MSO Concertmaster Jinwoo Lee steps into the spotlight to perform Saint-Saëns’s Third Violin Concerto, a veritable showpiece for the instrument’s sparkling character and color. Conductor Iván López Reynoso, who made his U.S. orchestral debut with the MSO, returns to conduct Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, rife with deliciously heartbreaking tunes and romantic melancholy.

Handel’s Messiah is among the most revered oratorios of all time — and in the hands of conductor and 18th century interpreter Nicholas McGegan, it is simply sublime. “When it comes to conveying the vital spark of Handel’s music, Mr. McGegan has few peers,” claims The New York Times; The Independent calls McGegan “one of … Continued

“[Clara] signals my gratitude to all the women who, in their time, challenged the society they were raised in by manifesting their artistic oeuvre,” says composer Ortiz of her tribute to Clara Schumann, which opens this program. Violinist Nancy Zhou takes center stage for Clara Schumann’s Three Romances, which The Times (London) referred to as … Continued

Kerson Leong, a violinist who speaks “with sincerity and without exaggeration” (The Strad), performs Beethoven’s beloved Violin Concerto; Beethoven changed the genre with this innovative and lyrical concerto, which leaves ample space for the violinist to dazzle. The MSO welcomes leading Baroque expert Bernard Labadie to conduct one of the era’s finest gems: Haydn’s rambunctious … Continued

Hailed as one of the greatest violinists of our time, Augustin Hadelich returns to the MSO to perform Brahms’s soulful Violin Concerto. Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts Brahms’s Third Symphony, a nostalgic work with a recurring musical theme of “free but happy;” wrote Clara Schumann, “All the movements seem to be of one piece, one … Continued

Jader Bignamini, Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, conducts a suite from Stravinsky’s The Firebird; the music of this fairytale ballet, including its scintillating “Infernal Dance,” still feels fresh and wild. Stravinsky learned a great deal from his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov; here the MSO explores the latter’s Spanish-accented Capriccio espagnol, from its first alborada (morning … Continued

“My chief aim was to awaken and permanently instill spiritual feelings not only in the singers but in the listeners,” said Beethoven of his immense and moving Missa solemnis (“Solemn Mass”). Observing the structure of a traditional Catholic mass, Missa solemnis is a vibrant paean to faith but also to humanity. This concert concludes Music … Continued

“Paul Jacobs is one of the great living virtuosos … he is utterly without artifice,” declares The Washington Post. Witness the musicianship of the first and only organist to win a Grammy Award as Jacobs performs Saint-Saëns’s “Organ” Symphony, a work so expressive the composer claimed, “I have given all that I had to give.” … Continued

Copland & Twain: An America 250 Celebration Co-premiere by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Ravinia Festival This exciting new theatrical concert from director Bill Barclay and Concert Theatre Works marries Aaron Copland’s stirring incidental music with Mark Twain’s poignant observations of a changing America. Copland’s compositions, including Music for Movies and Music for the … Continued

At a time when the church was questioning the morality of art, Bach gave the world a musical triumph of faith and spirit, and few masterpieces of this scope are as intimate and personal as his St. Matthew Passion. In these performances, the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus — celebrating its golden anniversary — sings the text … Continued