Minnesota Orchestra Announces 2011-12 Classical Season Plans

By -

Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra today unveiled plans for their ninth season together—the final season at Orchestra Hall before the venue’s $45 million renovation takes place. Highlights of the season include a two-week “Bravo Brahms” series spotlighting an array of the composer’s symphonies, concertos and choral works; performances of Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera Hansel and Gretel marking the centennial of the Orchestra’s Young People’s Concert series; appearances by acclaimed guest soloists including violinists Midori and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, pianists Stephen Hough and Peter Serkin and soprano Deborah Voigt; a concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall and a five-city Florida tour; a recording of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 with soloist Yevgeny Sudbin; and the launch of the Common Chords outreach project including week-long festivals in Grand Rapids and Willmar, Minnesota. In addition, the Orchestra is now announcing a major multi-year initiative to record the complete Sibelius symphonies, which will begin in June 2011 and continue in May 2012.

Mr. Vänskä and the Orchestra will launch the ensemble’s 109th season on Thursday, September 29, 2011, with a jazz-themed program that includes Ravel’s Boléro and the premiere of the Paulus work –the latter featuring the composer’s son, professional trumpet player Greg Paulus, as a member of the jazz group. Mr. Vänskä will lead 12 subscription programs, concluding with June 2012 performances of Mahler’s Tenth Symphony and Strauss’ Final Scene from Salome performed with soprano Deborah Voigt. In addition, Mr. Vänskä will conduct a gala program on June 14 and 15, 2012, celebrating highlights of Orchestra Hall’s history and marking the final performances in the Hall before it closes for renovation.

In May 2012, Mr. Vänskä, the Orchestra and Russian pianist Yevgeny Sudbin will record Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 for the Swedish-based label BIS , which will be released in a future season as part of a series that includes all five Beethoven piano concertos. At the same sessions, the Orchestra will record Sibelius’ First and Fourth Symphonies, also for BIS . The complete cycle of the seven Sibelius symphonies will be recorded by 2015, marking the sesquicentennial of the composer’s birth.

On October 27, 2011, Mr. Vänskä and the Orchestra, accompanied by pianist Stephen Hough, will perform a concert at New York ’s Carnegie Hall; the same program will be reprised at Orchestra Hall on November 1, 2011. In March 2012 the Orchestra, Mr. Vänskä and violinist Midori will undertake a five-city Florida tour—performing works of Brahms, Sibelius and Beethoven in Sarasota, Fort Meyers, West Palm Beach and Miami. A date in Orlando features an all-orchestral program without soloist Midori.

Among the Orchestra’s outreach efforts in 2011-12 is the Common Chords Project, a multi-year initiative designed to create partnerships between the Orchestra and participating Minnesota cities, culminating in a celebratory festival week that features performances and dozens of activities that reflect the interests, diversity and heritage of each community. Launched with generous support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Common Chords will present its first festival week in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in October 2011; a second partnership in Willmar, Minnesota, will culminate in May 2012.

Continuing a long-time partnership with Minnesota Public Radio, the Orchestra’s Friday evening classical concerts will be broadcast live regionally on MPR stations; they can also be heard via streaming audio atclassicalmpr.org. The Orchestra’s concerts are also featured in American Public Media’s national programs,Performance Today and SymphonyCast. In addition, the Music on Demand program will continue, with selected works recorded live in concert by MPR and made available for paid download atwww.minnesotaorchestra.org/musicondemand starting the week after the performance.

The Orchestra will offer a season preview concert for audiences interested in sampling 2011-12 repertoire on Tuesday, March 29, 2011. Tickets can be reserved online at www.minnesotaorchestra.org or by calling Minnesota Orchestra Ticket Services at (612) 371-5656. Admission to these concerts is $25 (free for renewed 2011-12 subscribers).>

The 2011-12 season will be the Orchestra’s final season in Orchestra Hall before the building’s one-year closure for a $45 million renovation and expansion. During the 2012-13 season, the Orchestra will perform in the Minneapolis Convention Center Auditorium, located just blocks from Orchestra Hall at 1301 Second Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis . The grand re-opening of the renovated Hall is scheduled for June 2013.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more