A little different

The Milwaukee Symphony’s 2013-14 season is a little different.

Oh, there’s plenty of Beethoven, as usual, but the Ninth, Third and Seventh Symphonies will be paired with works by John Adams over three “Beethoven Festival” programs. The Third and Seventh will be heard in the Pabst Theater, which dictates a Classical-scaled orchestra that fits both the Pabst stage and Beethoven’s era. Music director Edo de Waart is an authority on Adams’ music, as he was music director at the San Francisco Symphony when Adams when composer in residence there. Adams The Wound-Dresser Chamber Symphony and Violin Dresser will complement Beethoven next season. Contemporary music by Aaron Jay Kernis, Michael Ippolito is also on the bill.

The MSO will also play a healthy dose of mid-20th century music, with works by Berg, Nielsen, three by Stravinsky and three by Bartók (including the rarely heard Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra, which MSO concertmaster Frank Almond will play). The Mid-Century binge will culminate in a program of music by Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber and former MSO music director Lukas Foss Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Assistant conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong, who has been very impressive this season, will lead that interesting program.

The MSO, in recent years, has gone out of its to showcase its own players as concerto soloists. This healthy practice will continue next season, with Almond, principal clarinetist Todd Levy and new principal cellist Susan Babini taking solo turns. The best known among the guest soloists would be pianist Radu Lupu. Ingrid Fliter, a big success here previously with Mozart, returns to play some Chopin, and the spectacular Joyce Yang will return to complete her Rachmaninoff cycle with the MSO.

As was the case this season, music director Edo de Waart will be rare in the fall, with just one program here, but will lead eight more in the winter and spring. Conductor Laureate Andreas Delfs, who was a whole lot of fun at the recent New Year’s Eve concert, will return to open the season in September. Gilbert Varga, a favorite of MSO musicians, will lead the last two programs of the season.

The listings that follow are subject to change. To keep up with the latest, visit the MSO’s Season at a Glance page. All programs at Marcus Center Uihlein Hall unless otherwise noted. This announcement covers the 2013-14 Classical Subscription Series. The MSO has yet to announce the Pops, Specials, and Kinderkonzerts.

 

September 20-22,
Andreas Delfs, conductor
Jeremy Denk, piano
Aaron Jay Kernis: Musica Celestis
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36

September 27-28, 2013
Roberto Abbado, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
MSO Chorus, Lee Erickson, director
Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D major
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé 

October 4-5, 2013
Asher Fisch, conductor
Todd Levy, clarinet
Wagner: Overture to Der fliegende Holländer [The Flying Dutchman]
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra

November 15-16, 2013
Edo de Waart, conductor
Ingrid Fliter, piano
Michael Ippolito: Nocturne for Orchestra
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11
Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73

November 22-24, 2013
Hans Graf, conductor
MSO Chorus, Lee Erickson, director
Joélle Harvey, soprano; Jennifer Rivera, mezzo-soprano; Wesley Rogers, tenor; TBD, baritone
Mozart: Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543
Schubert: Mass No. 6 in E-flat major, D. 950

January 17-18, 2014
Edo de Waart, conductor
Jennifer Koh, violin
Bach: (orch. Webern) Ricercare No. 2 from Musical Offering, BWV 1079
Berg: Violin Concerto
Brahms (orch: Schoenberg): Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25

 

January 24-25, 2014
Edo de Waart, conductor
Radu Lupu, piano
Schumann: Manfred Overture, Op. 115 James Macmillan:The Confession of Isobel Gowdie
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1

January 31, February 1, 2014
Francesco Lecce-Chong, conductor
Kathleen Kim, soprano
Bernstein: Three Dance Episodes from On the Town
Foss: Time Cycle
Barber: Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24
Bernstein: On the Waterfront Symphonic Suite

February 21-22, 2014
Santtu Matias Rouvali, conductor
Andreas Brantelid, cello
Nielsen: Helios Overture, Op. 17
Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107
Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39

February 28, March 1, 2014
Edo de Waart, conductor
Orion Weiss, piano
Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande Suite, Op. 80
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major Stravinsky: Petrouchka (1947 version)

March 21-23, 2014 Beethoven Festival 1 (Marcus Center Uihlein Hall)
Edo de Waart, conductor
MSO Chorus, Lee Erickson, director
Christopher Maltman, baritone
John Adams: The Wound-Dresser
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125

 

March 28-30, 2014 Beethoven Festival 2 (Pabst Theater)
Edo de Waart, conductor
Stravinsky: Concerto in D major for String Orchestra
John Adams: Chamber Symphony
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, “Eroica” 

April 4-6, 2014 Beethoven Festival 3 (Pabst Theater)
Edo de Waart, conductor
Jorja Fleezanis, violin
Stravinsky: Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1947 revision)
John Adams: Violin Concerto
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

April 18-19, 2014
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Frank Almond, violin
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture, Op. 21
Chausson: Poème for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 25
Bartók: Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra
Prokofiev: Selections from Romeo and Juliet

April 25-27, 2014
Edo de Waart, conductor

Joyce Yang, piano
Rachmaninoff: Prince Rostislav
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40
Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44 

May 2-3, 2014
Edo de Waart, conductor
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor

May 30-31, June 1, 2014
Gilbert Varga, conductor
Susan Babini, cello
Elgar: Serenade for Strings
Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 29
Dvořák: Slavonic Dances, Op. 46

June 6-8, 2014
Gilbert Varga, conductor
Karen Gomyo, violin
Mozart: Overture to Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), K. 492
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Bartók: Suite from The Wooden Prince, Op. 13
Ravel: Boléro

 

 

MSO Subscription Prices for 2013-14

6-Series (Evenings), $132.00 – $528.00

9-Series (Evenings) $180.00 – $747.00

18-Series (Evenings) $360.00 – $1,494.00

Friday Prelude (6 concerts) $132.00 – $432.00 

Sunday Matinee (6 concerts)

$132.00 – $432.00 

Single tickets go on sale August 5, 2013.

Ticket prices include sales tax and Marcus Center facility fees. To subscribe or for further information, call the MSO ticket line, 414 291-7605, or visit the MSO website.