Rouvali Conducts Strauss

Who is the hero of Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben — a historical figure, a mythic legend, or the composer himself? Though most agree that the work is a self-portrait of Strauss, this swashbuckling tone poem is nonetheless a feast for the ears, filled with bravado and derring-do. Guest conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali couples this orchestral workout with Billy Childs’s Diaspora, a vibrant saxophone concerto written for the wildly talented Steven Banks.
Note: Billy Childs’s Diaspora will not be performed on Friday’s matinee concert.