Kerson Leong, a violinist who speaks “with sincerity and without exaggeration” (The Strad), performs Beethoven’s beloved Violin Concerto; Beethoven changed the genre with this innovative and lyrical concerto, which leaves ample space for the violinist to dazzle. The MSO welcomes leading Baroque expert Bernard Labadie to conduct one of the era’s finest gems: Haydn’s rambunctious “Drumroll” Symphony.


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Beethoven & Haydn

Warner Grand Theater

A highly distinguished pianist and the first classical performer to be granted a MacArthur Fellowship, Sir Stephen Hough’s magic is best experienced live — in these concerts, he performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, which begins cautiously but soon dives into its true warmth and urgency. Guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni guides this rollicking dance across central and eastern Europe: hear the spirit of Ligeti’s Romania, Kodály’s love for his native Hungary, and Mozart’s musical postcard from Prague.

Zeitouni Conducts Mozart

"Paul Jacobs is one of the great living virtuosos … he is utterly without artifice,” declares The Washington Post. Witness the musicianship of the first and only organist to win a Grammy Award as Jacobs performs Saint-Saëns’s “Organ” Symphony, a work so expressive the composer claimed, “I have given all that I had to give.” Jacobs also performs Samuel Barber’s exuberant Toccata Festiva. Beethoven penned four unique overtures to his opera Leonore; the MSO performs the sumptuous third iteration here, as well as brand new music by composer Edmund Finnis.

Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony

Undoubtedly one of the finest cellists performing today, Johannes Moser returns to the MSO stage to play composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Before we fall, fresh off its world premiere with the San Francisco Symphony. "Before we fall centres around the notion of teetering on the edge," says the composer; Moser’s cello "generates the atmospheric progression of the world it inhabits." Alpesh Chauhan, “a charismatic, balletic conductor” (The Guardian), leads this energetic new work, as well as a romantic suite from Tchaikovsky’s iconic Sleeping Beauty.

Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty

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Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang puts her “agility, balance and velocity” (The Washington Post) on full display with Tchaikovsky’s highly original First Piano Concerto; Tchaikovsky’s colleague Hans von Bülow claimed that “this true gem shall earn you the gratitude of all pianists.” MSO Assistant Conductor Ryan Tani conducts this program.

Joyce Yang Plays Tchaikovsky

Hailed as one of the greatest violinists of our time, Augustin Hadelich returns to the MSO to perform Brahms’s soulful Violin Concerto. Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts Brahms’s Third Symphony, a nostalgic work with a recurring musical theme of “free but happy;” wrote Clara Schumann, “All the movements seem to be of one piece, one beat of the heart, each one a jewel!” The program opens with a companion piece to Brahms’s Third Symphony: Glanert’s Vexierbild (“Hidden Image”) draws direct inspiration from the Third, but in Glanert’s words, “it’s my own Brahms.”

Hadelich & Brahms

“This is an artist we need to hear more of,” says The New York Times of pianist David Fray; Fray joins the MSO to perform Mozart’s sprightly “Jeunehomme” concerto, dedicated to the talented young pianist who inspired its music. Guest conductor Katharina Wincor leads a masterwork by another bright young talent, Shostakovich — his mischievous First Symphony, penned when he was a conservatory student, launched the composer’s career and remains one of his most celebrated contributions to music.

Wincor Conducts Shostakovich No. 1

“[Clara] signals my gratitude to all the women who, in their time, challenged the society they were raised in by manifesting their artistic oeuvre,” says composer Ortiz of her tribute to Clara Schumann, which opens this program. Violinist Nancy Zhou takes center stage for Clara Schumann’s Three Romances, which The Times (London) referred to as "Lush and poignant, they make one regret that Clara's career as a composer became subordinate to her husband's." Clara dedicated her trio of Romances to violinist Joseph Joaquim; here Zhou performs Joachim’s challenging and expressive Variations for Violin and Orchestra. “Trumpets and drums have been sounding in my mind for quite a while now; I have no idea what will come of it,” wrote Robert Schumann as he began his grand Second Symphony; he struggled against illness and depression to complete it, but eventually added a boisterous finale “in which I am myself again.”

Schumann Romance

MSO First Associate Concertmaster Ilana Setapen commands the stage with Arturo Márquez’s folk-infused violin concerto Fandango. “I had known this music since I was a child,” says Márquez, “listening to it in the cinema, on the radio, and listening to my father, a mariachi violinist (Arturo Márquez, Sr.) interpret huastecos and mariachi music.” Márquez says Fandango adheres to his “seven capital principles: tonality, modality, melody, rhythm, imaginary folk tradition, harmony, and orchestral color.” Guest conductor Asher Fisch leads this vivid program, which concludes with two Spain-inspired pieces by Ravel, as well as Turina’s Danzas fantásticas; Turina’s trio of evocative dances are set in the Aragon, Basque, and Andalusian regions of Spain.

Fandango & Rapsodie

This exciting new theatrical concert from director Bill Barclay and Concert Theatre Works marries Aaron Copland’s stirring incidental music with Mark Twain’s poignant observations of a changing America. Copland's compositions, including Music for Movies and Music for the Theatre, meet excerpts from Twain's essays, apocryphal stories, speeches, and articles. Music Director Ken-David Masur leads the full orchestral power of the MSO, joined by six costumed actors and enhanced by projected visuals. The merging artistry of two critical pillars of American identity provides a soothing & thought-provoking take on the polarizing questions vexing our body politic today using majesty, tolerance, wisdom, and humor.

Copland & Twain: America 250

Jader Bignamini, Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, conducts a suite from Stravinsky’s The Firebird; the music of this fairytale ballet, including its scintillating “Infernal Dance,” still feels fresh and wild. Stravinsky learned a great deal from his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov; here the MSO explores the latter’s Spanish-accented Capriccio espagnol, from its first alborada (morning song) to its final fandango. Witness a rising star as Giuseppe Gibboni, winner of the Paganini Violin Competition, performs an intoxicating violin concerto by Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz legend Wynton Marsalis.

Stravinsky’s Firebird

MSO Concertmaster Jinwoo Lee steps into the spotlight to perform Saint-Saëns’s Third Violin Concerto, a veritable showpiece for the instrument’s sparkling character and color. Conductor Iván López Reynoso, who made his U.S. orchestral debut with the MSO, returns to conduct Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, rife with deliciously heartbreaking tunes and romantic melancholy.

Orchestral events in Milwaukee, WI

Beethoven & Haydn

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Zeitouni Conducts Mozart

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symph...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Be...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast - A ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast: A l...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

Joyce Yang Plays Tchaikov...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Hadelich & Brahms

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Wincor Conducts Shostakov...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Schumann Romance

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Fandango & Rapsodie

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Copland & Twain: America ...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Stravinsky’s Firebird

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Rachmaninoff & Saint-Saën...

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra