Posted on Facebook 2/5

“…an incredible feel of camaraderie, bustle, excitement and…well, richness.” We’re guessing that you love Scott Chamberlain’s writings and reflections on music & performance & culture as much as we do (in fact, many of you have told us so!). So be sure to read his latest blog post, a review of last weekend’s MN Orchestra concert. Here’s the link:  https://maskoftheflowerprince.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/romeo-and-juliet-at-the-orchestra/

He closes with “If this concert is any indication, you simply cannot afford to miss any of the upcoming Shakespeare Winterfest concerts. Get thee to the boxoffice!” We agree! Here’s where to get info and tickets:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/special-events/shakespeare-winterfest

Thanks, Scott! You’re the best!

Posted on Facebook 1/29

Friday and Saturday night’s concerts are almost sold out. If you have tickets that you can’t use, please exchange, “bank” or return them online or by calling the box office.  https://boxoffice.minnesotaorchestra.org/cart/forms/change.aspx or 612.371.5656

If you had any doubts about the “fun” and “young” factors of classical music, check out this downright contagious video of “Mambo” from Bernstein’s “West Side Story” performed by the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela under Dudamel:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYvEvP2cmdk&feature=youtu.be

You’ll find “fun” and “young” at Orchestra Hall this weekend too!  Pre-concert activities include scenes from “Romeo and Juliet” performed by Main Street School of Performing Arts theatre program and choreography from “West Side Story” performed by Main Street School of Performing Arts dance program.

And of course, the ever young and ever stirring music of Bernstein’s “West Side Story” Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture” and selections from Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” will be played by our Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Osmo Vänskä. 

Friday night the Crescendo Project is sponsoring a Happy Hour & trivia with MN Orch musicians, then $25 tickets to that night’s concert. Find info about that event here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/learn/lifelong-learning/crescendo-project

So act quickly if you were hoping to attend one of this weekend’s concerts! Additional details and tickets here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/364/-/star-crossed-lovers-the-music-of-romeo-and-juliet#.VMpGMGjF_l8

Thurs. 1/29 @ 8 pm. $29 adults; $12 students and kids. 60-minute concert of Bernstein and Prokofiev. Just a few tickets remain.   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/458/-/symphony-in-60-west-side-story-and-romeo-and-juliet#.VMkNBmjF_l9

It’s the first concert in the MN Orchestra’s new “Symphony in 60” series and features Bernstein’s West Side Story Symphonic Dances and selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet!  For more info about this concert and this new series, check out the Orchestra’s press release:    http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/about/learn-more/press-room/1109-symphony-in-60-jan-29

Optional activities are offered before and after all “Symphony in 60” concerts, including a pre-concert happy hour at Orchestra Hall and an onstage gathering with Orchestra musicians immediately after the concert.

Be there and let us know how you liked it!

Posted on Facebook 1/23

“STUNNING. CAPTIVATING. CATHARTIC.” said SOSMN’s friend Sarah Schmalenberger after yesterday morning’s MN Orchestra concert.

Sarah continued, “That was my experience at this morning's Winterfest concert by the Minnesota Orchestra. For the first half - "Chivalry" - we were treated to the narration of actor Samuel West as he delivered epic Shakespearean verse from ‘Henry V.’ From the crisp militaristic riffs of the percussion and brass to the cinematic melodies of the strings, the drama unfolds to recount the epic play. And then came the second half - "Romance" - of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony. Brian Jensen addressed the audience before taking his seat in the horn section, encouraging us to embrace the musical journey as a balm for persevering through the trials of our own lives. The herald call of the symphony, proclaimed brilliantly by Principal hornist Michael Gast, echoed throughout the piece and brought redeeming triumph to the journey. Certainly a performance worth catching if you don't already have tickets!”

Rob Hubbard calls this concert “inspiring” and says it’s “a chance to recharge your emotional batteries” in his PioneerPress review this morning:   http://www.twincities.com/Entertainment/ci_27377327/Minnesota-Orchestras-Shakespeare-Winterfest-lifts-above-January-gloom

For tickets and more info click here:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/359/-/chivalry-and-romance-bruckner-s-fourth-symphony#.VLUhpCvF_l8

Posted on Facebook 1/21

The MN Orchestra’s 5-weekend “Shakespeare Winterfest” starts this Thursday morning with “Chivalry and Romance” (the program is repeated Friday & Saturday nights).  STUDENTS can get advance rush tickets for $12:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/special-offers/student-rush-tickets  

See the festival lineup here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/special-events/shakespeare-winterfest 

This week’s program opens with William Walton’s rarely-performed Suite from Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film version of “Henry V,” a piece that communicates the story’s heroism, charm and complexity, and is considered  by many to be the finest Shakespearean film score ever written.  It is narrated by British actor & director Samuel West (Mr. Selfridge, The Chronicles of Narnia, Cambridge Spies, Howards End, Notting Hill, Hamlet, Richard II, and many more), who worked with conductor Mark Wigglesworth to select portions of Shakespeare’s script for this weekend’s performances. In the program notes Mr. West says: “Mark Wigglesworth and I have discussed what scenes from the play might best accompany [the] suite, inspired partly by Olivier’s recorded narration and partly by Palmer’s Scenario. This is a bespoke arrangement: we have conflated a pair of French battles, but since that allows you to hear two of the greatest speeches ever written, we hope you will allow us the artistic license.” See a clip from this week’s rehearsal here:   https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152590665913045&set=vb.54292558044&&theater

After intermission we will experience Anton Bruckner’s monumental 4th Symphony. Program annotator Eric Bromberger writes about the final movement: “The ending is extraordinary. The music grows quiet and slows, and a horn chorale takes shape, building slowly in strength. The rest of the orchestra joins the horns, and the music rises higher and higher, taking on more power as it climbs. Finally the symphony soars to its shining conclusion as the entire brass section stamps out the rhythm of the solo horn call that had opened the symphony an hour earlier.” An SOSMN friend writes: “[The Bruckner] should be celebrated for what it is - a great chance to sit back, suspend time, and soak in luxurious symphonic sound. It's not for everyone, everytime, but everyone who loves symphonic music should gird their loins, prepare themselves, and just let the sound wash over them, at least once in their lives.”  Do not miss the opportunity to hear this symphony in person!

Tickets, more info, and recordings of the Walton and the Bruckner provided at no cost via Spotify, are on the Orchestra’s webpage for this concert:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/359/-/chivalry-and-romance-bruckner-s-fourth-symphony#.VLUhpCvF_l8

Full program notes are here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/images/programnotes/1415/chivalry_romance.pdf

Posted on Facebook 1/20

Bruckner 4 – expect to be amazed!

On Jan 15 we posted comments from Max Bonecutter about his experience playing this symphony in the MN Orchestra under Klaus Tennstedt’s direction (and the audience’s reaction to it) in the late ‘70s.

Today SOSMN Leadership Team member Julie Stewart talks about why she and her husband are so excited about this weekend’s concerts.

Julie writes: “I don't know anything about the Walton [Suite to Shakespeare’s Henry V], though I'm looking forward to hearing it. What attracted John and me to this concert: (a) Mark Wigglesworth, whom we think draws superb performances out of the orchestra; and (b) Bruckner 4. Yes, it was performed during the lockout; but don't you want to hear this incredible symphony in the newly-refurbished Orchestra Hall, by our newly-resurgent Minnesota Orchestra? I first heard Bruckner 4 with the Chicago Symphony under George Solti - I was a newly-minted graduate student, taking advantage of my student discount, and somehow ended up just a few rows from the stage. I'd heard Solti before, but was waiting to understand why his reputation was so big - and with that concert, I understood. It was the most exciting live concert I'd ever been to to that point. Why do I mention this? Just because I know that this piece of music can be amazing, and I'm fully expecting to be amazed this weekend.”

So if you’re in need of a profoundly moving experience this weekend, you have three opportunities to hear this spectacular program – Thursday morning and Friday & Saturday nights. Tickets here:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/359/-/chivalry-and-romance-bruckner-s-fourth-symphony#.VLUhpCvF_l8  

$12 advance student rush tickets are available for this concert. Details here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/special-offers/student-rush-tickets

We hope to see you this weekend!

Posted on Facebook 1/18

William Walton’s “Henry V Suite” – a very British intro!  SOSMN’s friend Emily Hogstand (“Song of the Lark” blog) writes:

“The Minnesota Orchestra takes on Walton's Henry V Suite January 22, 23, 24. Here's a great three-minute introduction from the very British BBC.   http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0220hl0  

“Then buy your tickets here!  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/359/-/chivalry-and-romance-bruckner-s-fourth-symphony#.VLUhpCvF_l8  “

Thanks for digging this up, Emily!

Posted on Facebook 1/15

“Zis must be a TERRIBLE crescendo.” Former MN Orchestra trombonist Max Bonecutter wrote to us at SOSMN about his memories rehearsing and performing Anton Bruckner’s 4th Symphony, “Romantic,” under the late Klaus Tennstedt, and about the audience’s reaction to it.

Max writes:  “One of the first years I was in the orchestra (1977-82), the late Klaus Tennstedt guest conducted Bruckner 4. His English still was not very good. He asked musicians who knew German to translate for him sometimes. At other times, he used his fractured English, which was, nevertheless, often very meaningful. If he saw a violinist or two not really giving it their all, he would say, ‘I need everybody here! Now, come on!’ I remember phrases like ‘Zis must be a TERRIBLE crescendo,’ and ‘You must it, because you can it!’

“At the Wednesday opening night concert, it felt like one room in Orchestra Hall for a change, instead of there being an invisible shield between the stage and the audience. The audience listened to the entire symphony without emitting hardly any sound. After the final Eb major chord ended, there was a silence for a split second, and then the audience, as one, leaped to their feet and yelled ‘Bravo.’ It was the only truly spontaneous total standing ovation I have ever witnessed, either as a performer or as an audience member. I will never forget that musical moment - the kind of moment that made the weeks of 4 rehearsals and 4 concerts, 4 rehearsals and 4 concerts, 4 rehearsals and 4 concerts, worth it.”

Be swept up into that “terrible” Brucknerian crescendo (and hear William Walton’s wonderfully evocative Suite from Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film version of “Henry V”) yourself on Jan 22, 23 or 24. Ticketing and more info are here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/359/-/chivalry-and-romance-bruckner-s-fourth-symphony#.VLUhpCvF_l8   And thanks, Max, for your wonderful story!

[If you have stories, insights or perspectives on upcoming concerts that you would be willing to share, please write to us at [email protected] ! We are always looking for unique angles and personal stories on upcoming repertoire, and we would be happy to share your thoughts with attribution or anonymously.]

Posted on Facebook 1/13

The Orchestra’s 5-weekend “Shakespeare Winterfest” begins Jan. 22-23-24 with a program called “Chivalry and Romance,” featuring William Walton’s wonderfully evocative Suite from Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film version of “Henry V” and Anton Bruckner’s huge Symphony No. 4, “Romantic.” 

The popular and critically acclaimed Mark Wigglesworth returns to conduct these first concerts of the series. Remember last spring’s Shostakovich 10th Symphony and the “The Ring: An Orchestral Adventure” with Wigglesworth on the podium? We are sure to be in for another treat with him conducting this program.

Recordings of the Walton and the Bruckner are provided at no cost via Spotify on the Orchestra’s webpage for this concert – enjoy the music online and then buy your tickets to hear it in person on Thursday morning or Friday or Saturday evening that weekend!  Here’s the link:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/359/-/chivalry-and-romance-bruckner-s-fourth-symphony#.VLUhpCvF_l8

It is said that Shakespeare’s work captured and reflected every human emotion. Will the music in this Shakespeare Winterfest series do the same? Attend one or more of the concerts and hear for yourself!  Info on the series is here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/special-events/shakespeare-winterfest

Posted on Facebook 1/21

“Mr. Berkman swings hard in his phrasing. He always burrows in, finding transcendence.” - The New York Times

Hear pianist David Berkman's exceptional artistry yourself on Thursday night, Jan. 22, at 8:00 pm in the Target Atrium at Orchestra Hall. Tickets are $25 and available here:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/464/-/david-berkman-with-the-atrium-jazz-ensemble#.VMAT7kfF_l9

And learn more about this artist and the ensemble joining him in this recent JazzPolice article:  http://www.jazzpolice.com/content/view/11515/68/

Posted on Facebook 1/12

Tuesday and Wednesday schoolkids from all over will flock to Orchestra Hall to experience Mark Fish’s delightful setting of the 1932 children’s classic The Story of Ferdinand.  Fish’s “Ferdinand the Bull” features our own Arek Tesarczyk depicting Ferdinand on the cello, Teatro del Pueblo and Stephen Yoakam as narrator. The young people will hear some Mozart, Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Ravel as well!  More info can be found here:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/71/-/young-people-s-ferdinand-the-bull#.VLPv7ivF_l9

SOSMN’s friend Kimberly McGuire tells us that this is one of her favorite stories to read to her children.  She says: “Ferdinand is a sweet little bull calf that doesn't like to tussle around like the other little bulls. He prefers to sit by himself under his favorite tree and smell flowers. His mother thinks this is odd, but loves him and allows him to be himself. One day men come to find the meanest, nastiest bull to fight the matador. While the other bulls are showing off, Ferdinand is still smelling flowers -- until a bee stings him and he goes wild. The men choose Ferdinand to fight the matador. Of course, ultimately, they find that no matter what they do to get him to fight, he simply refuses. The matador gives up, and they let Ferdinand go back to the pasture to sit under his favorite gum tree and smell flowers. It is such a lovely story about individuality, non-violence, and self-expression.”

The concert will be repeated for families on Saturday afternoon, but it appears to be sold out.  If you have tickets that you can’t use, please visit the Orchestra’s “exchanges” page (or call the box office at 612.371.5656) to turn back your tickets or exchange them for a future concert so that others can snap up your unused seats!  https://boxoffice.minnesotaorchestra.org/cart/forms/change.aspx

More info about Saturday’s concert (and a “Play to Win” contest for free MN Orchestra tickets!) can be found here:    http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/426/-/ferdinand-the-bull#.VLPsCyvF_l8

Posted on Facebook 1/23

“It took [the qualities of rugged individualism and entrepreneurship] in Aaron Jay Kernis, in Osmo Vänskä, in others around them to create what Minnesota created, and now for Kevin Puts to lead it into the future.” says Eugene Birman, one of the young composers whose work was performed in the MN Orchestra’s Composer Institute concert on Jan. 16.

Read his fascinating post on the extraordinary efforts of Osmo, our musicians & management, and Kevin Puts, that were required for this important undertaking, “a week-long program held at the coldest possible time of the year in a city whose commitment to music, old and new, quite profoundly reverberates all around the world,” in Mr. Birman’s words. And read his perspectives on what it takes to “make it” as a composer these days.  Here’s the link:  http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/2015-minnesota-orchestra-composer-institute/

So let’s hear one more big round of applause for Osmo, our musicians and the Institute! Tutti bravi!  

Posted on Facebook 1/15

Pamela Espeland at MinnPost always has good tips for upcoming arts events of all types. Today she highlights Friday night’s Composer Institute concert, with Osmo Vänskä conducting the MN Orchestra in works by seven exciting new composers. 

After reflecting on the 1-year anniversary of the contract resolution (along with a gracious shout-out to audience advocacy groups such as SOSMN and Orchestrate Excellence – thanks, Pamela!) she writes, “…It will be something, for them and for us, to hear their work performed by the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra under Vänskä’s direction in Orchestra Hall, all of which seemed impossible in our very recent past. The concert starts at 8 p.m. FMI and tickets ($12-$20). There aren’t many left.”

She also announces a FREE concert of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet, with Osmo on the clarinet, on Thursday Feb 19 at Macalester! 

Read Pamela’s article here:   http://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2015/01/v-nsk-conduct-future-classics-lowertown-classics-no-8?utm_content=buffer602a6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Tickets for Friday night here:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/354/-/future-classics#.VK_biyvF_l8

Posted on Facebook 1/12

What do Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, England, and Sweden have in common? They are the homes of the 2 women and 5 men invited to participate in this week’s Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute! 

Read about these impressive individuals here:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/learn/lifelong-learning/composer-institute

The Orchestra’s recent press release gives us some hints about their compositions, which are receiving their world premiers at 8:00 this Friday night: “Agócs’ ‘Perpetual Summer’ is scored for orchestra and a sextet of solo strings, together engaged in a dialogue that recalls a Baroque concerto grosso. Birman’s ‘Manifesto’ explores paradoxical concepts and ‘the sound of the surreal,’ built around musical material reminiscent of a folk song. Kim’s ‘Splash!!’ is a colorful work filled with surprising turns, summoning images of children playing with water balloons and a dancing fountain. Loiacono’s ‘Stalks, Hounds’ takes a brief musical gesture from Ravel’s ‘Daphnis and Chloe’ and continually transforms the motif from a familiar form to ‘a place that is claustrophobic and alien.’ Evan Meier’s ‘Fire Music’ has a form that ‘behaves like a kind of conflagration,’ with musical sparks that ignite, spread, transform and trail off, like dying embers. Peterson’s ‘Hyperborea’ is inspired by the mythical realm of ancient Greek legend, and by the sea and sky of the composer’s home near Sweden’s Baltic coast. Schachter’s ‘Freylekhe Tanzen,’ whose title means ‘joyous dances’ in Yiddish, is described by the composer as ‘a love letter to the liturgical and folk music of European jewry,’ with a slow dance giving way to a lively Klezmer finale.”   Read more in the full press release here:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/about/learn-more/press-room/1094-future-classics-2015-jan-16

Meet the composers, hear them introduce their works, and then be among the first to ever hear these wonderful new compositions!  Tickets are $12-$20.  More info and ticketing here:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/354/-/future-classics#.VK_biyvF_l8

Posted on Facebook 1/9

“Hear what the twenty-first century sounds like!”  Julie Stewart, a member of SOSMN’s leadership team, is excited about the Friday 1/16 concert, and she wants you to be too!

Julie continues: “If you think of classical music as the exclusive province of dead European male composers, think again.  On Friday January 16, the Minnesota Orchestra will showcase the work of seven very-much-alive exciting young composers, a diverse and impressive group, all in attendance at the concert.  You’ll hear the beautiful, the strange, the provocative, the tumultuous, the sad, the joyous – in fact, you’ll hear tomorrow’s “future classics” today!  Find out why this unique one-night-only concert, offered every January since 2006, is the favorite of so many music lovers in the Twin Cities.”

Tickets are $12-$20…such a deal for world premieres!  Click here for more info and tickets:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/354/-/future-classics#.VK_biyvF_l8