Brahms' Requiem

Danielle Talamantes, soprano
Nmon Ford, baritone
National Philharmonic Chorale
Piotr Gajewski, conductor

Leshnoff                       Zohar (DC premiere)

Brahms                        Requiem, Op. 45

Two works born of deep, personal religious experiences are featured in this concert. One of the most important choral work of the Romantic era, Brahms’ Requiem, was written in memory of his mother, who passed away in 1865. Jonathan Leshnoff’s oratorio Zohar (which means “radiance” in Hebrew) is based on the writings from the Jewish mystical Kabbalah.

Baltimore-based Leshnoff has been named by The Washington Post as one of the “gifted young composers” of this generation. He is a leader of contemporary American lyricism whose compositions have earned international acclaim for their accessible melodies, structural complexity and weighty themes.