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It's well known that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an aficionado of gospel music. Less well known is that he also was a lover of the great works of the symphonic and operatic traditions. His wife, Coretta Scott King, was a classically-trained soprano, who was studying opera at the New England Conservatory when the two met. Dr. King said that listening to Wagner was like "standing in the presence of the divine," and in his memoir of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, Stride Toward Freedom, he wrote:
On a cool Saturday afternoon in January 1954, I set out to drive from Atlanta, Georgia, to Montgomery, Alabama . . . . The Metropolitan Opera [Live Broadcast] was on the radio with a performance of one of my favorite operas -- Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. So with the beauty of the countryside [and] the inspiration of Donizetti's inimitable music . . . the usual monotony that accompanies a relatively long drive . . . was dispelled in pleasant diversions.
Dr. King knew that the great works of the classical tradition were for everyone: uplifting and unifying, they help all Americans remember what is beautiful and good about our shared heritage. Great music helps us to understand not just the past, but also ourselves. As we strive to create a better world, classical music is bread for the journey, comforting and inspiring us, awakening us to the great truths that we hold in common.
On this Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the Philharmonic thanks all of you who strive to make our community a more peaceful, just, and beautiful place. Eleanor Roosevelt, who died the year before Dr. King, said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." May we all hold fast and continue to believe in and work for Dr. King's beautiful dream for all Americans.
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