Lexington Symphony Presents ‘The Fight for Freedom’ – the Emotional Struggle of Humanity During WW2
Saturday, February 15, 2025, at 7:30pm Pre-Concert Conductor’s Talk at 6:30pm Cary Memorial Hall, Lexington, MA Tickets on Sale Now
Buy Tickets: www.LexingtonSymphony.org
Lexington Symphony, under the musical direction of Jonathan McPhee, presents its February program, The Fight for Freedom featuring Paul Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler portraying the emotional struggle of humanity during WW2, and Ralph Vaughn Williams’s Sea Symphony featuring Baritone, Aaron Engebreth, Soprano, Michelle Trainor, and the New World Chorale.
According to McPhee, The Hindemith piece is based on the triptych painted by German Renaissance painter, Matthias Grünewald in his defiant struggle for artistic freedom in the 16th century during the repressive policies of the Protestant Reformation. “The parallel was all too easily recognized by the Nazis, and Hindemith escaped to the USA with his life. One could say it was Hindemith’s thinly veiled protest against what the Nazis were doing in WW2,” McPhee added.
In Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony, McPhee described Vaughan Williams’s selected verses, a depiction from American poet, Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” in the first three movements, and from his “Passage to India” in the last movement, images of brave sailors exploring the vast oceans as a colorful metaphor for the voyage through human life. McPhee said, “One seldom talked about aspect in the American Revolution was the importance of George Washington’s ad hoc “navy” that largely operated out of Boston Harbor. This is a universal message that must have held considerable personal significance for Vaughan Williams.”
Tickets for Lexington Symphony’s The Fight for Freedom on Saturday, February 15, 2025, at 7:30pm at Lexington’s Cary Hall, 1605 Massachusetts Avenue, are $35-$75, on sale now at www.LexingtonSymphony.org or by calling 781-523-9009. Group and student discounts are available.
Lexington Symphony would like to thank our generous donors, The Gamota Family for underwriting The Fight for Freedom in support of the Ukrainian People, and our season media partners, GBH, CRB Classical 99.5 Radio Boston, LexMedia, and the Lexington Times. Lexington Symphony is supported by funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
The Community Endowment of Lexington (CEL) enhances the quality of life for Lexington citizens. CEL, a fund of the Community Foundation for
The Symphony is also collaborating with the Lex250 Commission to mark the Semiquincentennial celebration of the Battle of Lexington hosted by the Town of Lexington, Massachusetts. The 2024-2025 season is the first of two seasons with programs designed to tie into the historical themes of the American Revolutionary War as identified by the Lex250 committee and its lecture series. Lexington Symphony is also celebrating its 30th anniversary this season.
LEXINGTON SYMPHONY
Lexington Symphony is a professional, musician-owned orchestra of accomplished musicians who share a passion for classical music, a commitment to community engagement, and a dedication to exacting standards of performance. Founded in 1995 by Conductor Hisao Watanabe and a group of dedicated musicians and supporters, Lexington Symphony maintains a grassroots community spirit while producing high-quality performances. The Symphony offers six programs each season at Cary Hall in Lexington and reaches thousands of area youths annually with its award-winning educational program series titled Orchestrating Kids Through Classics™.
With an emphasis on making music accessible to the community, Lexington Symphony offers world- class programming, affordable tickets, and outreach programs that introduce classical music to music lovers of all ages.
Music Director Jonathan McPhee, who joined the Symphony in 2004, is one of the leading musical figures in New England and a frequent guest conductor around the world. Each of Lexington Symphony’s concerts is preceded by a Conductor’s Talk, in which McPhee explores the thoughts of the composers and the history behind the music in a way that illuminates the listening experience to follow. Under McPhee’s leadership, the Symphony continues its work as a renowned, first-class organization firmly committed to its community. www.LexingtonSymphony.org