MSO First Associate Concertmaster Ilana Setapen commands the stage with Arturo Márquez’s folk-infused violin concerto Fandango. “I had known this music since I was a child,” says Márquez, “listening to it in the cinema, on the radio, and listening to my father, a mariachi violinist (Arturo Márquez, Sr.) interpret huastecos and mariachi music.” Márquez says … Continued

“When you’re named after one of the biggest constellations in the night sky, the pressure is on to display a little star power — and the young pianist Orion Weiss did exactly that,” proclaims The Washington Post; Weiss joins the MSO for piano variations by Dohnányi. Music Director Ken-David Masur conducts Mendelssohn’s fifth symphony, known … Continued

A powerful program featuring Sibelius’s Symphony No. 6 and Tchaikovsky’s highly original first piano concerto. Tchaikovsky’s colleague Hans von Bülow claimed that “this true gem shall earn you the gratitude of all pianists.” The MSO’s own Associate Conductor Ryan Tani conducts as guest pianist Kate Liu makes her Bradley Symphony Center debut. What to Expect: … Continued

Celebrated for her versatility, compelling interpretations, and flawless technique, violinist Francesca Dego performs Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, a work crackling with cinematic tension like a modern film score — a virtuosic thrill ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Alpesh Chauhan, hailed as “a charismatic, balletic conductor” (The Guardian), also … 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

Music Director Ken-David Masur began his tenure during the 250th birthday celebration of Beethoven; we harken back to that season with the undeniable masterpiece that is Beethoven’s ninth symphony. Written after Beethoven’s most profound period of despair, the ninth is an impassioned testament to life, friendship, and the human spirit; author E.M. Forster called it … Continued