This week, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra welcomes the stellar young cellist Sterling Elliott for the elegant and playfully charming Variations on a Rococo Theme. The concert gets underway with kaleidoscopic dreamscapes à la Debussy and ends with a vivid rendering of medieval altarpieces by Hindemith. In Mathis der Maler, Hindemith draws upon medieval chant and the Technicolor forces of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to capture the striking chiaroscuro of various Biblical scenes, from angelic exaltation to demonic grotesquerie. The program also features works by two early American composers, including some raucous, wine-induced merrymaking by Griffes and an alluringly mysterious piece by Ives.
