KEN-DAVID MASUR AND THE MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCE THE 2022.23 SEASON
The MSO explores the natural world and its relationship to humanity throughout the year
KEN-DAVID MASUR opens the Classics Season with Strauss’s massive tone poem
AN ALPINE SYMPHONY, and a co-commission of WYNTON MARSALIS’S FANFARE
Artistic Partner AARON DIEHL returns to perform Gershwin’s Concerto in F as well as a
premiere of Mary Lou Williams’s entire Zodiac Suite
The orchestra’s WATER FESTIVAL includes the works of Tan Dun, Debussy, Mendelssohn, Ravel, Handel
Adolphus Hailstork, Britten, Smetana, Helen Grime, Rameau, and Takemitsu
Audiences will enjoy the masterworks of the symphonic repertoire including
STILL’S SYMPHONY NO. 2 “SONG OF A NEW RACE,” BEETHOVEN’S “EROICA,” TCHAIKOVSKY’S SYMPHONY NO. 5, MOZART’S “JUPITER,” and HOLSTS’S THE PLANETS
The MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY CHORUS joins the MSO for performances of
Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Mahler’s Resurrection
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Season GUEST CONDUCTORS include Edo de Waart, Yaniv Dinur, Jader Bignamini, David Robertson, Nicholas McGegan, Markus Stenz, Han-Na Chang, Jonathon Heyward, and Roderick Cox
RETURNING GUEST ARTISTS include Orli Shaham, Christina and Michelle Naughton, Joyce Yang, Stephen Hough, James Ehnes, Blake Pouliot, and Inon Barnatan
The MSO welcomes GUEST ARTISTS Dashon Burton, Anna Larsson, Baiba Skride, Zlatomir Fung,
and Christopher Lamb
The season highlights MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY MUSICIANS Matthew Annin, Catherine Chen, Julia Coronelli, Robert Klieger, Jon McCullough-Benner, Chris Riggs, and Sonora Slocum.
Milwaukee, Wis. 3/18/2022 – Music Director Ken-David Masur and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra announced plans today for the 2022.23 season. The orchestra’s second full season in the Bradley Symphony Center will focus on the natural world and the relationship between humans and nature. Works highlighting this theme will include Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony, Iman Habibi’s Jeder Baum spricht (Every Tree Speaks), Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 “Spring,” and Dvořák’s In Nature’s Realm, among many others.
The season features a wide variety of repertoire including Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection,” Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter,” Still’s Symphony No. 2 “Song of a New Race,” Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, Jessie Montgomery’s Records from a Vanishing City, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Strauss’s Don Juan, Holst’s The Planets, and Williams’s Zodiac Suite.
Music Director Ken-David Masur said, “We have cultivated our concerts around the theme of the relationship of human to nature. Themes of new life, fresh air, and earth’s elements are relatable to all of us and connect us to each other. A city built on water, Milwaukee’s link to this precious element will be celebrated in our Water Festival. We are delighted to explore this theme and engage with our community throughout the season.”
President and Executive Director Mark Niehaus said, “It has been a joy to welcome our community to our new home this season. As we move into our second full season, we hope to deepen our connections with our new neighbors and all Milwaukeeans, building partnerships throughout our city. We are so grateful to everyone who has supported the orchestra throughout the last two years, and we hope that you found comfort and inspiration in live music at the Bradley Symphony Center.”
Water Festival – January/February 2023
In January and February 2023, the MSO will celebrate one of the natural elements that defines Milwaukee in the Water Festival. The festival will open with Tan Dun’s Water Concerto performed by percussionist Christopher Lamb, who originally premiered the concerto under Ken-David’s father Kurt Masur with the New York Philharmonic in 1999. He will be joined by MSO percussionists Robert Klieger and Chris Riggs. The festival will also include Britten’s Four Sea Interludes, Adolphus Hailstork’s American Port of Call, Handel’s Water Music, Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides, Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea II (Umi e II), David Ludwig’s Pictures from the Floating World, Helen Grimes’s Virga, and Debussy’s La mer. Our own MSO musicians, Jon McCullough-Benner, Catherine Chen, Sonora Slocum, and Julia Coronelli, will be featured during the Water Festival.
Music Director Ken-David Masur’s Fourth Season
The Milwaukee Symphony’s second season in the Bradley Symphony Center is Ken-David Masur’s fourth season as music director. During the 2022.23 season, Masur will conduct nine concert weekends that feature music from a wide variety of composers of diverse time periods, backgrounds, and experiences. Repertoire highlights include a co-commission by Wynton Marsalis, Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony, William Grant Still’s lyrical Symphony No. 2 “Song of a New Race,” a new arrangement for orchestra and chorus by Masur of Brahms’s Academic Festival Overture, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica,” Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection,” as well as contemporary works by living composers – Iman Habibi, Sebastian Currier, Adolphus Hailstork, Tan Dun, David Ludwig, and Helen Grime. Masur will conduct two of the concert weekends during the Water Festival.
MSO Welcomes Back Artistic Partner Aaron Diehl for a Second Season
Aaron Diehl continues as the orchestra’s artistic partner during the 2022.23 season. Diehl, a composer and pianist, will perform and participate in subscription concerts and special events. Next season, Diehl will perform Gershwin’s Concerto in F in October and then in May, he will return to premiere the complete version of Mary Lou Williams’s Zodiac Suite, which highlights musical associates of Williams’s each born under a different zodiac sign.
Resonance Food Co.
The Milwaukee Symphony and its hospitality partner have scaled up food and beverages with the creation of Resonance Food Co. Resonance Food Co. offers a medley of choices, prepared on-site by full-time chefs. The second floor Atrium and the ground level Gallery feature full bars with comfortable lounge seating for mingling and conversation. In addition, five bars serve every level of the Symphony Center, and patrons are welcome to take beverages into the concert hall. Patrons have come to expect signature dishes and bespoke drinks, accented by local flavors and favorite traditions, as well as changing menus that reflect concert themes.
About the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Ken-David Masur, is among the finest orchestras in the nation and the largest cultural institution in Wisconsin. Since its inception in 1959, the MSO has found innovative ways to give music a home in the region, develop music appreciation and talent among area youth, and raise the national reputation of Milwaukee. The MSO’s 72 full-time professional musicians perform over 135 classics, pops, family, education, and community concerts each season in venues throughout the state. A pioneer among American orchestras, the MSO has performed world and American premieres of works by John Adams, Roberto Sierra, Phillip Glass, Geoffrey Gordon, Marc Neikrug, and Matthias Pintscher, as well as garnered national recognition as the first American orchestra to offer live recordings on iTunes. Now in its 51st season, the orchestra’s nationally syndicated radio broadcast series, the longest consecutive-running series of any U.S. orchestra, is heard annually by more than two million listeners. The MSO’s standard of excellence extends beyond the concert hall and into the community, reaching more than 70,000 children and their families through its Arts in Community Education (ACE) program, Youth and Teen concerts, and Family Series.
2022.23 Season Listing
Alpine Glory
Friday, September 30, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Christina & Michelle Naughton, pianos
WYNTON MARSALIS: Fanfare (Co-Commission)
MENDELSSOHN: Concerto for Two Pianos in E major
- STRAUSS: Eine Alpensinfonie
Aaron Diehl Returns: Song of a New Race
Friday, October 7, 2022 at 11:15 am
Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 9, 2022 at 2:30 pm
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Aaron Diehl, piano & artistic partner
COPLAND: Rodeo
STILL: Symphony No. 2 “Song of a New Race”
GERSHWIN: Concerto in F
Tchaikovsky No. 5
Friday, October 21, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, October 22, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Jader Bignamini, conductor
Blake Pouliot, violin
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: Ballade
PAGANINI: Violin Concerto No. 1
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5
Every Tree Speaks: Habibi, Brahms, & Schumann
Friday, November 4, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, November 5, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 2:30 pm
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Milwaukee Symphony Chorus
Cheryl Frazes Hill, director
IMAN HABIBI: Jeder Baum spricht
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 1 “Spring”
BRAHMS: Gesang der Parzen
BRAHMS: Schicksalslied
BRAHMS: Academic Festival Overture
Fresh Air & Beethoven’s Eroica
Friday, November 11, 2022 at 11:15 am
Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Baiba Skride, violin
SIBELIUS: Night Ride and Sunrise
SEBASTIAN CURRIER: Aether, for violin and orchestra
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”
Ravel & Chopin
Friday, November 18, 2022 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 7:30 pm
David Robertson, conductor
Orli Shaham, piano
RAVEL: Une Barque sur l’Ocean
CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2
MESSAIEN: L’Ascension
RAVEL: La valse
Water Festival I: Percussion & Interludes
Friday, January 20, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Christopher Lamb, Robert Klieger, Chris Riggs, percussion
TAN DUN: Water Concerto
SMETANA: Vltava (The Moldau)
ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK: American Port of Call
BRITTEN: Four Sea Interludes
Water Festival II: Neptune & Water Music
Friday, January 27, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, January 29, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Jon McCullough-Benner, bass
RAMEAU: Suite from Naïs
BOTTESINI: Concerto for Double Bass No. 2
HANDEL: Water Music Suite No. 1
Water Festival III: Toward the Sea
Friday, February 3, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, February 4, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Catherine Chen, bassoon
Sonora Slocum, alto flute
Julia Coronelli, harp
MENDELSSOHN: The Hebrides
TAKEMITSU: Toward the Sea II (Umi e II)
DAVID LUDWIG: Pictures from the Floating World
HELEN GRIME: Virga
DEBUSSY: La mer
Rachmaninoff Piano & Lively Dances
Friday, February 17, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Markus Stenz, conductor
Stephen Hough, piano
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 2
BARTÓK: Dance Suite
BIZET: Carmen Suite
Music of Clyne, Tchaikovsky & Shostakovich
Friday, February 24, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, February 25, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Han-Na Chang, conductor
Zlatomir Fung, cello
ANNA CLYNE: This Midnight Hour
TCHAIKOVSKY: Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5
Music of Montgomery & Dvořák
Friday, March 3, 2023 at 11:15 am
Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Jonathon Heyward, conductor
James Ehnes, violin
JESSIE MONTGOMERY: Records from a Vanishing City
PROKOFIEV: Violin Concerto No. 2
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 8
Mendelssohn’s Elijah
Friday, March 24, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Dashon Burton, bass-baritone
Milwaukee Symphony Chorus
Cheryl Frazes Hill, director
MENDELSSOHN: Elijah
Don Juan & Beethoven Piano
Friday, April 14, 2023 at 11:15 am
Saturday, April 15, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Roderick Cox, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano
- STRAUSS: Don Juan
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 4
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 5
In Nature’s Realm: Joyce Yang Plays Mozart
Friday, May 5, 2023 at 11:15 am
Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Yaniv Dinur, conductor
Joyce Yang, piano
DVOŘÁK In Nature’s Realm
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K.491
LUTOSLAWSKI Concerto for Orchestra
The Zodiac & The Planets
Friday, May 26, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 28, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Aaron Diehl, piano & artistic partner
Women of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus
WILLIAMS: Zodiac Suite
HOLST: The Planets
Jupiter & Serenade
Friday, June 9, 2023 at 11:15 am
Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 11, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Edo de Waart, conductor
Matthew Annin, horn
BRAHMS: Serenade No. 2
- STRAUSS: Horn Concerto No. 1
MOZART: Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter”
Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony
Friday, June 16, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 17, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Ken-David Masur, conductor
Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano
Milwaukee Symphony Chorus
Cheryl Frazes Hill, director
MAHLER: Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”