#106 14th Annual QMC Como Concert

Concert first performed on June 5, 2016.

Conducted by Alexander Platt

Works Performed

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 1 in g minor, Op. 13 “Winter Daydreams”, Finale

Dates Performed

  • June 5, 2016

#105 Folk Song: The Voice of the People

Concert first performed on May 14, 2016.

Conducted by Alexander Platt

Works Performed

  • Benjamin Britten & Lennox Berkeley, “Mont Juic”, Suite of Catalan Dances
  • Aaron Copland, Quiet City with soloist Buffy Larson & Steven Comingdeer
  • Maurice Ravel, Tzigane with soloist Catherine Himmerich, Violin
  • Manuel de Falla, Seven Spanish Popular Songs with soloist Maria Jette, Soprano
  • Gabriela Lena Frank, Three Latin American Dances

Dates Performed

  • May 14, 2016

#104 We’re No 1

Concert first performed on March 19, 2016.

Conducted by Alexander Platt

Works Performed

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major, K.16
  • Franz Schubert, Symphony No. 1 in D Major, D.82
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 1 in g minor, Op. 13 “Winter Daydreams”

Dates Performed

  • March 19, 2016

#103 “The Wind and the Water”

Concert first performed on November 7, 2015.

This concert explores forms of water music, starting with one of the most famous by Handel. Water Music was scored for a larger orchestra to be performed on a barge floating down the Thames River at the behest of King George I. You can almost imagine the baroque sounds wafting in the wind over the waves. Inspired by the same river, Elizabeth Maconchy’s Proud Thames Overture evokes the grandeur of a river once used as the main transportation route for British monarchs. Finally, with a nod to Handel, Libby Larsen puts her own spin on “Water Music” in her Symphony No. 1. Larsen ‘s “quartet of water studies,” allows us to experience many facets of the water through “Fresh Breeze,” “Hot, Still,” “Wafting,” and “Gale.”

Conducted by Alexander Platt

Works Performed

  • Georg Friedrich Handel, Water Music
  • Elizabeth Maconchy, Proud Thames Overture
  • Libby Larsen, Symphony No. 1 “Water Music”

Dates Performed

  • November 7, 2015

#102 2nd Annual Lake Harriet Pride Concert

Concert first performed on June 21, 2015.

Conducted by Douglas Diamond

Works Performed

  • Piotr Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture (1881)
  • Bedrich Smetana, Die Moldau
  • Engelbert Humperdinck, Selections from “Hansel and Gretel”
  • Igor Stravinsky, Selections from “The Firebird”
  • Johannes Brahms, Academic Festival Overture

Dates Performed

  • June 21, 2015

#101 “A Budding Romance”

Concert first performed on May 16, 2015.

Our final concert of the season is a new beginning for the MPO as we welcome to the podium our new Music Director and Conductor, Alexander Platt. We will celebrate new beginnings in the form of budding romances and legendary tales of powerful women. Schubert’s Overture to The Magic Harp introduces us to the story of Rosamunde, who fights to reclaim the throne that is rightfully hers. Mendelssohn’s The Fair Melusina evokes the story of a beautiful water sprite who marries a mortal man. We also honor Louise Farrenc, a 19th century female composer who passed into obscurity by the 20th century, with her Symphony No. 1. Finally, we feature one of the most famous romances of all time with Tchaikovsky’sRomeo and Juliet.

Conducted by Alexander Platt

Works Performed

  • Tchaikovsky, Peter, Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
  • Farrenc, Louise, Symphony #1 – Minnesota Premiere
  • Mendelssohn, Felix, Concert Overture to “The Fair Melusina”
  • Schubert, Franz, Overture to “The Magic Harp”

Dates Performed

  • May 16, 2015
  • May 17, 2015

#100 “Sectional Healing”

Concert first performed on March 14, 2015.

This concert rips the orchestra asunder, dividing the group into sections performing as separate ensembles. The strings are featured in A Downland Suite and Symphonies of Wind Instruments highlights the winds and brass. The “healing” begins when the orchestra rejoins for a concerto featuring an instrument not usually in the spotlight, the noble tuba. We’re pleased that the MPO’s very own Dean Shea will be the soloist for Vaughan Williams’ concerto. To make sure the orchestra has fully healed as one, we’ll conclude with Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat, a piece that memorably unifies the whole orchestra through Spanish folk melodies.

Conducted by Derick Rehurek

Works Performed

  • Ireland, John, A Downland Suite
  • Stravinksy, Igor, Symphony of WInd Instruments
  • Vaughan Williams, Tuba Concerto in F minor with soloist Dean Shea, tuba
  • Falla, Manuel de, The Three Cornered Hat, Suite #2

Dates Performed

  • March 14, 2015
  • March 15, 2015

#99 2nd Annual Children’s Concert

Concert first performed on November 16, 2014.

Become an expert on all things Orchestra! Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is a fun instructional for music lovers who are young—or just young at heart. To initiate orchestra novices in the stories an orchestra can tell, we’ll present selections from Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel and Stravinsky’s The Firebird, which were both inspired by classic folk tales. And since all orchestral experts need to be familiar with symphonies, we’ll finish the evening with one of the greats, Beethoven’s 8th.

Kids will get an up-close lesson on what an orchestra is all about at our third annual Children & Families concert which includes pre-concert activities. The Sunday concert and activities are free thanks to grant funding from the Xcel Energy Foundation.

  • The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra / Britten
  • Selections from Hansel and Gretel / Humperdinck
  • Berceuse and Finale from The Firebird / Stravinsky
  • Symphony No. 8 / Beethoven

Conducted by Douglas Diamond

Works Performed

  • Britten, Benjamin, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra with Mindy Ratner, narrator
  • Beethoven, Ludwig van, Symphony #8, mvt 2
  • Humperdinck, Englbert, Selections from Hansel and Gretel,
  • Stravinsky, Igor, Berceuse and Finale from The Firebird

Dates Performed

  • November 16, 2014

#98 Orchestra 101

Concert first performed on November 15, 2014.

Become an expert on all things Orchestra! Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is a fun instructional for music lovers who are young—or just young at heart. To initiate orchestra novices in the stories an orchestra can tell, we’ll present selections from Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel and Stravinsky’s The Firebird, which were both inspired by classic folk tales. And since all orchestral experts need to be familiar with symphonies, we’ll finish the evening with one of the greats, Beethoven’s 8th.

Kids will get an up-close lesson on what an orchestra is all about at our third annual Children & Families concert which includes pre-concert activities. The Sunday concert and activities are free thanks to grant funding from the Xcel Energy Foundation.

  • The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra / Britten
  • Selections from Hansel and Gretel / Humperdinck
  • Berceuse and Finale from The Firebird / Stravinsky
  • Symphony No. 8 / Beethoven

 

Conducted by Douglas Diamond

Works Performed

  • Stravinsky, Igor, Selections from The Firebird
  • Beethoven, Ludwig van, Symphony #8
  • Britten, Benjamin, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra with Mindy Ratner, narrator
  • Humperdinck, Englebert, Selections from Hansel and Gretel

Dates Performed

  • November 15, 2014

#97 First Annual Lake Harriet Summer Concert

Concert first performed on June 22, 2014.

Conducted by Douglas Diamond

Works Performed

  • Brahms, Johannes, Academic Festival Overture
  • Poling, Chan, Love Is
  • Bernstein, Leonard, Selections from “West Side Story”
  • Smetana, Bedrich, Die Moldau
  • Sibelius, Jean, Finlandia
  • Beethoven, Ludwig, Egmont Overture
  • Rossini, J, Selection from William Tell Overture

Dates Performed

  • June 22, 2014