Composer Antonín Dvořák often found inspiration at Prague’s railway station. He wrote his Seventh Symphony after seeing troops arrive for a concert to support the struggle for a Czech homeland, saying that the piece “must be capable of stirring the world, and may God grant that it will.” Considered by many to be his finest symphony, it’s generally regarded as his “most dramatic, emotionally intense work.” Tonight at 7:30 at Severance Hall, the Cleveland Orchestra performs the piece. Before the concert, the Cleveland Orchestra’s Brett Mitchell and Mark Williams give a pre-concert talk dubbed “Let’s Talk About Music.” Tickets start at $29, and the orchestra performs again tomorrow and Saturday. (Niesel)
Africa & Byzantium considers the complex artistic relationships between northern and eastern African Christian kingdoms and the Byzantine Empire from the fourth…