Musicians Create Your Own Season: Benjamin Adler
David Lewellen
PUBLISHED
Tagged Under: 2021.22 Season, MSO Musicians
As the Milwaukee Symphony gets ready for its new season beginning in October, there is still plenty of time to subscribe, including a Create Your Own series of five or more concerts. Recently, we asked several MSO musicians: If you were creating your own subscription, what five concerts this season would you be most excited to attend? That’s different from musicians’ usual consideration of what they will be excited to perform. But if they were in the audience, they would want to hear …
Ben Adler, clarinet
A Grand Opening, Oct. 1-3. A full auditorium, a brand-new hall – it’s a very exciting time for music in Milwaukee. The Bucks got a new arena, and they won a championship. We’ve got a new hall, and we can win something, too. The Duke Ellington piece is a mix of genres – jazz, blues, classical, West Indian. It’s meant to mirror the experience of Black Americans. This season has so much diversity and contrast programmed into it. There are many pieces the orchestra hasn’t played before, and it’s going to be exciting to dig into new music.
Fountains of Rome, Nov. 12-13. I think Fountains of Rome is underrated and underplayed. It’s a nice change of pace from the usual Pines of Rome, also by Respighi. And Karen Gomyo is a favorite of ours on the Shostakovich concerto. She’s so virtuosic.
Requiem & Song, May 20-22. The Duruflé Requiem is not performed that often, but I played it in high school, and I love it. It’s got such warmth, due to the thickness of the chords and the ensemble. It has this calmness and meditative state about it. And I really love Takemitsu’s music.
Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott, Apr. 29. They first announced this right before the pandemic, so it’s been a long wait, but I’m glad he’s coming. I hope to get a ticket.
Revolution: The Music of The Beatles | A Symphonic Experience, June 3-5. It’s going to be a blast for all the Beatles fans out there. We did a similar concert a few years ago and I was dancing in my seat. I’m a big Beatles fan. I used to listen to them on the radio with my dad.
