Beethoven’s Immortal 5th

First is music by the American composer Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981), whose Starburst for string orchestra portrays the formation of new stars in a galaxy.

Igor Stravinsky’s quirkish Pulcinella, a 20th-century take on charming 18th-century music, follows.

Weber’s delightful Bassoon Concerto, ends the first half, with the SBSO’s principal bassoonist Mary Beth Minnis as soloist.

The evening ends with what is surely the most famous symphony of all time,

Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. Memorable for the first four notes that permeate the whole work, for the journey from C minor to the triumphal ending in C major, and for the first ever use in a symphony of piccolo, contrabassoon, and trombones, the Symphony provides an uplifting end to the season.