Billy the Kid was a misfit with a gun whose crime spree began at the age of twelve and ended with his death at age twenty-one. After his demise, thanks to several books (including one written by his killer, sheriff Pat Garrett!), Billy was romanticized as a legend of the American Wild West. Aaron Copland’s 1938 ballet, Billy the Kid and the later Suite captured the American imagination with its soaring evocation of the Western landscape, rousing folk tunes and dramatic plot. Copland’s Billy the Kid Suite opens February’s NSO Showcase on WETA Classical.
The program’s next two works hark back to the National Symphony Orchestra’s February 2024 European tour where they visited 9 cities and performed in storied venues from the Palau in Barcelona to La Scala in music director Gianandrea Noseda’s hometown of Milan.
Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon’s Wake Up! Concerto for Orchestra showcased the NSO’s virtuosity and shared an important artistic and philosophical message.
Finally, Dmitri Shostakovich’s 5th Symphony, an NSO signature work during Mstislav Rostropovich’s tenure as music director, and well-loved by Maestro Noseda, proved to be an audience favorite during the tour.
Tune in to NSO Showcase Wednesday, February 4 at 9 pm or stream all month long on wetaclassical.org.
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