Hartford Symphony Orchestra

Clayton Stephenson returns for our final concert of the 24/25 season to perform Gershwin’s timeless Rhapsody in Blue. Teeming with Americana and pianistic virtuosity, we can think of no better way to conclude Clayton’s residency with the HSO. The John Adams’ Doctor Atomic Symphony (2007) may not be familiar to some, but the story is that of the movie Oppenheimer. That is, the story of U.S. physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb,” and the moral struggle and moral injury of decisions made regarding its use. The opera boasts one of the most beautiful arias by a contemporary composer. For the symphony, that aria becomes a trumpet solo that’s absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking. The end of Doctor Atomic is another one of those moments in music that gives us hope.