After a beautiful and contemplative opening--written to acknowledge a coming together after the Covid-19 pandemic, though also appropriate for other times--Winter is Past builds in momentum, eventually lunging towards a thrilling climax. It captures the re-emerging of life, its splendor, and with it, the joy we take from making music, even as we reflect on what has happened: "The rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the Earth; The time of the singing has come!"