Fresh Air & Beethoven’s Eroica

Initially dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte, the revised title “Eroica” (“Heroic”) suits Beethoven’s grand symphony of tension, energy, and triumph. Currier composed the delicate and mesmerizing Aether expressly for Latvian violinist Baiba Skride, premiered in 2019; “aether” refers to fresh air, or in Currier’s words, “the air the gods breathe.” A tone poem by Sibelius opens the program, his rousing and rhythmic Night Ride and Sunrise.