Rachmaninoff's Last Great Work

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra welcomes back Georgia's own Roderick Cox for a rousing program of Barber, John Adams and Rachmaninoff. Barber's Adagio for Strings is a moving work characterized by its slow, mournful melodies and rich, sorrowful harmonies. Following on from that is John Adams' Doctor Atomic Symphony, an orchestral adaptation of his 2005 opera set during the USA's first atomic tests in 1945.

The program closes with the intensity and vibrant, kaleidoscopic instrumental color of Rachmaninoff's last work, Symphonic Dances. Each of its contrasting three dances come together to form a retrospective whole that stunningly sums up the Romantic icon's musical philosophy - bold driving rhythms, heart-stoppingly beautiful melodies and lush orchestration.