Ravel’s Mother Goose began its life as a group of piano miniatures, which later were brilliantly orchestrated, and then finally expanded into the ballet score that we will present to you. It is a magical score filled with wonder on every page, and finishes with one of the most-profound climaxes of the 20th century. Grieg’s Piano Concerto was to prove highly influential to impressionists such as Ravel, and its second movement is a heartfelt response to the birth of his daughter. I’m especially excited to present the work of Julia Perry, an African-American woman living in the mid-20th century, whose brilliantly-crafted music is a unique expression of neoclassical sensibilities distilled through the challenges she faced as a female composer of color in the United States.