Seattle Philharmonic: "My best work" – Tchaikovsky's Second

• Stacey Mastrian, soprano
• Adam Stern, conductor

Jean Sibelius — Luonnotar, Op. 70
Grace Williams — Fairest of Stars (Stacey Mastrian, soprano)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky — Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17

Welsh composer Grace Williams (1906-1977) composed her exquisite and powerful Fairest of Stars, a setting of texts from John Milton's Paradise Lost, in 1973; this final work by Williams to feature solo voice is presented in its U. S. premiere by soprano Stacey Mastrian, whose operatic and recital performances have garnered critical acclaim for "effortless mastery" and "showstopping heights." Ms. Mastrian and the orchestra will also present Sibelius' little-known symphonic poem with voice, Luonnotar. The Philharmonic then concludes its 2023-24 season in grand fashion with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2, the "Ukrainian," a work in which the composer unreservedly expresses his love for the Ukrainian people and their folk music.

About Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra

http://www.seattlephil.org/

About Stacey Mastrian, soprano

Stacey Mastrian, a "manifestly courageous" (Boston Globe) and "versatile and passionate" (Der Tagesspiegel) Italian-American soprano, has sung at the Konzerthaus (Berlin), Kennedy Center (DC), Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur (Montréal), Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center (NY), St. Peter's (Vatican City), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), and in Mexico and more than half of the U.S. states. Dr. Mastrian performs music from Hildegard von Bingen to the present, specializing in Italian vocal music, and she teaches voice, diction, and anatomy. She has been a Fulbright grantee to Italy and appears on the NAXOS, Neuma, and Stradivarius labels.

https://www.staceymastrian.com/

About Adam Stern, conductor

http://www.adamsternconductor.com/