Opening Night: Dvořák’s New World Symphony

Supported by the Fred M. and Lurita D. Wechsler Endowment Fund

Your 26/27 Philharmonics season opens with a bold celebration of creativity and timeless orchestral power. Music Director Andreas Delfs leads the RPO in ASCENT, a Voices of Today commission and world premiere by Michael Torke, followed by Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 2, performed by the fearless and virtuosic Leila Josefowicz. The program culminates in Dvořák’s beloved “New World” Symphony—one of classical music’s most stirring and recognizable works. From cutting-edge new music to a masterpiece inspired by the promise of America, this opening weekend sets an ambitious, exhilarating tone for the season ahead.

Program Note from composer Michael Torke: ASCENT was commissioned by Andreas Delfs and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for the opening concert of their 2026–2027 season. Lasting just over 11 minutes, the work is intended to convey an uplifting, luminous spirit: an ascent—a rising, upward movement of sound. Its musical materials create the perception of continuously ascending in pitch, even though the music never actually gets higher. This auditory illusion, known as the Shepard tone, was developed by the American cognitive scientist Roger Newland Shepard. It is the sonic equivalent of a barber pole or an infinite staircase.

As an artist grows older, there is often a fear of waning energy and imagination. I have been fortunate to retain vivid memories of the creative energy I felt as a composer in my twenties, and in this work I have sought to combine that youthful vitality with the skills and experience gained over more than 45 years of composing. ASCENT is a piece intended to communicate directly with its audience, offering a soundscape that is as understandable as it is challenging.

This concert is especially for:

• Classical music fans
• Violin aficionados
• People excited to experience a world premiere of contemporary classical music

RPO Recommends…

If you like violin virtuosos, join us for Juliana Plays Piazzolla’s Four Seasons.

If you like new classical works especially by Michael Torke, attend Schumann’s Rhenish Symphony (another Michael Torke composition written for Tessa Lark, the guest artist)

If you like blockbuster symphonies, check out Piano Festival Week 2 Program 1: Biss Plays Beethoven