Conductor

Composer Carl Orff based Carmina Burana on two dozen poems – but far from odes of love, these verses deal in lust, gambling, drinking, and the fickle hand of fate (“O Fortuna!”). Music Director Ken-David Masur joins Artistic Partner Dashon Burton and the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus as they lend their voices to this bawdy cantata. Pairing well with Orff’s epic is Carlos Simon’s Fate Now Conquers, which refers to a notebook entry written by Beethoven and explores “the unpredictable ways of fate.” Between these, the MSO showcases its own Principal Trombone Megumi Kanda in Tan Dun’s Three Muses in Video Game, a daring and spiritual concerto which challenges the trombonist to evoke three ancient Chinese musical instruments.

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Carmina Burana & Fate Now Conquers

Warner Grand Theater

The MSO holds nothing back in its epic season finale. Augustin Hadelich – indisputably one of the greatest violinists of today – joins Music Director Ken-David Masur and the MSO for Tchaikovsky’s timeless Violin Concerto. Sibelius’s final symphony packs all of its sublime majesty into a single astonishing movement that seems to bend time to its will. This grand finale opens with a masterpiece by Ukrainian composer Borys Lyatoshynsky; his symphonic poem Grazyhna follows a brave heroine into battle and never rests until she tastes victory.

Hadelich Plays Tchaikovsky

The festival reaches its grand conclusion with one of the greatest compositions of all time. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is made even more remarkable by the fact that, at its premiere in 1824, Beethoven was completely deaf. The triumphant work culminates with the iconic, transformative finale - the famous Ode to Joy chorus.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

Hult Center for the Performing Arts

Rachmaninoff, a virtuoso pianist himself, held nothing back when composing for his instrument; Simon Trpčeski is ideally suited for the challenge of Rachmaninoff’s demanding yet romantic First Piano Concerto. In mythology, Orpheus crossed paths with the god of bees — composer Dobrinka Tabakova wove their buzzing sounds into her dramatic Orpheus’ Comet, which also includes references to Monteverdi’s opera L’Orfeo. Finally, Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a beguiling suite about a clever woman who weaves adventure-filled stories to save her own life over the course of 1,001 nights.

Scheherazade

“A wayfaring craftsman, who has had a great sorrow, goes out into the world and wanders aimlessly,” said Mahler of his Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (“Songs of a Wayfarer”); returning Artistic Partner Dashon Burton gives voice to this wistful cycle of four Lieder which hint at Mahler’s own experience with unrequited love. In honor of Bruckner’s 200th birthday, Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts one of the best-loved pieces in Bruckner’s repertoire: his “Romantic” Fourth Symphony with its pastoral warmth, stunning brass chorale, and energetic hunt. The program begins with Clarice Assad’s percussive Nhanderú, which depicts a sacred rain dance ritual.

Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony

Now considered one of Bach’s most opulent musical achievements, his Christmas Oratorio went unheard for over a century after its first performances, until a resurgence of holiday celebrations brought it back into fashion. Each of its six cantatas was intended for a Christmas high feast day; Music Director Ken-David Masur and the MSO are joined by the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus to ensure the oratorio’s messages of contemplation, abundance, and jubilation ring from the rafters.

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio

When Music Director Ken-David Masur tapped Concertmaster Jinwoo Lee after a four-year search, he praised Lee’s energy, musical curiosity, and “great artistic spontaneity.” Those qualities also describe this kaleidoscopic program, which finds Lee performing Sibelius’s dreamy Violin Concerto following Nielsen’s symphonic poem about the lusty god Pan’s pursuit of a water nymph. Anna Clyne’s deeply-felt elegy dedicated to her mother is infused with poetry — “Earth will keep you tight within her arms, dear one” — and Tchaikovsky draws inspiration from one of Western literature’s most epic love stories of all time for his musical portrayal of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet.

Tchaikovsky’s Romeo And Juliet

Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts a powerful program highlighting three generations of American composers. In Aaron Copland’s stirring musical portrait of Abraham Lincoln, the composer begins by suggesting “the mysterious sense of fatality that surrounds Lincoln’s personality” and ends by attempting “to draw a simple but impressive frame about the words of Lincoln himself.” MSO Principal Clarinet Todd Levy performs Richard Danielpour’s From the Mountaintop, dedicated to the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The evening concludes with Charles Ives’s Second Symphony, which samples classic American folk tunes such as “America the Beautiful,” “Turkey in the Straw,” and “Camptown Races” — the last of which Lincoln himself used as a campaign song, bringing the concert full circle.

American Voices

Following last season’s successful celebration of one of history’s greatest composers, Music Director Ken-David Masur and Artistic Partner Dashon Burton return with a fresh program of Bach favorites. To begin, the MSO’s own Jeanyi Kim and Kevin Pearl take center stage for Bach’s Concerto for Violin & Oboe, respectively. This concert also includes the church cantata “Ich habe genug” (“I have enough”), with its famous “slumber aria”; the fourth of Bach’s famed Brandenburg Concertos; and finally his spirited fourth Orchestral Suite.

Bach Celebration

“I am completely filled with your Requiem,” wrote Clara Schumann to her friend Johannes Brahms. “It is an immense piece that takes hold of one’s whole being like very little else.” Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts the orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, and Artistic Partner Dashon Burton through Brahms’s personal journey of sorrow and consolation.

Brahms Requiem

Experience the mastery of Ken-David Masur as he returns to Omaha to conduct the Omaha Symphony in a captivating performance featuring the warhorses of the classical music repertoire. This event marks a special occasion as Omaha welcomes back the esteemed Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony, Ken-David Masur, for an unforgettable musical journey.

**Location:** Holland Center  
**Dates:**  
- Friday, April 25, 7:30 PM  
- Saturday, April 26, 7:30 PM  

**Program Highlights:**  
- WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART, Symphony No. 35, Haffner  
- ANTONIN DVORAK: Symphony No. 6 in D Major  

This performance is not just a concert but a celebration of classical music's enduring power, led by one of the most dynamic conductors of our time. Ken-David Masur's return to Omaha is a testament to his deep connection with the orchestra and the community, promising an evening of musical excellence.

**Special Offer:**  
Subscribe today to secure your seats for this and other magnificent performances in the Masterworks series. Subscribers enjoy benefits such as savings on ticket prices, free exchanges, and more. 7-Concert packages start at $150, offering an unparalleled opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of classical music.

Don't miss this opportunity to witness Ken-David Masur's conducting prowess and the Omaha Symphony's exceptional talent. Individual tickets will be available in August, but subscribing now ensures you get the best seats and benefits.

Join us at the Holland Center for a musical experience that celebrates the beauty and complexity of classical music, conducted by the incomparable Ken-David Masur.

Ken-David Masur Conducts

Omaha Performing Arts

Musical pictures abound in this imaginative program, led by Music Director Ken-David Masur, which begins with Rossini’s galloping William Tell overture and Richard Strauss’s tone poem delighting in the pranks of a jokester named Till Eulenspiegel. An ácana is a distinctive Cuban tree revered for its strength, which composer Tania León brings to life with color, texture, and percussion; León’s rainforest is an effervescent introduction to Resphigi’s stately yet evocative Pines of Rome.

Pines Of Rome

The MSO’s own principal cellist Susan Babini performs an unforgettable concerto by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis, whose expansive and haunting solo cello concerto Colored Field was inspired by a visit to a former WWII concentration camp. Later, Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts Brahms’ First Symphony, whose brilliance helped the composer step out of Beethoven’s shadow; critic Eduard Hanslick said of Brahms’s First that “...even the layman will immediately recognize it as one of the most distinctive and magnificent works of the symphonic literature.”

Masur Conducts Brahms

Music director Ken-David Masur leads the Milwaukee Symphony and Chorus in a grand season finale. Thrill to favorite selections by master composers including Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, and more.

Ken-David Masur

Conductor

Events

7 - 9 Jun, 2024

Carmina Burana & Fate Now Conquers · Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

14 - 15 Jun, 2024

Hadelich Plays Tchaikovsky · Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Jul 14, 2024

Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 · Oregon Bach Festival

27 - 29 Sep, 2024

Scheherazade · Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

4 - 5 Oct, 2024

Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony · Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

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