Michael Francis conducts this program which explores two composers' varying musical responses to World War II. American Aaron Copland’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Appalachian Spring heralded a new simplified musical language that reflected a desire for a more rural, unindustrialized life. The program continues with pianist Shai Wosner as the soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. The concert closes with the TFO premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 6, which illustrates the English composers' deeply personal, profound and unforgettable reaction to his first-hand experience of warfare.Arrive early to hear musical guests share inside stories about the music and the composers for all Masterworks concerts. Pre-concert conversations begin one hour before curtain time in the concert hall.