Symphony Concert by Kazuki Yamada

As a token of gratitude for Esa-Pekka Salonen’s interpretation of her oratorio *La passion de Simone*, Kaija Saariaho pays the conductor a special musical tribute with *Lumière et pesanteur*: The eighth station of the Passion is transformed into a floating soundscape.

In doing so, she follows in the tradition of Bach. His Chaconne forms the climax of the profound Partita No. 2 for solo violin—a work in which, despite its plaintive undertone, light and hope repeatedly find their way through.

Anton Bruckner, on the other hand, dedicated his final, unfinished Ninth Symphony not to any individual, but—in the spirit of Bach—to “the dear Lord.” With it, he left behind a monumental legacy and, at the same time, an impressive final statement in late-Romantic symphonic music.