On November 5, Boston Conservatory’s Bruce Hangen leads the Lexington Symphony in a performance of Sibelius’ first symphony, Respighi's The Birds, and Berlioz's Les Nuits d'Été (Summer Nights) featuring counter-tenor Matthew Truss. First performed in 1899 by the young Jean Sibelius, his first symphony was influenced by Tchaikovsky and Borodin, but was clearly the work of a young composer who had already developed a distinct musical voice. Les Nuits d’Été (Summer Nights) is a setting of six French love poems by Hector Berlioz and will feature Matthew Truss, whose voice the Boston Globe has described as “boasting both beauty and volume.” Respighi’s The Birds is based on music from 18th-century and represents a vibrant attempt to transcribe birdsong into musical notation.
