a portion of which reads as follows: “I have then in accordance with Your Highness’ most gracious orders taken the liberty of rendering my most humble duty to Your Royal Highness with the present concertos, which I

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