Saint-Saëns transforms the concert hall into a cavernous cathedral in his mighty “Organ Symphony.” A self-portrait in sound that channels the composer’s lifelong love of sacred music, this symphony unleashes the thunderous sound of the Lay Family Concert Organ as it scales the heights of spiritual euphoria. “I gave everything to it,” Saint-Saëns wrote of his final symphony, “What I have here accomplished I will never achieve again.”
At the center of the program, Grieg’s Piano Concerto brims with an endless flow of melodies — from the heart-stopping avalanche of crashing chords that opens the work, to the central lullaby and the finale’s rollicking dance music. Pianist Kiron Atom Tellian brings his “incredible combination of sensitivity and taste” (Tennessean) to Grieg’s musical love letter to his native Norway.