Extended Program Notes: More to Hear—The Listening Project

On May 1, 2026, the Minnesota Orchestra presents More to Hear: The Listening Project, with Music Director Thomas Søndergård conducting music by Zhou Tian, Florence Price, Miguel Farías and William Grant Still. Henry Dorn hosts the program, which features soprano Janai Brugger as soloist in the world premiere performance of The Heart of a Woman, a collection of ten songs by Florence Price orchestrated for soprano and orchestra by Lior Rosner. Read the texts for the ten movements of The Heart of a Woman.

Following are extended program notes and instrumentation lists.

Program Notes

Zhou Tian
Born: December 22, 1981, Hangzhou, China

Metropolis
Premiered: September 9, 2022

May 2026 marks exactly one score—20 years—since a score by Chinese-American composer Zhou Tian was first brought to life at Orchestra Hall, when his Palace of 9 Perfections received a reading at the 2006 Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute. Born in 1981 in Hangzhou, China, Zhou was raised in a musical family and moved to the U.S. at age 19 to study at the Curtis Institute of Music. He continued his education at the Juilliard School and University of Southern California. Among his many successes is a 2018 Grammy nomination for his Concerto for Orchestra.

POETRY AND CULTURES IN MUSIC

Zhou’s work Metropolis was premiered in the composer’s home country by the Guangzhou Symphony in September 2022. The piece is loosely inspired by the city of Guangzhou itself, and the music was commissioned to celebrate the local orchestra’s 65th anniversary. Zhou explains the piece’s impetus thusly: “Inspired by a poem from the Tang dynasty describing the sumptuous metropolitan city of Southern Yue (Guangzhou today) titled ‘Remembering a Thousand Years of Yue.’ The piece explores the intersection between cultures, reflecting my own upbringing.”

After a brief introduction, this music is off on an inspirational adventure, opening with bright brass fanfares and rapid woodwind gestures. The first two minutes go by in a flash. Then, low strings offer a transition through gentle pizzicato, which opens up into a stunning horn solo. Woodwinds and harp join, taking turns echoing and supporting the horn’s leading role, eventually taking it on as their own. Soon, the strings are also included, painting broad, lush strokes as a divinely unified section. The music here is sweet and tender. A slight moment of pause—this one held by celesta, harp and percussion—leads the transition back to the original Allegro theme. Markedly accented rhythmic ideas are connected by swirling flourishes from the woodwinds and upper strings. The same rush of excitement from the piece’s beginning returns, powerful and thrilling with constant momentum.

Instrumentation: 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, China cymbal, suspended cymbal, large bell, hi-hat, tam-tam, large temple bowl, whip, xylophone, glockenspiel, chimes, piano (doubling celesta) and strings

Florence Price
Born: April 9, 1887, Little Rock, Arkansas
Died: June 3, 1953, Chicago, Illinois

The Heart of a Woman: Ten Songs for Soprano and Orchestra, orchestrated by Lior Rosner
Premiering: May 1, 2026

Born in 1887 in Little Rock, Arkansas, Florence Price is widely known as America’s first prominent Black female composer of classical concert music. Price was the first Black American woman to have her music played by a major American symphony orchestra—specifically, the Chicago Symphony at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933, under the direction of conductor Frederick Stock.

A pianist, organist, teacher and composer, Price wrote more than 300 pieces of music. However, much of her music went missing after her death in 1953. It was only in recent years that many of her manuscripts were rediscovered in both an abandoned house outside of Chicago and as part of an auction of music from a private collection. Since these discoveries and multiple ongoing efforts to engrave and publish what was found, Price’s music has seen a significant increase in performances around the world.

A WEALTH OF SONGS

Among her broad collection of works are nearly 100 songs for voice and piano. The set of ten shared in today’s concert was curated and orchestrated by Lior Rosner. Rosner is a composer working across film, television and the concert stage. His film credits include the X-Men franchise and Valkyrie, among many others, alongside hundreds of episodes of television, including NBC's revival of Will & Grace. His concert work Sugar Plum on the Run, released on Sony Classical, features Jeremy Irons with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and stands as one of the most streamed classical releases of the decade. Rosner most recently composed the original dramatic score for the highly anticipated biopic Michael.

This set of Price orchestrations is one part of a larger collaboration between Rosner and soprano Janai Brugger called An American Renaissance, featuring orchestrations of music by Price and Billy Strayhorn, described in an artist’s statement as music “written by two giants of African American music who are associated with the artistic revival that flourished during the first half of the 20th century in Harlem and Chicago.” Three Strayhorn orchestrations from the project will be performed by Brugger and the Minnesota Orchestra at Symphony Ball on May 2.

Of this particular set of Florence Price’s music, which Rosner selected and shaped from a collection of 44 art songs and spirituals by Price, the orchestrator has provided these extensive comments in the collection's score:

“By any measure, a Florence Beatrice Price renaissance is well underway. Seven decades since her death, and nine since the groundbreaking premiere of Symphony in E minor, her luminous music continues to captivate audiences worldwide. While her symphonic works have been performed regularly in recent years, her Art Songs—mostly written for voice and piano—have not benefited from the same level of exposure in concert halls.

“Price’s art songs touch upon themes of love, spirituality, and the African American experience. Her compositions reflect the struggles and triumphs of her community in a racially divided society. Through her music she brought to light the beauty and resilience of her community, while her art songs in particular served as a platform for cultural expression and empowerment.

“Price’s chosen texts came from a variety of poets with whom she had shared heritage: Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar and James Weldon, among others. In terms of themes, her art songs tend to belong to either the Classical—drawing inspiration from European art song traditions, and often featuring themes of love, nature and introspection, or the Spiritual—deeply rooted in African American tradition, experiences and rich cultural history.

“For this newly orchestrated collection of songs, I decided to focus on the first category as I felt they present a glimpse into her inner-self, and the exceptional ability to connect with listeners on a deeply emotional level. My intent was to achieve an arc of a life-well-lived: starting with dreams and aspirations, going through struggles and triumphs, and lastly—arriving at a peaceful return home, which could also be interpreted as an end of life’s journey.

“This collection’s title, The Heart of a Woman, is taken from one of Price’s most provocative songs. It is a setting of a poem by Georgia Douglas Johnson. In it, a woman’s heart is compared to a lone bird that wings ‘forth with the dawn’ over 'life’s turrets and vales.’ It then ‘falls back with the night / And enters some alien cage in its plight / And tries to forget it has dreamed of the stars / While it breaks, breaks, breaks on the sheltering bars.’

“Other songs are centered around dreams and aspirations, for example My Dream, with its soaring melodies and evocative harmonies, paints a vivid picture of a dream world, transporting the listener to a realm of enchantment. Delicately balanced between beauty and melancholy, it skillfully captures the complexities of human emotion.

“Another aspect of Price’s dream world is articulated in the poem Dream Ships by Langston Hughes, where dreams take the form of ships which sail through the vast ocean of possibilities—symbolizing the aspirations and ambitions of individuals striving for a better future. Hughes’ evocative language and imagery invite readers to imagine themselves aboard these vessels, reminding us of the importance of holding onto our dreams and believing in their transformative power.

“Other works by Langston Hughes include Songs to the Dark Virgin, which was premiered by Marian Anderson in 1940 and was dedicated to the diva. It is a powerful and thought-provoking poem that challenges societal norms and beauty standards by celebrating the beauty and strength of dark-skinned Black women. In his words, Hughes conveys the resilience and grace of women who have often been marginalized and overlooked. It is a tribute to the inner strength and beauty that exists within all individuals, regardless of their skin color.

“To My Little Son depicts a mother’s love for her son and the bond that exists between them. Price uses romantic harmonies to set the two-verse ballad in which she indulges in word painting as the mother gazes into her young child’s face, dreaming of his future. Sadly, Price never had a chance to experience the sentiments expressed in this poem. She suffered one of her greatest personal tragedies early on in her marriage when her son died while an infant.

“Beside the Sea explores the themes of love and connection and the essence of longing and desire as the narrator expresses a yearning to be with their loved one by the sea. The imagery of waves, sand, and seagulls creates a sensory tableau, inviting us to feel the presence of the sea and the depth of their emotions. Furthermore, the poem suggests that love can transcend physical boundaries, highlighting the power of love to create a sense of unity and bring comfort, even in times of separation.

“In Paul Laurence Dunbar’s The Poet and His Song, the composer beautifully captures the essence of the poetic process, emphasizing the importance of the poet’s role in giving voice to emotions and experiences that may otherwise remain unexpressed. The poem also suggests poetry has the power to bring solace, joy, and enlightenment to both the poet and their audience.

“Price’s versatility is perhaps mostly noticeable in Don’t You Tell Me No. This song falls into a family of lighthearted pieces that Price apparently composed for the musical theater and is an exception in this Cycle. The lyrics are Price’s own–which was not a common practice for her—and the music includes references to cakewalk and ragtime styles.”

“Louise Charlotte Wallace (1902–1973) was an African American poet from Fort Smith, Arkansas, whom Florence Price introduced in the February 1926 issue of Opportunity, the magazine of the National Urban League; Price set the poem Night in 1946. Wallace's seven-line lyric works on two levels at once: it is a literal description of nightfall, dusk gathering, stars appearing, the moon rising, day ending and a sacred tableau, with Night personified as a Madonna in a deep blue mantle, the blue traditionally given to the Virgin in Western painting. Each natural element is reframed through that figure: she lights the stars, hangs the moon as her silver lamp, and lays the wearied Day, like a dreamy child, on a couch of shadow. The image of Day as an exhausted child put to bed by a maternal Night is the poem's most distinctive touch, turning the close of day into something tender and domestic rather than grand or elegiac.

“The cycle ends with Travel’s End, Mary Folwell Hoisington’s poem. It is narrated by a weary traveller who longs to sleep peacefully, as they did once in their childhood bed. Price’s hymn-like piano accompaniment creates a prayerful atmosphere for the protagonist to confess in the final line: ‘I would that your sheet might be my shroud / And I in earth be laid.’”

These ten songs—heard tonight as a complete set for the first time in Rosner’s orchestration—together weave a tale of a life of dreams, both the simple, everyday type and the enchanting, aspirational kind. Through Price’s music and the words of others, we listen to stories of sailing ships, crashing waves and weary travelers; honor a mother’s love and the strength and resilience of marginalized communities; and reflect on the beauty of poetry and music and humanity.

View the song texts for The Heart of a Woman.

Instrumentation: solo soprano with orchestra comprising 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), oboe, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, trombone, timpani, snare drum, cymbals, suspended cymbal, crotales, drum set, tambourine, triangle, xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, vibraphone, chimes, harp, upright piano (doubling celesta) and strings

Miguel Farías
Born: December 1, 1983, Maracaibo, Venezuela

Estallido
Premiered: March 5, 2022

The work of composer, writer and scholar Miguel Farías explores partnerships between music, literature and social-political events, particularly highlighting the culture of his Chilean homeland. He currently serves as an associate professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. His music has been premiered by major orchestras around the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which in March 2022 premiered the piece heard on today’s program, Estallido.

A TIME OF UPRISING

Farías composed Estallido in 2019 during a historic social uprising in Chile. This period of intense national protest began with demonstrations and vandalism in Santiago’s rail system. A buildup of many of these smaller events swelled into a historic gathering of more than one million citizens demanding sweeping government reforms. The movement ultimately led to the formation of a new constitutional convention. Farías channels the atmosphere of urgency, volatility and collective energy into a piece with a title that translates in English as Explosion.

Estallido opens with a powerful outburst that contains the primary musical material that is used throughout the entire piece; elements within it are then stretched, compressed, bent in pitch and layered in shifting rhythmic combinations. This gives a series of complex feelings of searching, urgency and power, as well as a touch of the lasting, lingering emotions of the period after societal upheaval. Farías employs a striking range of extended techniques and imaginative colors—seagull-like wind effects, precisely notated pitch bends, overlapping disjunct rhythms and a pulsing, rhythmic vibrato that heightens tension. The initial surge of energy gradually gives way to a calming conclusion.

Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, snare drum, bongos, 2 congas, cowbell, crotales, mark tree, metal bars, spring drum, temple blocks, tam-tam, triangle, wood chimes, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, chimes and strings

William Grant Still
Born: May 11, 1895, Woodville, Mississippi
Died: December 3, 1978, Los Angeles, California

Wood Notes
Premiered: April 22, 1948

William Grant Still was referred to by his musical contemporaries as the “Dean of African American composers.” When his Symphony No. 1, Afro-American, received its world premiere in 1930, in a performance by the Rochester Philharmonic, it marked the first time that a major American orchestra had ever performed a symphony by a Black American composer.

Still grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he excelled at learning musical instruments, most notably cello and oboe. He studied composition and conducting at several schools including Wilberforce University, Oberlin College and the New England Conservatory. His most influential education, however, happened outside of the college classroom, when French composer Edgard Varèse took Still under his wing. In addition, his freelance career led him to arrange music for the band of W.C. Handy, the self-described King of the Blues.

A MUSICAL CONFLUENCE

Still’s 1948 suite Wood Notes is a confluence of these life experiences, showcasing powerful African American spirituals, sumptuous French impressionism, and the enthusiasm of American jazz and blues. The piece was inspired by the poetry of Alabama writer and clergyman Joseph Mitchell Pilcher, as well as the broad, pastoral scenery of the American South.

SINGING RIVER. Strings and flute introduce the scene: vibrant colors and rich textures, the warmth of a sunny day outside. A four-note motive moves throughout the ensemble, balanced by a pattern of eighth-notes swirling underneath. Sparked by one of Pilcher’s poems in which he gazed upon an Alabama River, Still blends the energy and force of traditional spirituals with the gentle, perpetual movement of flowing water.

AUTUMN NIGHT. Solo flute takes the lead at the start of the second movement, with other woodwinds following in turn. The colors are slightly darker, and the pace quicker, offering a dose of intrigue as evening rolls in.

MOON DUSK. Slow and lush, Moon Dusk highlights Still’s skills with impressionism. Dark chords in the brass support a hushed conversation by the woodwinds, invoking the stillness of night under the moon’s glow.

WHIPPOORWILL’S SHOES. Whippoorwill’s Shoes is over in a flash, but not before exploding into the most joyful, exuberant dance. The woodwinds step blissfully through witty, humorous themes and the strings respond with racing unison passages, connecting all of the dots and maintaining momentum until the final cymbal crash.

Instrumentation: 2 flutes (1 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (1 doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, snare drum, suspended cymbal, drum set, triangle, glockenspiel, vibraphone, harp, celesta and strings

Program notes by Emma Plehal, with extended comments on The Heart of a Woman by Lior Rosner.