Les Siècles
Pierre Bleuse direction
Rachel Willis-Sørensen soprano
Judith Pisar, Leah Pisar narrators
Philharmonia Chorus
Maîtrise de Radio France
An American-themed evening bringing together two great works by Bernstein and Dvořák honouring commemoration and exile.
Dates
Elise Arancio Hommage au soleil (winner of the 2026 Pisar Prize, world premiere)
Bernstein Symphony No. 3 «Kaddish», for orchestra, mixed choir, children’s choir, narrator and soprano (1963), based on the text A Dialogue with God by Samuel Pisar (2003)
Dvořák Symphony No. 9 «From the New World»
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in Aramaic and English, with French subtitles
About
The Kaddish symphony was premiered in 1963 in Boston with a text comprising excerpts from the Hebrew Kaddish, the prayer for the dead, and with material written by Bernstein himself. Dissatisfied with the result, in his twilight years he commissioned his friend Samuel Pisar, an Auschwitz survivor and champion of human rights and commemoration, to produce a new text. We will hear this version tonight in which the American diplomat and writer conveys with incredible power his personal memories and his unsettling premonitions for the future. This work still resonates in the world we live in today. It will be read in English by the author’s wife and youngest daughter. As a preface, the new piece by the young American composer Elise Arancio, 4th winner of the Pisar Prize 2026, will be premiered. The second half will feature another magnificent work on the theme of exile, Dvořák’s New World Symphony. Its melodious and contrasting themes and varied orchestration have made it enduringly popular.
Coproduction Théâtre des Champs-Élysées | Les Siècles
