Three things to know ...

A conductor of "raw power" (LA Times), Lina Gonzalez-Granados leads a program that searches for beauty and joy in an imperfect world. Although it took Brahms 14 years to write his stormy First Symphony, he completed his sunny Second in just three months. Composed in the aftermath of World War II, Strauss's concerto for oboe and orchestra offers a peaceful vision of the future.

Johannes Brahms said he had "never written anything so sad" as his Second Symphony, but a friend described the same work as "all blue sky, babbling streams, sunshine, and cool green shade." So which is it — a symphony of sorrow or serenity? (Or both?) Find out when you experience Brahms's wistful, life-affirming symphony in which sun and storm clouds share the sky.

NACO's beloved principal oboe for more than 30 years, Charles Hamann steps into the spotlight for Richard Strauss's tranquil concerto for solo oboe and orchestra. Inspired by a chance meeting between the composer and an oboe-playing American soldier in the final days of World War II, Strauss's concerto treats the oboe like an operatic soprano — one who barely has any time to breathe!

Meanwhile, experience the Canadian premiere of a deeply personal homage to Ludwig van Beethoven: Jessica Hunt's Climb — a reference to her own experience with the simple act of climbing stairs — offers a musical view into living life, as Beethoven did, with a chronic disability.