In this program curated by SPCO musicians Steven Copes and James Ferree, piano works by Robert and Clara Schumann and Sergei Prokofiev receive surprising new arrangements by Ferree and former Artistic Partner and composer Stephen Prutsman. Likewise, Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Elegy and Polka” are excerpted arrangements from his opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District and ballet The Golden Age. SPCO Concertmaster Steven Copes concludes by leading the orchestra in Franz Joseph Haydn’s delightful Symphony No. 94, nicknamed the Surprise … no spoilers, please!

EPSG:4326

Haydn’s Surprise Symphony

Wooddale Church

Temple Israel

Shepherd of The Valley Lutheran Church

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Saint Paul's United Church of Christ

Come celebrate Anton Bruckner’s 200th birthday as we perform one of the most important romantic composers of all time. Bruckner’s heroic 4th symphony premiered 150 years ago and has since become his most famous. Also joining us is the 2024 Gilmore Young Artist winner, Kasey Shao, presented in collaboration with the Gilmore Piano Festival, to perform Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto. The program will open with an overture by composer Grażyna Bacewicz.

Greetings from Austria

Jackson College

Brahms Symphony No. 4

Robinson Center

Tortured by comparisons to Beethoven, it took Brahms 21 years to finish writing his first symphony. Some critics hailed the piece as “Beethoven’s Tenth” in recognition of Brahms’ ultimate triumph.

Brahms Obsessions

Lesher Center for the Arts

Doors open at 4:30pm for a 5pm Concert followed by an optional dinner.

Founder’s Day Premiere

Garth Newel Music Center

Kerson Leong, who dazzled TSO audiences in 2022, returns to perform Korngold’s romantic Violin Concerto, written during his Hollywood years and first performed by the great Jascha Heifetz. The Hollywood-themed first half begins with Bernard Herrmann’s iconic music for the film Psycho. Conductor Nicholas Hersh makes his Masterworks debut with Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, “Reformation,” written to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, when Martin Luther established the Protestant Reformation. It includes the famous Dresden Amen. A noted arranger, Hersh introduces the first performance of his own orchestration of Clara Schumann’s piano collection “4 Pièces caractéristiques.”

Clara Schumann

Events

11 - 20 Apr, 2024

Haydn’s Surprise Symphony · Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

Apr 27, 2024

Greetings from Austria · Jackson Symphony Orchestra

4 - 5 May, 2024

Brahms Symphony No. 4 · Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

4 - 5 May, 2024

Brahms Obsessions · California Symphony

May 24, 2024

Founder’s Day Premiere · Garth Newel Music Center

About

Clara Schumann hasn't added a bio