Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein and Steve Reich are among the greatest 20th-century composers in the United States. The musicians, conducted by Lionel Sow, will speak this evening with the musical voice of America, introducing, among others, works by these legendary composers.

The concert will begin with the work of the American composer and music critic Virgil Thomson – Seven Choruses from the “Medea” of Euripides from 1934. In the composition consisting of seven movements, Thomson perfectly uses the noble sound of the human voice, combining it with the sounds of percussion instruments. These are very close to the pioneer of minimalism in music – Steve Reich. His famous Clapping Music is a small piece based on a simple rhythmic structure clapped by performers. The art consists in the correct performance of its variable form, revealing the whole spectrum of various rhythmic phrases flowing from a clear pattern.

The work of Leonard Bernstein was as varied as his artistic profile – he composed symphonic music, as well writing for film and theatre. In 1955, he created the soundtrack for the play The Lark, referencing the figure of Jeanne d’Arc. The artist clearly drew inspiration from early music, which he later expressed by transforming the score into a new work – Missa brevis. A similar procedure was used by Samuel Barber, who was not much older than Bernstein. The Agnus Dei that will sound this evening is based on the material of his famous Adagio for strings, often described as the saddest piece in the history of classical music. The concert will end with Eight Fragments from Shelley by George Antheil, an American composer and pianist of Polish origin. The composer’s language was extremely eclectic – it was influenced by jazz and contemporary modernist trends.