This program will be the first in a series of collaborations focusing on local mental health initiatives, featuring “Musically Speaking” pre-concert conversations about mental health resources and analysis of the mental health challenges that famous composers faced.

All three of the works on this program were written at points of crisis in the composers’ careers, after which they had just experienced rejections and career setbacks. By trusting themselves and focusing on their music, they overcame negative reactions to their works. Rachmaninoff dedicated his second piano concerto to Nikolai Dahl, the neurologist who worked with him during a bout of depression.