It’s an opening weekend celebration of Mendelssohn favorites! Concertmaster Frank Almond plays the popular Violin Concerto,  and guest conductor Gilbert Varga leads the sunny “Italian” Symphony, “Fingal’s Cave” Overture and the exquisite Nocturne from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“The symphony must embrace the world,” said Gustav Mahler. In his heartfelt Fourth Symphony, he reveals his world through the innocent eyes of a child. Then, Maestro de Waart, who has long championed the music of John Adams, leads our musicians in Adams’ stirring commemoration of those lost on 9/11, On the Transmigration of Souls.

After nearly 80 years, it still enchants adults and children alike. Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf is one of music’s greatest fables, as is the composer’s delightful Lieutenant Kijé. Dmitri Shostakovich's defiant “Babi Yar” Symphony dared to criticize the purges and terrors of Soviet tyranny, through the heart wrenching poetry of Yevgeny Yevtushenko. This is music that could have cost the composer his very life.

Through the veil of impressionism, their music beguiles and seduces. Debussy’s gentle Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun shattered musical convention, while his "Ibéria" is an intoxicating evocation of Spain. Ravel, too, would offer his impression in the Rapsodie espagnole, while his setting of Shéhérazade explores the exotic.

César Franck’s roaring Symphony in D minor has thrilled audiences for more than a century. Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler is a glowing portrait of an artist inspired. And, the MSO’s Todd Levy performs the effervescent First Clarinet Concerto of Beethoven’s contemporary, Carl Maria von Weber.

Composed in 1822, it languished unperformed for over forty years, heard only in Schubert’s fevered imagination. The Milwaukee Symphony performs Schubert’s immortal “Unfinished” Symphony. Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra displays the MSO’s shimmering virtuosity. And Liszt’s famous Second Hungarian Rhapsody presents music’s most recognizable melodies.

‘S Wonderful, ‘S Marvelous! George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is an MSO audience favorite. These concerts also feature Aaron Copland’s stirring Lincoln Portrait. All this, plus Sibelius’ exhilarating Fifth Symphony, inspired by the call of migrating swans. The Fifth stands as one of the grandest, most bracing ever composed.

Edo de Waart conducts the Fourth Symphony, acknowledged as Anton Bruckner’s first masterpiece—a vast symphonic landscape, majestic in its scope, radiant in its sound. The “Romantic” Symphony storms the heavens with praise. These concerts also feature legendary pianist Joseph Kalichstein in music of Mozart.

At the keyboard or on the podium, Ignat Solzhenitsyn is a volcanic talent. In a dazzling dual role, Solzhenitsyn plays Shostakovich’s scorching First Piano Concerto, then conducts the delicate Sixth Symphony of Prokofiev. Encounter these Russian masters through Solzhenitsyn’s artistry.

Music that captures the energy, exuberance and promise of a great nation. Edo de Waart conducts one of the most beloved symphonies in the entire repertoire, Dvořák’s love letter to America: the “New World” Symphony. Plus, the phenomenal Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg plays Bruch’s First Violin Concerto.

The smash success of Edo de Waart’s inaugural season, Bartók’s captivating opera Bluebeard’s Castle returns with Dale Chihuly’s stunning glass set designs. Experience six of Chihuly’s vibrant glass artworks, revealed one by one – and each set to music. The evening begins with Mozart’s delicious Second Horn Concerto, performed by the MSO’s own Matthew Annin.

See the MSO’s Associate Concertmaster, Ilana Setapen, in a solo role! Ilana illuminates Prokofiev’s ferociously lyrical Violin Concerto No. 2. Then, Edo de Waart presents Luciano Berio’s masterpiece, Sinfonia. Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for its 125^th anniversary, the work blends melodies of Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky and Mahler into a mesmerizing mélange, punctuated by the singular voices of the Swingle Singers, who premiered the work in 1968. Sinfonia speaks for its time—and for all time.

Experience the glory of the Baroque. Baroque master Nicolas McGegan, soprano Yulia Van Doren and countertenor Daniel Taylor offer exquisite arias and duets of Handel, music that celebrates the beauty and virtuosity of the voice. Brilliant in its composition, deeply affecting in its emotion.

At his gold medal competition win, the audience stood, cheered and wept. Violinist Augustin Hadelich has been hailed as a courageous, powerful virtuoso, and now he joins the Milwaukee Symphony for Mozart’s Concerto Number Five. These concerts also feature music of Ravel and works by Richard Strauss: the comical Till Eulenspeigel’s Merry Pranks and the poignant Der Rosenkavalier Suite.
 

Edo de Waart leads the Milwaukee Symphony in the music of Johannes Brahms: the strong, mighty Symphony No. 1 and the great, noble Symphony No. 4. Though he would compose only four symphonies, each is counted among music’s towering masterpieces. Experience the romantic genius of Johannes Brahms.

"This is the best of me," wrote Sir Edward Elgar on the final page of his manuscript. "This, if anything of mine, is worthy of your memory." The Dream of Gerontius is Elgar’s affirmation of faith, in the tradition of Messiah. Edo de Waart brings the season to close, leading the Orchestra and Chorus in Elgar’s breathtaking oratorio.