ADAMS On the transmigration of souls
DI CASTRI Invisible House
PROKÓFIEV Sinfonía núm. 5
Composed in 2002 on commission from the New York Philharmonic to mark the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks, On the Transmigration of Souls transcends the concept of a requiem to become, in John Adams’ own words, “a place of memory.” The combination of orchestra, chorus, children’s choir and pre-recorded sounds creates a soundscape of intense emotional weight, in which voices and fragments of memory merge into a meditation on loss and transformation.
Premiered in January 1945, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 was written during the final months of the Second World War and occupies a central place within his output. “I conceived it as a hymn to the greatness of the human spirit,” Prokofiev stated, “praising the free and happy man: his strength, his generosity and the purity of his soul.” The work combines themes of an epic character with passages of great lyricism and a richly textured orchestral writing. Although its conclusion appears to assert a triumphant tone, the underlying tension running through the symphony has given rise to widely differing interpretations since its premiere.
