This evocative program opens with pastoral nostalgia; composer Dobrinka Tabakova describes her Thrace as “inspired by the landscapes of Thrace and the vivid contrast between the lowlands and the mountains.” Later, Artistic Partner Dashon Burton takes the stage for Brahms's "Serious Songs" – a somber valediction, penned less than a year before the composer's death. Detlev Glanert's arrangement of the final music Brahms ever wrote for the voice allows the full orchestra to sing. Lastly, one of the most popular symphonies ever written, Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony gives itself over entirely to emotion, tragedy, and passion.