Great Performances: Leonard Bernstein's Kaddish Symphony

Uniting voices, Chicago Symphony Chorus, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Courtesy of Patrick Gipson

Great Performances presents the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Kaddish Symphony from Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop.

Performed from Highland Park's Ravinia Festival, Great Performances presents legendary composer Leonard Bernstein's Kaddish symphony featuring the talent of Uniting voices (formerly Chicago Children's Choir), Chicago Symphony Chorus, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Led by famed conductor and Bernstein protégé Marin Alsop, the work includes music and spoken narrative segments voiced by narrator Haye Ladymore ("Chicago Med") and sung by soprano soloist Janai Brugger (Great Performances at the Met: Medea). Recorded July 2022, the symphony examines questions of humanity and faith, exploring the complicated nature of a higher power who governs mortality. Great Performances: Leonard Bernstein's Kaddish Symphony airs Monday, August 21 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

Originally composed in 1963, composer Leonard Bernstein made revisions to his Kaddish symphony in 1977, which included some cuts, rewrites of both the music and spoken text, and allowed for the speaker to be either a man or a woman. In the Jewish religion, the Kaddish is the name of the prayer chanted at funerals and at synagogue services, yet there's no mention of death in the prayer. Instead, it mentions "life" three times. In his symphony, Bernstein plays on the prayer's dualism: its reputation as a requiem, and its celebration of life in both the music and spoken text.