Masterwork Series I

We kick off our 36th season with music shaped by African and African American traditions. Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 5, written during his time in Egypt, is infused with exotic melodies and dazzling virtuosity. Gershwin and Weill both wove blues and jazz into a classical framework in their groundbreaking operas, Porgy and Bess and The Threepenny Opera, whose unforgettable tunes—like Mack the Knife and Summertime—have become standards of both the concert hall and the Great American Songbook.