Seattle Symphony

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More About

• Aaron Jay Kernis
• Solomon Ibn Gabirol
• Benaroya Hall
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Orchestral Music

Addressing the Lord directly, in love, praise, and supplication, the text of Aaron Jay Kernis’ Symphony No. 3, Symphony of Meditations, is taken from devout verse by the 11th-century poet Solomon ibn Gabirol, set in a large Mahlerian frame of soprano, baritone, chorus, and full orchestra. That being the Seattle Symphony, for whom the piece, two years in the making, was written. Gerard Schwarz conducts the premiere tonight. Kernis particularly excels at arresting orchestral color and a feeling of transcendent spaciousness—for one example, there’s his Musica Celestis, recorded by the SSO on a CD titled Echoes. Also on the program: Gustav Holst’s trippy The Planets. The program will be repeated Friday; Saturday’s concert is a special celebration of Benaroya Hall’s 10th anniversary, with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 replacing the Kernis. GAVIN BORCHERT
Thu., June 25, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., June 26, 7 p.m.; Sat., June 27, 7 p.m., 2009