Schubert, Strauss & Saariaho at Walt Disney Concert Hall

After becoming deeply drawn to “Liebestod” (Love-Death) from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, Strauss composed his own musical exploration of what lies beyond life itself. Through stunning harmonies and masterful orchestration, Death and Transfiguration illustrates a man’s physiological and psychological deterioration. In a similar vein, Kaija Saariaho completed HUSH, her self-proclaimed “journey to silence,” during her final months with terminal brain cancer. Dedicated to jazz trumpeter Veneri Pohjola, Saariaho’s concerto features the trumpet growling from its lowest register and gliding downward like a ghost among the orchestra. Susanna Mälkki takes the lead for the evening, conducting Schubert’s chilling yet charming two-movement symphony, nicknamed the “Unfinished.”