At the Schermerhorn
Fate, Pastoral Exile, and Black Dances
I attended the Nashville Symphony Orchestra’s concert on October 2, 2025, part of a two-night program at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Jonathan Taylor Rush conducted the evening’s performance. Rush has been described by the Baltimore Sun as “a continually rising talent in the conducting world” and is known for his dynamic approach, delivering engaging performances and innovative programming that extend beyond the traditional Western canon. The evening’s program featured Carlos Simon’s Four Black Dances, Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor.
FATE: Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770-1827) contributions served as a vital bridge between the cosmopolitan elegance of Western music’s Classical period and the heightened emotional expression characteristic of Romanticism, paving the way for the complex work of future composers. His Symphony No. 5, composed between 1805 and 1808, is quintessential to the evolution of the symphonic form, moving beyond a collection of eighteenth-century forms. Instead, it presents a coherent structure wherein each segment propels a sonic narrative towards an inevitable conclusion. Central to the symphony is the thematic progression from C minor to C major, encapsulating a transition from darkness to light, conflict to resolution. This thematic evolution emphasizes the psychological arc culminating in the triumphant Finale, establishing a template for future Romantic symphonies.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 is innovative because a singular four-note motive, characterized by a distinctive “short-short-short-long” rhythmic pattern, unifies its movements, creating cohesion throughout the half-hour piece (See Example 1). In the first movement especially, this “Fate” motive saturates the sonic space throughout the musical texture, appearing in the dramatic introduction and continuing in throughout the entire melodic and accompanying material. The NSO conveyed the complexity of the interlocking motivic statements with perfect clarity, allowing each layer to emerge distinctly. Their dynamic range during this first movement was well done, setting the correct tone for the it’s turbulent emotional setting.
The contrasting second movement, lighter with its “strolling” tempo, features a new theme, beautifully rendered in the viola section, before the return of the “Fate” motive, recharacterized heroically by the brass. Next, the third movement features a scherzo that includes a fughetta section. Not really an actual fugue, it is a highly contrapuntal portion of the work that is a lot of fun to listen to. The players beautifully realized the transition to the Finale, characterized by an ascent of pitch and a slow increase in volume over a sustained pedal point.
The Finale, triumphantly reaching the key of C major, is both exuberant and grand. Before it unfolds, the ascent at the end of the Scherzo leads directly to the return of the central theme—or attacca. The start of the Finale encapsulates the emotional progression of the entire symphony. Additionally, the movement highlighted the NSO’s glorious brass section. Brass in Beethoven’s Finale takes on a new prominent role in establishing the emotional tone, rather than merely adding additional color to the composite sound like in the symphonies of Haydn and Mozart. The closing pages extensively repeat the cadence chords (V-I), releasing the work’s last bit of stored energy.
PASTORAL EXILE: Cellist Zlatomir Fung
(b. 2000), the youngest winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, at nineteen, is acclaimed for his virtuosity and sensitivity. At 25, he performs globally, including recitals in major U.S. cities and international orchestras. His debut album, Fantasies, was released in January 2025. Fung has premiered contemporary works and won numerous prestigious awards, including the Avery Fisher Career Grant. A Juilliard graduate, he also joined its faculty. Fung began playing cello at age three and enjoys chess and creative writing in his spare time.
In 1919, after World War I, Edward Elgar (1857–1934) composed his Cello Concerto in E minor, marking a period of introspection and emotional turmoil just following World War I. Living in a Sussex (England) cottage, he created this work characterized by restrained themes and a unique structure. The concerto features connected movements, with the first showcasing a solemn introduction and a graceful theme sounding similar to English folk melodies. The second movement highlights precise and technical solo lines, while the Finale contrasts with robust and delicate ideas. This poignant work encapsulates Elgar’s reflections on loss and changes in a post-war world.
Fung’s performance with the NSO exhibited his assured and emotional playing style, characterized by dignified lyricism and a tendency to liberally pull back and push forward on much of the delicate phrasing. Fung made each new section of musical material clear, taking his time to finish one thought before beginning another. His resonant and beautiful tone quality deepened the piece’s melancholic undertones. This emotional richness, paired with a subdued, poignant approach, emphasized introspection rather than overt sentimentality.
DANCING: Composer Carlos Simon (b. 1986) is making a significant impact in current American classical music. He is a leading voice among a new generation of composers who dedicate their work to advocating for marginalized perspectives in the orchestral world. He has swiftly risen to become an in-demand composer of our time. The NSO’s performance of Simon’s Four Black American Dances stood out as my favorite in the lineup for its originality and profound historical significance. Simon masterfully incorporates dance styles rooted in African American culture, imbuing each section with a rich historical context. This transformation turns intangible themes into a vivid musical experience that resonates deeply with the audience.
The opening of Four Black American Dances immediately captured my attention, warranting further exploration. The first movement, “Ring Shout,” draws inspiration from the ring shout tradition of enslaved African Americans in South Carolina, Georgia, Northern Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, and Maryland. Although practices varied regionally, spiritual expressions involving singing, rhythmic movement, and vocalizations such as hollering or crying out, characterize all ring shout practices.
Although only practiced today by preservationists, participants of Ring Shouts sing shout songs—often referred to as “running spirituals”—which are adjacent to traditional spirituals, jubilees, and gospel songs. A songster, or song leader, initiates the performance with a slower section that gradually accelerates. As the tempo increases, a stickman joins, striking the floor in rhythm with a heavy stick or broom handle. The basers form a circle around the songster and stickman, contributing to the rhythmic pulse with clapping and shuffling in a counterclockwise motion. Throughout, the songster leads in a call-and-response format. In Simon’s “Ring Shout,” these elements are embodied through a soulful, quasi-improvised melody played in unison by the NSO’s string section. Orchestra members clap and stomp while the trumpets produce holler-like gestures using plunger mutes. A recurring habanera-rhythm ostinato musically signifies the stickman.
Important to the ring shout, the habanera originates from combining an old English country dance with African stylistic elements. This blend traveled to the Americas with the Spanish and later reached Cuba through French refugees fleeing Haiti in the late eighteenth century. Afro-Cuban influences played a crucial role in the evolution, transforming the regular rhythms of the contredanse into the dotted and syncopated rhythms characteristic of the contradanza habanera, or simply “habanera.” The early habanera rhythm, set in 2/4 meter, features a dotted-eighth note followed by a sixteenth note and two eighth notes. In the ring shout tradition, musicians employ a faster tempo and introduce syncopation by tying the sixteenth note to the first eighth note (See Example 2).
The incorporation of the habanera rhythm, or “Stickman” motif, is a compelling aspect of the NSO’s performance of “Ring Shout.” Throughout, various sections of the orchestra exchange the habanera, but I was particularly struck by the percussion’s use of a heavy wooden stick, reminiscent of the stickman.
The second dance, “Waltz,” features lush string playing, supported by interceding counter melodies that weave through the harmony, sometimes manipulating chordal sonorities. While “Ring Shout” originates among enslaved Africans, “Waltz” focuses on the traditions of affluent African Americans in the early to mid-twentieth century. The title “Waltz” evokes the sophistication associated with Black debutant balls, symbolizing refinement and social status.
Originating in New York in 1778 and institutionalized by 1895, Black debutant balls, with the first official event in New Orleans, presented young girls from Black communities to society; the 1930s marked the tradition’s height. Unlike white cotillions, which primarily aimed to show young women for marriage, Black debutant balls emphasized education and workforce readiness, preparing women for life beyond exclusively Black social circles.
In Simon’s “Waltz,” I found a notable connection that emerges between its musical characteristics and W.E.B. DuBois’ concept of double consciousness in which African Americans view themselves both through their own eyes and the eyes of a racist. The luscious waltz melody, the kind heard in the movies of classic Hollywood cinema, reflects an embrace of white American ideals, highlighting the historical exclusion of affluent African American women from traditional cotillions during the Jim Crow era. Black debutant balls sought to replicate European-derived customs of white high society, such as those represented by the waltz. However, the semi-intrusive counter melodies and brass exclamations divert attention from a purely subversive experience, instead emphasizing self-aware dissonances and irregular meter changes, such as the insertion of 4/4 bars within the 3/4 waltz. These elements could signify that Black debutant balls affirmed a distinct Black identity, serving as a powerful assertion of worthiness against societal stereotypes. Ultimately, “Waltz” employs a cinematic and dreamlike soundscape to commemorate and reflect on this significant aspect of Black history.
In the third dance, “Tap,” Simon emulates a tap-dancing experience. Percussionists mimic the tapping style of 1930s performers like Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and the Nicholas Brothers, using the snare drum’s rim and cymbals. The strings and woodwinds feature short, syncopated passages, while the brass includes riffs using jazz harmonies.
Simon’s fourth and last dance, “Holy Dance,” is inspired by Black Christian traditions. Protestant Christian denominations, including The Church of God in Christ (C.O.G.I.C.), Pentecostal Assemblies of God, Apostolic, and Holiness Church, among others, are recognized for their vibrant and expressive forms of worship. Services in these congregations frequently feature joyful dancing, spontaneous exclamations, and heartfelt singing. The music performed during these services serves as a crucial medium for cultivating an authentic spiritual experience for the attendees. This movement evokes the lively and celebratory essence that persists in many churches today. This composed music emulates the sound of a congregation “speaking in tongues,” or speaking in an unfamiliar dialect inspired by God, by instructing the orchestra to perform in a semi-improvised style. Commonly referred to as a “praise break,” the music propels forward incessantly, led by the trombone section, which culminates in a climactic conclusion featuring the plagal “Amen” cadence.
This entire concert was truly remarkable, showcasing the Nashville Symphony Orchestra’s beautiful composite sound of the highest quality and this conductor’s exceptional artistic acuity. Jonathan Taylor Rush delivered an outstanding interpretation of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, demonstrating his clear understand of such a foundational work at the very center of the Western symphonic repertoire. His dynamic approach was equally evident in the stellar performance of Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances, a vibrant contemporary work that broadens the scope of that same musical canon by incorporating dance styles associated with African American culture and historical contexts. The juxtaposition of these masterpieces—from a triumphant journey from darkness to light to a profound exploration of marginalized perspectives—created a balanced and invigorating program. It is a testament to the NSO’s ability to convey power and range of orchestral music while under this kind of direction. Reflecting on the evening brought a smile to my face during my drive home.
Stay informed about the NSO’s performances all season. The website is https://www.nashvillesymphony.org.
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A Georgia native, Stephen D. Turner moved to Nashville in 2023 with his partner of over thirteen years. When he isn’t hiking in the woods or enjoying the ocean, Stephen is a musicologist and tubist who teaches music at Tennessee State University.
