We celebrate the end of this glorious season with enduring music of pomp and unity. First up: Handel’s Royal Fireworks Music, an orchestral suite composed for an outdoor festival celebrating the end of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48). This jubilant work is notable for its opening trumpet fanfares. It is said that King George II had forbidden Handel to use any string instruments; seeking the proper musical balance for his composition, however, Handel did not comply entirely with that mandate. Our finale for the evening is Beethoven’s monumental 9th Symphony that incorporates 4 vocalists and a chorus in the well-known Ode to Joy, based on Schiller’s poem of the same name. The libretto puts forth a society of universal brotherhood and it is literally on that note that we bid you adieu.