BSO to Present CENSORED VOICES: SILENT NO MORE in D.C.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will brings “Censored Voices: Silent No More” to D.C. audiences on Sunday, May 3, 2026, 7 p.m., at The National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. This one-night musical event will cast the spotlight on the enduring works of four famous Russian composers, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev, Sofia Gubaidulina and Dmitri Shostakovitch, each of whom experienced repression and censorship, yet took risks to ensure that their voices were heard.

The concert will be preceded by a 5:00 p.m. light buffet supper and pre-concert lecture by BSO Inside the Classics Scholar in Residence, Dr. Rachel Franklin, who will shed deeper light on their experiences and their music.

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE

The concert features pianist Joseph Holt, who is well known in the metropolitan area as a former keyboard artist for The U.S. Army Chorus—the vocal counterpart of The United States Army Band “Pershing's Own”—and former Associate Conductor and keyboard artist for the Choral Arts Society of Washington. Maestro Holt will be joined by violinist Boram Kang, BSO acting associate concertmaster, Dariusz Skoraczewski, BSO principal cello, and Catherine Wethington, soprano.

Maestro Holt will open the concert, playing selections from Prokofiev's Visions Fugitives. Following this dramatic opening, Ms. Wethington will sing three of Rachmaninoff's emotionally compelling Romances, most notably Vocalise. She will also perform Phacelia, a song cycle by 21st century composer Sofia Gubaidulina. Ms. Kang will perform Prokofiev's Five Melodies and Mr. Skoraczewski will play Rachmaninoff's Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 19.

The dramatic finale of this concert will feature Shostakovich's Piano Trio in E Minor, Op. 67, with piano, violin and cello, a 30-minute piece that is extraordinary in its intensity and is considered a monumental work of 20th Century chamber music.

PERFORMERS

Joseph Holt, piano
Boram Kang, violin
Dariusz Skoraczewski, cello
Catherine Wethington, soprano

PROGRAM

Selections from Visions Fugitives, Op. 22 (1915–17)
Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953)
Joseph Holt

6 Romances, Op. 4, No. 4 (1893)
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
O, never sing to me again

14 Romances, Op. 34, No. 14 (1915)
Vocalise

Romances, Op. 14, No. 11 (1896)
Spring Waters

Catherine Wethington and Joseph Holt

Five Melodies for Violin and Piano, Op. 35a (1920–1925)
Sergei Prokofiev
Boram Kang and Joseph Holt

Sonata for Cello and Piano, Opus 19 (1901)
Sergei Rachmaninoff
4. Allegro Mosso
Dariusz Skoraczewski and Joseph Holt

Intermission

Phacelia (1956)
Sofia Gubaidulina (1931–2025)

Desert
Little Blue Feathers
Aeolian Harp
First Blossom
River Beneath a Clouded Sky

Catherine Wethington and Joseph Holt

Piano Trio in E Minor, Op. 67 (1944)
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)

Andante – Moderato
Allegro con brio
Largo
Allegretto – Adagio