A Dance With Death

Assistant conductor Kensho Watanabe and the Philadelphia Orchestra invite you to feel the thrills and chills of their annual spootakular Halloween Concert! As well as a spine-tingling rendition of Camille Saint-Saen's Danse Macabre, the world class ensemble will take a cheerily dark tour through the vibrant traditions of the Mexican Day Of The Dead festivities, serving up musical trick and treats that are sure to satisfy your inner werewolf, mummy, swamp monster or bride of frankenstein - ghoulish costumes are empathically encouraged!

Written in 1874, Saint-Saen's Danse Macabre (which translates to Dance With Death) is a soul-stirring tone poem for orchestra that may have been too scary for its first audiences but became one of the composer's most popular pieces. The dark masterpiece's narrative unfolds at midnight on All Hallow's Eve. Death, represented by a violin, arises and calls forth the dead from their graves to dance for him until dawn, all the while playing his dastardly fiddle. Its haunting melodies and discordant cascades of angular harmonies are sure to keep your hairs standing on end well into the morning!