In this concert, we champion the role of the artist in society as social activist, provocateur, and change maker. Leonard Bernstein's prodigious musical gifts mirrored his lifelong, and sometimes controversial, commitment to promoting political change. Music for Bernstein was also a means of creating mutual understanding and peace. His Serenade drew its inspiration from Plato's Symposium--a dialogue in praise of love. It has been suggested that Tchaikovsky's Pathetique deals with the power of Fate in life and death.