A stunning panoply of musical traditions and compositional voices closes the 2021-22 season. Abels’ Global Warming paints a vast futuristic desert next to a joyful dance of interwoven musical traditions. Price’s fourth symphony sings echoes of spirituals, antebellum dances and organ hymns together with lush harmonies and orchestral colors that only she can achieve. And our world premier of a new bass clarinet concerto by Mary Kouyoumdjian, featuring soloist Jeff Anderle, brings one of the 21st century’s most distinctive compositional voices to Minnesota.
Michael Abels: Global Warming
Mary Kouyoumdjian: “Walking with Ghosts” – Bass Clarinet Concerto
Jeff Anderle, clarinet
Florence Price: Symphony No. 4 in D Minor
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Works Performed
Abels, Michael, Global Warming
Kouyoumdjian, Mary, “Walking with Ghosts” with soloist Jeff Anderle, Clarinet
Price, Florence, Symphony No. 4 in D Minor with soloist Jeff Anderle, Clarinet
Dates Performed
June 4, 2022
#131: Reflections
Concert first performed on April 30, 2022.
Saturday, March 19, 2022 – 7:30pm
Ludwig van Beethoven: Overture to “Egmont”
Franz Liszt: “Orpheus”
William Grant Still: Symphony No. 5 “The Western Hemisphere”
Through the symphony, tone poem, and music for the theater, Beethoven, Liszt, and Still fully embrace the drama of music. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Overture to the 1787 play Egmont inspired the programmatic music of Franz Liszt, including his tone poem about the legendary Greek musician Orpheus who journeyed to the underworld. William Grant Still’s fifth symphony presents a kind of musical creation story, wherein “the lands of the Western Hemisphere are raised from the bosom of the Atlantic.”
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Works Performed
Ludwig van Beethoven, Overture to “Egmont”
Franz Liszt, “Orpheus”
William Grant Still, Symphony No. 5 “The Western Hemisphere”
Dates Performed
March 19, 2022
#130: Waves
Concert first performed on .
Saturday, November 13, 2021 – 7:30pm
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Petite Suite de Concert
Edward Elgar: Serenade for Strings
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
Luminous and lyrical melodies flow one upon another in the works of three turn of the century contemporaries. Circling around these melodies are the lush colors of Elgar’s serenade, the unfettered playfulness of Coleridge-Taylor’s suite, and the drama of Dvořák’s monumental symphony “From the New World.”
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Works Performed
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Petite Suite de Concert
Edward Elgar, Serenade for Strings
Antonín Dvořák, Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
Dates Performed
November 13, 2021
#129 Transformations
Concert first performed on June 19, 2021.
Saturday, June 19 at 7:00 pm
William Grant Still (arr. Lesnick): “I Ride an Old Paint” from Miniatures
Paul Bonneau: Caprice en Forme de Valse
Brian Hadley, Bassoon
Amy Beach: Pastorale for Wind Quintet
Missy Mazzoli: Kinski Paganini
Catherine Himmerich, Violin
Jonathan Russell: In the Fir Trees: Fireflies
Sahba Aminikia: House of Circus
Our season finale is the “second spring” of the 2020-21 season. The music of William Grant Still, Amy Beach, Jonathan Russell and others calls us back to nature. With new music by Iranian-American composer Sahba Aminikia, the world premier of House of Circus features the “Circus Heroes” of the Sirkhane Social Circus School and explores the transformational power of play.
Conductor
Brian Dowdy
Flute
Danielle Boor
Steve Cronk
Oboe
Diane Benjamin
Clarinet
Misen Luu
Bassoon
Brian Hadley
French Horn
Teresa Manzella
Tim Dwight
Trumpet
Buffy Larson
Gordon Meyers
Trombone
Brian McCullough
Tuba
Dean Shea
Violin
Catherine Himmerich
Joe Dolson
Isabel Arenivar
Rebecca Eilers
Viola
Lucas Moen
Blake Scheib
Cello
Kristin Snow
Marinos Glitsos
Bass
Jason Anderson
Percussion
Sarah Johnson
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Works Performed
William Grant Still (arr. Lesnick), I Ride an Old Paint with soloist )
Paul Bonneau, Caprice en Forme de Valse with soloist )
Amy Beach, Pastorale for Wind Quintet with soloist )
Missy Mazzoli, Kinski Paganini with soloist )
Jonathan Russell, In the Fir Trees: Fireflies with soloist )
Sahba Aminikia, House of Circus with soloist )
Dates Performed
June 19, 2021
#128 Bartok in the Bronx
Concert first performed on May 15, 2021.
Saturday, May 15 at 7:00 pm
Violet Archer: Three Duets
Bela Bartók: Selections from 44 Duos for Two Violins
Join Concertmaster Catherine Himmerich and Associate Concertmaster Joe Dolson in the telling of a musical meeting between Violet Archer and her teacher, Béla Bartók.
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Works Performed
Violet Archer, Three Duets
Bela Bartok, Selections from 44 Duos for Two Violins
Dates Performed
May 15, 2021
#127 Invocations
Concert first performed on April 10, 2021.
Saturday, April 10 at 7:00 pm
As winter reaches for spring, a century of music invokes the physicality of human experience – of sleeping and waking, of waiting and grief, of dancing and song.
Lillian Fuchs: Selections from Twelve Caprices for Viola
Jon Poupore, viola
IV. Agitato
VII. Giocoso
XI. Fuga. Risoluto
Vaughan Williams: Selections from Along the Fields
Janna Kysilko, soprano & Joe Dolson, violin
We’ll to the Woods No More
In the Morning
Fancy’s Knell
With Rue My Heart Is Laden
Ryan Brown: The Light By Which She May Have Ascended
Marinos Glitsos, Owen Davis, Joe Dillon, and Kristin Snow, cello
Jean Sibelius: Andante Festivo
MPO Strings
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Works Performed
Anthony R. Green, Catto’s Courage
William Grant Still, Invocation and Dance
Lillian Fuchs, Selections from Twelve Caprices for Viola
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Selections from Along the Fields
Ryan Brown, The Light By Which She May Have Ascended
Jean Sibelius, Andante Festivo
Dates Performed
April 10, 2021
#126 Winter Pop-up: Eric Ewazen
Concert first performed on February 27, 2021.
Saturday, February 27 at 7:00 pm
Eric Ewazen: Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano
Eric Ewazen’s homage to Brahms moves through mystery, play, melancholy, song and celebration in the myriad colors of the French horn, violin and piano.
From Libby Larsen’s Jazz Variations to Villa-Lobos’ Chôros No. 2, spontaneity and rhythmic vitality energize this program of 20th and 21st-century voices.
Dušan Bogdanović – Jazz Sonata: I
Brian Dowdy, guitar
Heitor Villa-Lobos – Chôros No. 2 for Flute and Clarinet
Steve Cronk, flute
Paul Schulz III, clarinet
Bach – Partita No. 2 in D Minor – Sarabande
Derek Waller, violin
Libby Larsen – Jazz Variations for Solo Bassoon
Brian Hadley, bassoon
Anthony R. Green – Chorale for Phillis, Harriet, and Mum Bett
Solo Quartet:
Catherine Himmerich, violin 1
Joe Dolson, violin 2
Lucas Moen, viola
Kristin Snow, cello
Chamber Orchestra:
Violins:
Catherine Himmerich
Joe Dolson
Evan Page
Rebecca Eilers
Zac Charley
Ben Hanchett
Dan Beech
Susan Schmid
Maura Goodin
Derek Waller
Isabel Arenivar
David Otero
Joe Burling
Violas
Kirsten Erickson
Lucas Moen
Tom McKinney
Blake Sheib
Dan Sadoff
Jon Poupore
Cellos
Kristin Snow
Laura Bell
Marinos Glitsos
Luke Pickman
Basses
Jason Anderson
Alyssa Banker
Eugène Ysaÿe – Sonata No. 3 in D minor (Ballade)
Catherine Himmerich, violin
Claude Bolling – Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio
Luke Pickman, flute
Small Hand Piano, piano
Jack Amblin, drum kit
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Works Performed
Dušan Bogdanović, Jazz Sonata: 1
Heitor Villa Lobos, Choros No. 2
Johann Sebastian Bach, Partita No. 2 in d minor, Sarabande
Libby Larsen, Jazz Variations for solo bassoon
Anthony R. Green, Chorale for Phillis, Harriet, and Mum Bett
Dates Performed
December 19, 2020
#124 Pop-up: Beginnings
Concert first performed on November 21, 2020.
Saturday, November 21st at 7:00pm
Astor Piazzolla: “Café” 1930 from Histoire du Tango
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Prelude No. 1 in E Minor “Lyrical Melody: Homage to the Brazilian Country Dweller“
Meet composer Sahba Aminikia, whose House of Circus we will premier in May, and enjoy the music of Godwin Sadoh and Astor Piazzola, with a special guest performance by aerialist Jolie Meshbesher. This season opening pop-up concert is your chance to learn about the exciting musical and visual experiences we’ll bring you throughout the 2020-21 season.
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Works Performed
Astor Piazzolla, “Cafe” from Histoire du Tango
Heitor Villa-Lobos, Prelude no 1 in e minor
Dates Performed
November 21, 2020
#123 “Soundscapes” (cancelled due to Covid-19)
Concert first performed on May 16, 2020.
Sibelius’ Karelia Overture celebrates the composer’s homeland, and MPO celebrates Minnesota’s Mina Kaiser in her Tombeaux & Rainbow. Persichetti’s Pastoral for Wind Quintet and Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia journey through landscapes real and imagined, and William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 5 “The Western Hemisphere”.
Conducted by Brian Dowdy
Works Performed
Jean Sibelius, Karelia Overture
Vincent Persichetti, Pastoral, Op. 21 for Woodwind Quintet
Mina Kaiser, Tombeaux & Rainbow with soloists Shelly Gruskin, recorder and Johanna Gruskin, flute
Alexander Borodin, In the Steppes of Central Asia
William Grant Still, Symphony No. 5 “The Western Hemisphere”
