The Schumann Focus Series Closes With Das Paradies

Whilst he applauded Chopin, Liszt and Berlioz for their ground breaking orchestral explorations, Schumann preferred the poignant emotional richness of the poetic imagination to grand technical gestures, marking him as a gentle revolutionary of the Romantic era. The LA Philharmonic and their fearless leader Gustavo Dudamel present the Shcumann Focus series, an aural deep dive into the composer's genius over the course of five special concerts.

The ensemble rounds off the season with Schumann's triumphant Das Paradies und die Peri, a landmark oratorio that even drew the praise of his contemporary Wagner. The ensemble teams up with American contemporary theatre genius Peter Sellars and media artist Refik Anadol for a dramatic new staging of the work, which is based on the story by 19th-century poet Thomas Moore and tells the tale of a supernatural entity called the Peri. Cast out of heaven, the fallen angel Peri sets out on a quest to win back God's favor by finding him the perfect gift.