With his Fifth Symphony, Shostakovich outwitted Soviet authorities with the finesse of a double agent. Threatened by Stalin’s regime, the composer skillfully appeased Soviet officials with this gripping work packed with triumphant Russian themes, but also subversive satire and daring irony. Chief conductor of the Ravinia Festival Marin Alsop also leads the CSO in a captivating work about Harriet Tubman and a beloved Chopin concerto featuring pianist Lukáš Vondráček.

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Alsop & Vondráček

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Music Director Jonathon Heyward sheds light on Dvořák’s sun-drenched Eighth Symphony, a celebration of the Bohemian countryside filled with cheerful birdsong and brilliant fanfare. James Lee III kicks off his tenure as BSO Composer in Residence with his Visions of Cahokia, an expressive three-movement work that depicts the Cahokia Mounds Historic Site and celebrates indigenous Mississippian culture. Violinist James Ehnes interprets Barber's sensitive and tuneful concerto with his signature elegance, an approach that solidified Ehnes as a GRAMMY®-winning recording artist.

Barber Violin Concerto with Ehnes & Heyward

Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

The Music Center at Strathmore

BSO Music Director Jonathon Heyward takes the podium for a free community performance, featuring selections from Beethoven's beloved Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral," evoking vivid depictions of nature and rural scenes. Accompanying Beethoven's timeless work is BSO Composer in Residence James Lee III's Amer'ican and selections from Captivating Personas, praised by the Washington Post for its "deep colors, historical echoes and unabashed optimism."

Symphony in the City: Morgan State University

Morgan State University

LSO’s season finale begins with Kenji Bunch’s driving Groovebox Fantasy, then LSO presents the Nebraska premiere of James Lee III’s Courageous Lights, a concerto based on three outstanding women activists who strive to achieve positive change in their respective spheres of influence. Lee’s piece features LSO’s own English Horn, American Prize finalist, Darci Gamerl. The season closes with Ravel’s arrangement of Mussorgsky’s expansive and dramatic Pictures at an Exhibition.

Pictures at an Exhibition

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Hailed for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound and rich character” (The New York Times), clarinetist Anthony McGill is one of classical music’s most recognizable and brilliantly multifaceted figures.  Alabama-born soprano Susanna Phillips continues to establish herself as one of today’s most sought-after singing actors and recitalists, and is a recipient of The Metropolitan Opera’s 2010 Beverly Sills Artist Award. Acclaimed by Opera News as being “among the top accompanists of her generation,” and “…a colouristic tour de force” by The New York Times, Grammy® Award-nominated pianist Myra Huang performs in recitals and chamber music concerts around the world.  They will perform music by William Grant Still, Franz Schubert, and James Lee III on April 1 at Washington Irving Campus. The virtual concert will be available on April 2.

A. McGill, S. Phillips, M. Huang

Washington Irving Campus

Experience the violinist that “sits atop the pantheon of stellar violinists” (NUVO), as Hilary Hahn brings the spice of Ginastera's Violin Concerto and Sarsate’s Carmen Fantasy to life. Feel the melodies that emanate sultriness in this adaptation of Bizet’s famous opera.

Hilary Hahn Plays Carmen Fantasy

Heinz Hall

Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony, in his own words, expresses “the spirit of life or manifestations of life, that is: everything that moves, that wants to live … just life and motion…”. This incendiary work makes for a fitting conclusion to this programme, conducted by John Storgårds, which seeks to define the human spirit. Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, arising from conflict seeks to celebrate an unshakeable sense of optimism. These two pieces bookend two more introspective UK premieres, Michigan-born composer James Lee III’s Shades of Unbroken Dreams with pianist Alexandra Dariescu – a piano concerto marking the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s historic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech – and Helena’s Song arranged for violin and orchestra from Sebastian Fagerlund’s unnerving operatic family drama Autumn Sonata, performed tonight by our Chief Conductor play-directing from the podium.

The Spirit of Life

The Bridgewater Hall

The Wind Symphony presents a program featuring works exploring human experience across time. The centerpiece of the concert is the consortium premiere of award-winning guest composer James Lee III’s Solar Testimonies, his symphony about the evolving life of a university community.

Illinois Wind Symphony

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

“A dazzling tour de force” was how The Scotsman described a solo recital by Yeol Eum Son – going on to praise her “vital emotional connection with the music”. You can’t have missed the buzz around this remarkable Korean pianist; now hear her for yourself, as she joins conductor Jonathon Heyward and the full BBC Symphony Orchestra in Prokofiev’s ferocious Second Piano Concerto. Few living pianists play it better.

Yeol Eum Son plays Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto

Barbican Centre

'A dazzling tour de force' was how The Scotsman described a solo recital by Yeol Eum Son – going on to praise her 'vital emotional connection with the music'. You can’t have missed the buzz around this remarkable Korean pianist; now hear her for yourself, as she joins conductor Jonathon Hayward and the full BBC Symphony Orchestra in Prokofiev’s ferocious Second Piano Concerto. Few living pianists play it better.

From the quicksilver charms of Mercury to the mystical stillness of Neptune, The Planets of Gustav Holst offer an immersive tour of the vast solar system. Composer in Residence James Lee III peers through the open roof of a festive sukkah and beholds the even greater distance to Orion’s Nebula, a nursery for newborn stars in the constellation that has captivated humans for millennia. Anna Clyne’s saxophone concerto takes us out of the ordinary world and into a fantastical realm ruled by a wailing banshee.

The Planets with Heyward

ANTHONY McGILL, clarinet & EMANUEL AX, piano

The Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Some composers looked within for inspiration, while others looked up. Join us for Gustav Holst’s The Planets, evoking the astrological characterizations of our celestial neighbors. From the romantic lyricism of “Venus” to the golden song of “Jupiter,” the massive seven-movement suite spans a range of emotions. The program also includes Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula by contemporary composer James Lee, III, and Claude Debussy’s The Joyful Island, depicting a merry party arriving on the island known as the birthplace of Venus.

Symphonic Spectacular

Saenger Theatre

"Gillam strikes barren!" wrote The Guardian about Jess Gillam's latest solo album, which went straight to number one on the classical charts. Now the dynamic saxophonist can be experienced for the first time in the DR Koncerthuset. She brings Anna Clynes' alternately violent and lyrical saxophone concerto  Glasslands , inspired by Irish mythology.

Heyward & Planeterne

DR Koncerthuset

The visionary principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic is joined by one of America’s most beloved collaborative pianists and the cellist who took top honors in the 2019 Sphinx Competition.

Digital Concert: Anthony McGill, clarinet, Gloria Chien, piano, and Sterling Elliot, cello

Detroit Country Day School - Upper School

James Lee III wrote the solo woodwind works of Principal Brothers to highlight these four Black artists who are orchestral principals and inspirational leaders in the field. PCMS is proud to bring together these exceptional players for an evening of contemporary wind music that also features Valerie Coleman’s Rubispheres and a world premiere by Belize-born British composer Errollyn Wallen.

Demarre McGill, flute

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

A keen student of history, Brahms took 14 painstaking years to mount his First Symphony atop the shoulders of his hero, Beethoven. Now, Music Director Jonathon Heyward puts his own stamp on this essential pillar of the orchestral repertoire. In a commission from BSO Composer in Residence James Lee III, a new Cello Concerto features the talents of Joshua Roman, whose electrifying interpretations of solo repertoire draw from his creative perspective as a composer and improviser. An early overture by England’s Edward Elgar depicts a storied account of battles and royal intrigue from the 1300s. 

Brahms Symphony No. 1 with Heyward

BSO Music Director Jonathon Heyward leads a dynamic program possessing a strong sense of place. Completed while under siege, Beethoven melds Viennese sophistication with musical heroism amidst the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Smetana's patriotic tribute to his homeland solidified his reputation as the "father of Czech music," a rousing and lush ode to the rivers and mountains surrounding Prague, culminating in a triumphant hymn. Composer in Residence James Lee III unveils the world premiere of his BSO-commissioned Concerto for Orchestra, channeling his own love of Baltimore in a daring and evocative new work.

James Lee III

Events

Upcoming events

Dec 6, 2024

Yeol Eum Son plays Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto · BBC Symphony Orchestra

Dec 6, 2024

Yeol Eum Son plays Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto · Barbican Centre

9 - 12 Jan, 2025

The Planets with Heyward · Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Jan 29, 2025

ANTHONY McGILL, clarinet & EMANUEL AX, piano · La Jolla Music Society

Mar 5, 2025

Symphonic Spectacular · Pensacola Symphony Orchestra

Past events

10 - 11 Oct, 2024

Alsop & Vondráček · Chicago Symphony Orchestra

27 - 29 Sep, 2024

Barber Violin Concerto with Ehnes & Heyward · Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

About

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