Copland, Saint-Saëns & Prokofiev
Serbian-born cellist Maja Bogdanović makes her long-awaited Richardson Auditorium debut with Camille Saint-Saëns’ melodic first cello concerto, one of the most popular in the repertoire. Aaron Copland’s Letter from Home is an emotional wartime offering in Copland’s unmistakable voice. Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, one of his most beloved works, completes this program with its powerful message of hope and optimism.
Maja Bogdanović's sound is “…gloriously honeyed, fiery, eloquent and fervent.” –The Strad
Program
Aaron COPLAND / Letter from Home
Camille SAINT-SAËNS / Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33
Sergei PROKOFIEV / Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100
Key Notes 
- Saint-Saëns is well known for his composition The Carnival of the Animals, which contains “The Swan,” another frequently-performed feature for solo cello.
- Composed in 1944, Copland’s title Letter from Home is in reference to soldiers serving in WWII receiving letters from family.
- Also written in 1944, Prokofiev’s fifth symphony offers another perspective on this time in history. Prokofiev said that he “conceived of it as glorifying the grandeur of the human spirit, praising the free and happy man—his strength, his generosity, and the purity of his soul.”
Performers
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Maja Bogdanović, cello
