…at the Vatican:

Pope meets with Israel’s rabbis

Calls for unity

“During the next eight days, in every part of the world, Christians of different confessions and traditions will gather to pray intensely the Lord strengthens the common commitment for their full unity,” John Paul said.

This year’s theme – peace – was chosen by churches in the Middle East.

The Pittsburgh Symphony played the concert designed to remind Jews, Christians and Muslims of their shared roots

(The article I’ve linked is via Pittsburgh, so it has a few more intriguing details than other stories)

At the conclusion of the Pittsburgh Symphony’s landmark performance at the Vatican on Saturday, Pope John Paul II surprised conductor Gilbert Levine.

“Thank you for bringing the Pittsburgh Symphony to me,” the pontiff said. “Would you play an encore?”

No encore had been planned because encores normally are not performed at the Vatican.

“I wasn’t sure if he was joking,” Levine recalled

But Levine saw the pope’s expectant look and John Paul’s personal secretary giving the go-ahead to play. So the orchestra repeated the final pages of Gustav Mahler’s “Resurrection” symphony.

Pittsburgh Symphony performed a 75-minute concert yesterday emphasizing reconciliation and peace among faiths in a celebration of John Paul’s silver anniversary as pope. It was the first time an American orchestra had played at the Vatican.

“I love the music we played tonight, and I played my heart out. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again,” said principal oboe Cynthia DeAlmeida as tears ran down her face after the concert. She said she was not prepared for the intensity of the experience.

“I can’t even speak,” she said.

More than 7,000 people, including leading Christian, Jewish and Muslim representatives, heard the world debut of American composer John Harbison’s choral work, “Abraham.”

Inspired by the Renaissance music of Italy, which the pope enjoys, the piece emphasizes that Judaism, Christianity and Islam all derive from the Biblical figure. The choir included Jews, Christians and Muslims from Pittsburgh; London; Krakow, Poland; and Ankara, Turkey to emphasize harmony among people of diverse backgrounds.

John Paul had requested that the concert’s main piece be the Mahler symphony. The 83-year-old pontiff was keen to hear the first movement, which depicts the struggles of life, the soul’s yearning for beauty and love and, finally, death. Mahler’s finale evokes vast spaces and the time when all spirits that have lived will be resurrected.