Posted on Facebook 4/21

Chorus Master Kathy Saltzman Romey gives us a glimpse into what it takes to prepare the MN Chorale for their participation with the MN Orchestra in a work like Brahms’ “German Requiem.” 
 
She writes, “For every major performance project, I build a distinctive choral instrument. From the Chorale’s roster of more than 200 singers, I draw a group of the appropriate size with the needed skills: vocal color and technique, linguistic capability, musical experience and leadership, esprit de corps. (A chorus that’s right for Brahms won’t be right for Handel, and vice versa.) Over the course of six to ten weeks of rehearsal, we weld these building blocks into an ensemble that is flexible, nuanced, engaged and alive, developing a shared musical understanding that enables us to bring the composer’s intentions to life.”
 
Read the rest of Kathy’s unique insights to choral/orchestral collaboration on the Orchestra’s “Stories” page.  Here’s a link:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/showcase/126-essay-the-chorus-master-speaks
 
And if you don’t yet have your tickets for this weekend, grab some here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/513/-/rilling-conducts-a-german-requiem
 
We hope to see you at Orchestra Hall Friday or Saturday night, or Sunday afternoon!

Posted on Facebook 4/20

“Brahms throws all the conventional rules aside to create a profound, deeply personal statement about sorrow and hope.  It is a Requiem unlike any other.”  Scott Chamberlain shared his unique insights into both the text and the music of this masterpiece in his blog post last week. 
 
Scott continues, “This is the recurring theme of the German Requiem, to attend the needs of the living.  He focuses on providing them with solace, or allowing the bereaved to cry out if they need to.  It is only after the mourners are ready that Brahms has them release the departed and send their loved one on to his or her Final Rest.  This release is a glorious moment, made all the more powerful because in this conception it is not God alone that gathers up the soul… we send it to Him.  This level of human agency gives the work a spiritual power unlike the comparable moments of similar works….”
 
Then, with his “insider’s ears” (he’s a member of the MN Chorale) and deep musical understanding, Scott takes us through each movement, talking about how this deeply profound and moving music marries to the text.   Anguish, sorrow, consolation, reflection, comfort, joy, hope, affirmation, contemplation, catharsis, radiance – it’s all there in the music as well as the text.
 
Read Scott’s post here:  https://maskoftheflowerprince.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/brahms-a-german-requiem-a-visionary-masterpiece/
 
Then grab your tickets for one of this weekend’s performances with Helmuth Rilling conducting the MN Orchestra, MN Chorale and soloists.  Just click here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/513/-/rilling-conducts-a-german-requiem
 
Thanks, Scott!

Posted on Faceboon 4/18

Rilling.  Brahms.  MN Orchestra.  MN Chorale.  It doesn’t get much better than this.  Fri & Sat night plus Sun afternoon.
 
This morning the StarTribune said: ”With age, they say, comes wisdom. That is often true of classical musicians, and it certainly applies to the German conductor Helmuth Rilling. Now in his 80s, Rilling is a choral practitioner of unparalleled experience, and brings the accumulated insight of decades to Brahms' masterpiece "A German Requiem," in three performances this weekend with the Minnesota Orchestra and Chorale. As a curtain-raiser, Rilling leads a lecture-demonstration on Brahms' working methods in the Requiem, and the reasons why he wrote it. If you follow choral music, this is an essential date for your diary. (8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Orchestra Hall, Mpls. $25-$79. mnorch.org or 612-371-5656)”  http://www.startribune.com/heavyweight-for-a-requiem-helmuth-rilling-does-brahms-with-mn-orchestra-chorale/376091041/
 
Tickets & more info here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/513/-/rilling-conducts-a-german-requiem
 
Will we see you this weekend at Orchestra Hall?

Posted on Facebook 4/14

Bach, Stravinsky, a conductor’s debut, and purple – all tonight @ 8 @ Orchestra Hall!  The “Symphony in 60” format features “Petrushka” and the 3rd Brandenburg conducted by Cristian Măcelaru.

Măcelaru is Conductor-in-Residence of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has a very busy season, conducting in NYC, Chicago, Philly, LA, DC, Berlin, Frankfurt, Rotterdam, Birmingham, Dublin, Tokyo, Atlanta, Cincinnati and San Diego as well as here in Minneapolis!  Read more about him here:  http://macelaru.com/about/

Come early for happy hour, enjoy the 60-minute performance, and then stay late for a post-concert onstage gathering with Minnesota Orchestra musicians.

And look for a sea of purple in the audience!  It’s University of St. Thomas Night at the symphony, organized by the Orchestra’s Student Ambassadors on campus.  Please give them a warm welcome.

Just a few tickets remain for tonight.  Get yours by calling the box office at 612.371.5656 or by clicking here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/597/-/symphony-in-60-stravinsky-s-petrushka#.Vw5a4PkrLIU

Tonight’s program will be repeated Friday and Saturday with the addition of violist Roberto Díaz performing Jennifer Higdon’s Viola Concerto.  Details and tickets here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/525/-/stravinsky-s-petrushka#.Vw5aQ_krLIU

We hope to see you at the Hall this weekend!

Posted on Facebook 4/1

“The audience's standing ovation came as no surprise” said StarTribune critic Michael Anthony about yesterday morning’s performance of Penderecki’s Cello Concerto No. 2.  
 
The powerful bond between the MN Orchestra and the music of Poland, built and strengthened by former music director Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, continues this week with this concerto in the capable hands of cellist Arto Noras and conductor Osmo Vänskä and our brilliant musicians.
 
Mr. Anthony reports, “Structured in eight brief and varied sections that flow without pause, like a river of anguish, and intense — though often tender — lyricism, there can be no doubt that this is one of Penderecki's greatest works.” “Vänskä drew a performance of impressive depth and resonance from the orchestra, and Noras played throughout with passionate conviction and adroit technique….”    Read the rest of his review here: http://www.startribune.com/impressive-penderecki-concerto-echoes-minnesota-orchestra-s-polish-past/374199141/
 
Also on the program are Beethoven’s “Leonore” Overture No. 2 and Brahms’ breathtakingly beautiful Symphony No. 3. 
 
If you don’t have your tickets for tonight’s or tomorrow night’s performance, there’s still time!  Just call the box office at 612.371.5656 or click here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/512/-/vaenskae-conducts-brahms-third#.VvviR-IrLIU
 
We hope to see you at Orchestra Hall this weekend!

Posted on Facebook 3/30

Brahms, Beethoven, Penderecki – romantic, classic, modern – what a fascinating program on this weekend’s MN Orchestra concerts conducted by Osmo Vänskä.  This is powerful stuff, sure to delight and stimulate our senses and give all the musicians on stage challenging material to perform!
 
The dramatic, haunting, virtuosic Penderecki Cello Concerto No. 2 will be performed by Finnish cellist Arto Noras, who has a long association with Penderecki’s work.  The Berlin Philharmonic commissioned this concerto for Mstislav Rostropovich in 1982.  For a preview, click over to this Rostropovich recording on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApJU2QbbXpc 

​And click here to read more about Mr. Noras:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/about/who-we-are/musicians-soloists-conductors/guest-artists-new/1346-arto-noras
 
Also on the program are Beethoven’s “Leonore” Overture No. 2 and Brahms’ breathtakingly beautiful Symphony No. 3.  
 
Learn more and grab your tickets for Thursday morning or Friday or Saturday evening here:  http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/buy/tickets/browse-calendar/eventdetail/512/-/vaenskae-conducts-brahms-third#.VvviR-IrLIU
 
We hope to see you at Orchestra Hall this weekend!