Posted on Facebook 7/28

“George knew how to make a piano laugh, really laugh.” Andrew Litton shares Abram Chasins’ famous quote about George Gershwin in his fascinating intro/demo of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto.  Watch the 8-minute video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J483uDP7vL0

Litton performs this concerto as pianist AND conductor this Friday night (that puts him on the Stein-Podium, right?!?).  Very few tickets remain, mostly in the balconies, so if you have some that you can’t use, please turn them back so that others can buy them.  It’s easy to do here:  https://boxoffice.minnesotaorchestra.org/cart/forms/change.aspx

This concerto, with its jazz, dance, Blues, and percussive fireworks, is 90 years young. And with Litton’s brilliant playing and insightful conducting, Friday’s performance is sure to be a fabulously memorable experience. Also on the program are Copland’s “El Salón México” and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7.  Wow! What a night!

If you don’t already have your tickets for this penultimate Sommerfest concert, grab some right away online:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/558/-/gershwin-s-piano-concerto#.VbeRxPlVikp  or by calling the box office at 612.371.5656  

We hope to see you Friday night!

Posted on Facebook 7/30

“S.O.S. Samba” – be the first to hear it on Friday night, 7/31 @ 10:15 in the Atrium. FREE! The release party for MN Orchestra Timpanist Peter Kogan’s new CD, “Some Monsterful Wonderthing” takes place after the Sommerfest concert (info here: http://www.saveoursymphonymn.org/july-2015/july-31-sommerfest ) but anyone can come for the post-concert party. 

And yes, the first tune on the album is dedicated to SOSMN – that means you!  Whether you follow our Facebook page, share our posts, buy tickets, bring friends to concerts, respond to surveys, contribute money to the Orchestra, suggest initiatives, volunteer at events, write articles or “blurbs” or letters to editors, analyze data, blog about the Orchestra, or serve as a member of our leadership team, you are a member of the mighty band of MN Orchestra audience advocates honored with this new tune!

For this party, Peter is joined by Cory Wong, Pete Whitman, Sean Turner, Charles Lazarus, Brian Courage and Scott Agster, and special guests Jason Arkis, Steve Kimball, Brian Mount and Kevin Watkins.

THANK YOU, PETER! What fun, and what an honor!

More info about Peter here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/about/who-we-are/artists-and-performers/orchestra-musicians/345-timpani/739-peter-kogan
And more info about the CD on Peter’s website:  http://peterkoganmusic.com/

Posted on Facebook 7/25

Do you long to hear spellbinding flute, clarinet, trumpet, viola, cello, bass and piano performances by our spectacular musicians? Do you long to see them up close (rather than from your distant seat)? There’s no better way to do so than at Sommerfest’s second chamber music concert on Sunday evening!

Adam, David, Manny, Gareth, Pitnarry, Arek, Kate, Susan and Mary Jo will perform works by Rossini, Rorem, Hindemith, and Mozart in solo, duo, and trio combinations.  Sunday @ 7 in the main Hall.  $25 & $12. Really, don’t miss this!

More info here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/557/-/chamber-music-rossini-and-mozart#.VbObqflViko

Posted on Facebook 7/25

Igudesman and Joo made a surprise appearance at Friday night’s “Strauss” concert. The 2nd violins danced (literally). The audience roared and clapped-along (you’d almost think you were at The Last Night of the Proms). Strauss rocked in rather unusual ways!

Don’t miss the duo’s show tonight, with our MN Orchestra conducted by Sarah Hicks.  Just a handful of tickets remain in the balconies.  More info here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/416/-/igudesman-and-joo-big-nightmare-music#.VbOYO_lVikp

Posted on Facebook 7/22

“…a death-defying set of variations based on music from Bizet’s ‘Carmen’… it’s all flash and fun, as well as being full of dance rhythms, so it fits well with the waltz theme of the concert” says MN Orchestra Associate Principal Flute Greg Milliren in an interview published on the Orchestra’s website this week.  He and Principal Flute Adam Kuenzel perform François Borne’s ‘Carmen’ Fantasy for Two Flutes and Orchestra this Friday night and Sunday afternoon.  Learn more about it (and about Greg) in the interview here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/showcase/38-meet-a-musician-greg-milliren

On these programs you will also hear Steven Campbell perform Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Tuba Concerto. Read our post about that piece, published 6/25, below.

The highest orchestral wind instrument … the lowest orchestral wind instrument … and delightful Strauss family waltzes in between … what’s not to love!  More info here:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/555/-/strauss-the-waltz-king#.VYwRQvlViko

We hope to see you this weekend!

Posted on Facebook 6/25

Tubaahhhh!  Our friend Erika Sacks-White sent us a great intro to the Ralph Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto that will be performed by Steve Campbell on July 24 & 26, and she also talks about her childhood memories of Sommerfest and why she’s excited about this summer’s festival.  Read on….

Erika writes, “Ah, Sommerfest. Some of my favorite childhood memories of concerts at Orchestra Hall were during the month-long summer festival of concerts. After hearing great music, we would head out to Peavey Plaza for an ice cream treat. Invariably, we would talk with musicians who were also enjoying dessert. If you have never been to a Sommerfest concert, you really must go. There are so many options to choose from – great piano concerti with Andrew Litton, chamber music with our stellar orchestra members, and of course Madame Butterfly at the end of the festival.

“The concert that I am most looking forward to attending is devoted to Strauss. We can all enjoy a few waltzes during the summer, right? But, that is not all this concert will offer – there is also a tuba concerto that I cannot wait to hear. What’s that, did I just say tuba concerto?! (You’re thinking, “Why would anyone bother to write a concerto for the tuba?!” Right?) It turns out that many people have done so, but Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote one in 1954, and it is the gold standard (at least by my reckoning). I had the opportunity to play this piece several years ago, and I have loved it ever since.

“So, you’re wondering how a tuba even has anything to offer beyond the standard “oom pah” in Strauss waltzes or other pieces, I suppose. Actually, the tuba is like the double bass for the brass family. It provides the grounding and depth of sound that can’t be provided by trumpets. It creates enough reverberations to vibrate the stage floor. In the capable scoring of Vaughan Williams, the tuba comes alive and shows off a much greater range of sound than most of us were aware it could do.
The first movement is a rhythmic dance with a lot of interplay between the orchestra and the tuba. The tuba part displays a full range of colors, alternating between short rhythmic bursts of tongued notes, and longer mellifluous phrases. A cadenza towards the end of the movement allows the tubist to show off a bit, but in a refined manner. 

“The second movement (Romanza) is the heart and soul of this piece. It is the longest movement of the three, and I am glad for that. The strings begin with a lovely melody, and the tuba part sneaks in about 90 seconds later. If you listen with your eyes closed, you might think you are hearing a French horn. The tuba takes over the phrase, and it is truly one of the most beautiful melodies I have heard. There is a lyricism that alternates between melancholia and yearning, it is signature Vaughan Williams writing. There is a short section that feels slightly faster and more urgent that gives the winds and brass more to do, but this movement belongs to the strings and the soloist.

“The final movement begins with a trill from the tuba, and it is a romp from beginning to end. Alternating between melodies that are dramatic, serious and have a sense of foreboding, the tubist demonstrates a virtuosic display of tonguing and trilling techniques. Like the first movement, there is a cadenza in which the tuba brings the piece to a rousing finish by roaring its lowest notes. 

“Well, are you curious to hear this tuba concerto now? My descriptions can’t do it justice, I urge you to come and hear it for yourself. I think you will be pleasantly surprised, and maybe even find that it becomes one of your favorite pieces as well.

“See the links below for further information, and enjoy a great concert this summer!”

Thanks, Erika!

Sommerfest info here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/special-events/sommerfest

More info about the July 24&26 concert here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/555/-/strauss-the-waltz-king#.VYwRQvlViko

Posted on Facebook 7/18

Nighttime Brazilian trout fishing? Or does some other theme tie together the three chamber works on Sunday evening’s program at Orchestra Hall?

Ten MN Orchestra virtuosos (in various combinations) will perform works by Schubert, Villa-Lobos and Brett Dean. Hear Greg Milliren and Chris Marshall play two movements of Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 6.” Then Tim Zavadil, Sam Bergman and Susan Billmeyer play Australian composer Brett Dean’s 1993 “Night Window.” And after intermission Andrew Litton joins Jonathan Magness, Ken Freed, Katja Linfield and Dave Williamson for Schubert’s famous and oh-so-gorgeous Quintet in A major for Piano and Strings, D.667, “The Trout.”

What a fascinating program.  And what a great opportunity to see and hear these brilliant performers up close!  We hope to see you there.  And we’ll be eager to hear your thoughts about what ties these pieces together!

More info and tix ($12 & $25) here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/554/-/chamber-music-schubert-s-trout-quintet#.VarV8vlViko

Posted on Facebook 7/16

Curious about this weekend’s piano soloist, Alessio Bax? Watch this 3+ minute video interview from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCTrk7m5coc

Then hear him in person on Friday night (playing Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”) and Saturday night (playing de Falla’s “Nights in the Gardens of Spain”).  Pick up one of his CDs and have him autograph it after the concert!

More info and tickets:
For Friday  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/552/-/rachmaninoff-and-brahms#.VaPcqvlVikp
For Saturday  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/553/-/nights-in-the-gardens-of-spain#.VaffKflViko

Posted on Facebook 7/12

Ravel’s “Boléro” - people either love it or hate it! But this piece, along with works by Rimsky-Korsakov, de Falla, Charbrier and Bizet certainly evoke the sounds, sights, drama and dance of that enchanting country. Hear them all at this Saturday night's concert.

Our friend Scott Chamberlain talks about his personal connection to the vistas, music, aromas, language and people of Córdoba and about his love for de Falla’s “Nights in the Gardens of Spain” in his recent post.  Read it here:  https://maskoftheflowerprince.wordpress.com/2015/07/11/remembering-nights-in-the-gardens-of-spain/

More info and tickets here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/553/-/nights-in-the-gardens-of-spain#.VaKUh_lVikp

(Our friend Emily Hogstad (“Song of the Lark” blog) created the amusing meme for this concert. Thanks, Emily!)

Posted on Facebook 7/15

Thank you to Emily Hogstad for the hilarious meme for this concert! And it’s true – it took Brahms 21 years to write his first symphony – but what a masterpiece!  Hear it performed by our MN Orchestra this Friday at 8 pm.

And don’t miss the phenomenal Alessio Bax’ debut with our Orchestra, playing Rachmaninoff’s fascinating “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.”  This 38-year-old Italian (who now lives in NY City) is in the midst of a whirlwind summer tour, playing fourteen festivals on three continents – wow – lucky us!

The program opens with Berlioz’ rousing “Roman Carnival” Overture.  

Orchestral and pianistic fireworks on a clear warm summer’s evening in Minnesota – what could be finer?  More info and tickets here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/552/-/rachmaninoff-and-brahms#.VaPcqvlVikp

Posted on Facebook 7/9

You know it’s going to be GREAT when the hosts are all jazzed about the repertoire! At the 6/13 “Inside the Classics” concert, violist-host Sam Bergman said that he and conductor Sarah Hicks have been waiting to do the Rachmaninoff “Symphonic Dances” since Inside the Classics began 5+ years ago.   

This was Rachmaninoff’s final work, the capstone of his career, and is a tour de force of Romantic orchestral composition. Sam and Sarah will explore its background and composition during the first half of this Saturday night’s concert. After intermission, Sarah will lead the Minnesota Orchestra in a complete performance of the work.

More info and tickets ($29) here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/457/-/inside-the-classics-rachmaninoff-s-romantic-legacy#.VZlIbflViko

Posted on Facebook 7/5

Hornist Sarah Schmalenberger (Associate Professor of Music, Music History, and French horn at the University of St. Thomas) is passionate about Rachmainioff’s Symphonic Dances, the composition that will be explored at this Saturday’s “Inside the Classics” concert.  

Sarah writes, “Was Rachmaninoff feeling nostalgic for his Russian homeland, as he looked out from the shores of New York’s Long Island Sound while penning his final composition?  Symphonic Dances seems to offer a sonic panorama of Russia’s distinctive landscape, both culturally and musically.   Right away in the first movement, the captivating persistent ground rhythms evoke the crisp air of a brisk troika ride through the snow.  When a saxophone presents a contemplative second melodic theme, I hear a glimpse of the ubiquitous bear plodding along in the Russian circus, but also a similarly mournful saxophone melody by one of the composer’s younger contemporaries (Sergei Prokofiev and the Leiutenant Kije Suite, which premiered only a few years prior).  But then the strings transform this melody and develop a soaring response across their octaves, returning us to the breathtakingly beautiful expanse of the frozen steppes. 

“The second and third movements of Symphonic Dances continue its tableaux, in a brilliant display of shifting tone colors, meters, dancelike melodies, and harmonic adventures that confirm the mark of a master.  These are the expressions of someone who deeply loved (and longed for) the artistic legacy of his country’s pre-revolutionary grandeur.  In Rachmaninoff we hear the epitome of Russian Romanticism, the last master who bridged the sound of the late 19th century into the 20th.  Truly breathtaking music, to be enveloped in its pure yet refined emotional utterances, is an experience you won’t want to miss.”

More info and tickets ($29) here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/457/-/inside-the-classics-rachmaninoff-s-romantic-legacy#.VZlIbflViko

Posted on Facebook 7/8

There’s no rain in Thursday’s or Friday’s forecast, so you’ll just have to be “Singin’ in the Sunshine” (and enjoying snacks & drinks on Peavey Plaza and pretending you’re Gene Kelley or Debbie Reynolds!). 

Both performances of “Singin’ in the Rain” are almost sold out, but take a look online or call the box office at 612.371.5656 if you don’t have your tickets yet.   https://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/423/-/singin-in-the-rain-film#.VZ2kwflViko

We look forward to enjoying this classic film (with live orchestral accompaniment) with you!

Posted on Facebook 7/1

"This is one of the few movies I watch with a stupid grin on my face all the way through. Just go. That's all."

“Singin’ in the Rain” - Thursday, 7/9 at 11 am and Friday, 7/10 at 8 pm.

We asked some of our friends for their thoughts about this upcoming concert - the MGM musical on the big screen, with our MN Orchestra performing the soundtrack, synchronized-conducted by the fabulous Sarah Hicks. In her inimitable style, Emily Hogstad (“Song of the Lark” blog) sent us the above quote!

You have two chances to experience it!  We hope to see you at one of the performances.  More info here:   http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/423/-/singin-in-the-rain-film#.VZRPGvlViko