The WSO’s final concert of the 2023-24 season will feature Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, which was written shortly after the successful premiere of the popular Finlandia. He described the piece as “a confession of the soul, a journey that takes many twists and turns, but concludes triumphantly.” Chen Yi is an award-winning Chinese-American composer (b. 1953), who as a child memorized works by classical composers like Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, and was able to sing their compositions note for note. Tone Poem is inspired by two poems by Su Don-po (1036-1101) about southern Chinese landscape paintings that depict sunny afternoons contrasting with sudden thunderstorms. Nielsen’s Helios Overture is one of his most famous short orchestral works. Nielsen wrote in the score, “Silence and darkness, the sun rises with a joyous song of praise, it wanders its golden way and sinks quietly into the sea.” We look forward to seeing you there!