Join the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra for an unforgettable evening of classical music on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Michigan Theater. The April MainStage event promises to be a revolutionary journey through the realms of classical music, featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, the Eroica—a work that has left an indelible mark on the history of music with its grand scale, scope, and substance.

Under the baton of guest conductor Andrew Grams, known for his dynamic concerts and ability to connect with audiences, this performance is set to captivate the hearts of classical music enthusiasts. Adding to the evening’s allure, 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition medalist Kate Liu will make her Ann Arbor debut, showcasing the soaring lyricism of Chopin’s F minor Piano Concerto. This piece, inspired by the composer’s affection for Polish soprano Konstancja Gładkowska, features an inexpressibly gorgeous second movement conceived as a piano aria, enveloped by the virtuosic outer movements that highlight Chopin’s unparalleled mastery of the piano.

The concert will also feature Louise Farrenc’s Overture No. 2, further enriching the evening’s repertoire. The event begins at 8 PM, with a pre-concert talk scheduled for 7 PM, offering insights into the night’s program and the history behind the pieces.

Seats for this musical extravaganza are available now as part of a subscription, with single ticket booking opening on July 18, 2024. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the profound beauty and revolutionary spirit of classical music brought to life by the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Kate Liu, and Andrew Grams.

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April Mainstage

Michigan Theater

Canadian conductor and pianist Naomi Woo is a widely sought-after symphonic and operatic conductor, an educator, and the 2022 winner of the Canada Council’s prestigious Virginia Parker Prize. After a successful tenure as assistant conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, she joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as assistant conductor for the 2024-25 season. Naomi was recently announced as the National Youth Orchestra of Canada’s music director for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Naomi is a member of Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership program and was chosen by her mentor Yannick Nézet-Séguin as a member of the Orchestre Métropolitain’s inaugural orchestral conducting academy

Royal Conservatory Orchestra with conductor Naomi Woo

The Royal Conservatory of Music

Starting to play at just five years old, by age eight Kevin Chen had been named one of CBC’s Top 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30 and became the youngest person in Canada to earn The Royal Conservatory of Music’s associate’s diploma. He has since won numerous accolades: he is the youngest-ever winner of the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition, he won first prize at the Concours de Genève, and first prize in the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition. 

Kevin Chen, piano

Itself emulating examples set by Bach in his 48 Preludes in the two books of The Well-tempered Clavier, Chopin’s set, composed in 1835-9, provided further inspiration for later pianist-composers, notably Claude Debussy, whose Préludes comprise two volumes of 12 each, the second dating from 1912-3.

Tim Horton piano

Wigmore Hall

Four major figures from the Romantic period are at the heart of the programme, with the wide-ranging virtuoso offering a Wagner transcription of his own as well as a celebrated one by Liszt which he included on a well-received disc devoted to the Hungarian composer’s works.

Nikolai Lugansky piano

Ignas Maknickas returns to Wigmore Hall as a culmination of his UK tour. A YCAT artist and prizewinner in numerous international competitions, Ignas’s work as a soloist has led him to perform extensively with the UK and in venues around the world, including Copenhagen, Paris, Vilnius and Zagreb.

Ignas Maknickas piano

With his vast and profoundly explorative approach to repertoire, as well as extraordinary technical facility, the American virtuoso has long been established as one of the greatest pianists of our time, able to encompass not only the established repertoire but a wide range of more unusual musical material which he has consistently championed. ‘What a sound!’, exclaimed The Seattle Times. ‘Ohlsson is famous for that sonority, though he never seems to be working very hard to produce it … an incredible technique with razor-sharp accuracy.’ His programme includes a recent piece by an increasingly prominent young Australian composer whose work Garrick Ohlsson has taken up.

Garrick Ohlsson piano

Following a long and highly successful career as both a solo and a collaborative pianist, as well as a festival and concert series programmer, Kathryn Stott has decided to step down from public recitals from the end of this year – though many of her other creative activities will continue. Wigmore audiences will be delighted to partake in this special celebration of her exceptional artistry in her last London recital appearance.

Kathryn Stott piano

Following her Royal Philharmonic Society Award as Young Artist in 2016, the British pianist has consistently raised her profile with performances and recordings of exceptional quality, repeatedly hailed by the critics. ‘Unfaltering bravura and conviction’, noted Gramophone of one release, while BBC Music Magazine suggested that ‘this array of wizardry is not for the faint hearted’.

Clare Hammond piano

A talented member of the remarkable musical family, pianist Jeneba offers a programme that includes two major sonatas: Chopin’s iconic ‘Funeral March’ sonata (1839) and the second of Skryabin’s ten examples (1898). Of her recent recording of Florence Price’s Piano Concerto, The Guardian wrote that her playing ‘is vigorous and authoritative. Price could have no more persuasive an advocate’.

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason piano

One of the most admired musicians of his generation received the 2019 Critics’ Circle Award for Young Talent (Pianist) – among numerous prizes to have come his way. A selection of miniatures by Chopin precedes one of Schubert’s most expansive late sonatas, profound summations of his compositional achievement.

Pavel Kolesnikov piano

Commencing piano studies at the age of three, the young Israeli pianist was performing at Carnegie Hall at the age of six and gave a successful performance of Chopin’s First Concerto at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, at the age of 11. His first solo CD included performances of Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann and the Liszt Sonata, in which, according to Fanfare, he raced ahead ‘with completely clear, unblurred passagework, a commanding tone, and remarkable presence. If his aim is to rock the hall, he eminently succeeds’.

Yoav Levanon piano

A number of Polish students from the Jutland Conservatory of Music and from the conservatory in Gdansk play works for various instruments by Polish composers.

Fryderyk Chopin

Events

Past events

Apr 5, 2025

April Mainstage · Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra

Feb 7, 2025

Royal Conservatory Orchestra with conductor Naomi Woo · The Royal Conservatory of Music

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