Stravinsky's Firebird with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Jonathon Heyward, and more

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Maryland cultural icon for 100+ years; led by Marin Alsop, known for innovative classical performances/recordings, OrchKids, and collaborations with Jean‑Yves Thibaudet.

Jonathon Heyward is an American conductor and cellist who serves as the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the music director and artistic director of the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, he began his musical training as a cellist before studying conducting at the Boston Conservatory and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is widely recognized as the first Black music director in the history of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and for his dynamic, cross-genre approach to classical music.

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was a Russian-born composer and conductor who became a naturalized French and American citizen. Widely considered one of the most influential and revolutionary composers of the 20th century, his career is traditionally divided into three stylistic periods: Russian, Neoclassical, and Serial. He achieved international fame through a series of groundbreaking ballets commissioned by impresario Sergei Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes, most notably The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913), the latter of which caused a famous near-riot at its Paris premiere due to its avant-garde rhythms and dissonant harmonies. He later lived in Switzerland and France before moving to the United States in 1939, where he settled in Los Angeles and eventually New York City.

The Firebird is a 1910 ballet and orchestral concert work by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, composed for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes with choreography by Michel Fokine. Based on Russian folktales, the story follows Prince Ivan as he battles the evil sorcerer Koschei the Deathless to free imprisoned princesses with the assistance of a magical, glittering Firebird. The score is celebrated for its dazzling orchestral colors, rhythmic vitality, and innovative use of contrasting diatonic and chromatic musical scales to distinguish human and supernatural characters.