San Francisco Symphony: Petrenko Conducts Respighi October 6, 2012

Opening a concert brimming with evocative imagery is the best-known work of Arvo Part, whose spiritual, mystical music speaks directly to the soul. The sheer vibrancy of Bartok's concerto belies the mortal illness he suffered while composing it. Respighi imbued his fountains with the majesty of the sea gods they celebrate, and his pines with the grace of the nightingales they shelter, and the power of the Roman Legions who once marched beneath them.