St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Sibelius’ Fifth – Edge of Heaven

Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son has cultivated a huge following, and she brings reserves of stamina to Prokofiev’s virtuoso powerhouse, the Second Piano Concerto. Jonathon Heyward, one of Time Magazine’s “Next Generation Leaders,” returns to the SLSO with Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony. Writing the work, Sibelius felt possessed, as if “God was throwing pieces of mosaic from the edge of heaven.”

A few things to know:

• Pianist Yeol Eum Son burst onto the international scene after wins in major competitions. She has developed a worldwide online following, including a YouTube video that has been viewed almost 23 million times.
• William Grant Still was a prolific composer whose life spanned most of the 20th century. His 200 works include five symphonies, nine operas, and more. A man of many “firsts,” Still is recognized as the first African American composer to have a symphony performed by a professional U.S. orchestra. That said, Still’s daughter Judith Anne Still recalled, “He wanted most of all to be known as a composer of operas... Most opera companies in the 20th century would not perform [his] operas because of his color.”

Jonathon Heyward became the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s first music director of color in the fall of 2023. On being a conductor, he has said, “I discovered that I loved the idea of being a collaborator and making one unified voice out of many.”