Each summer for three weeks, the best-of-the-best musicians from around the country and the world head to Winona, Minn., to take part in the Minnesota Beethoven Festival. Names like Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Thomas Hampson, Joshua Bell, Michala Petri, Garrick Ohlsson along with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra and Dale Warland have delighted audiences in this quaint town set in the river bluffs a few hours south of the Twin Cities.
Artistic and Managing Director Ned Kirk says it's a combination of a few well-heeled residents who wanted to see a festival of this stature in their own back yard, but also it's the community itself which hosts concerts in a variety of venues all over town and has embraced this festival as its very own. This reality was illustrated beautifully by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who arrived for his recital and asked to visit the town's highlights for a few hours, including Garvin Heights and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum — this with only moments to spare before his concert!
On Sunday, we'll have more stories of friendships and music, plus awesome music making when the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra gives a concert that we'll broadcast live on the radio. Please join us!
Tune in Sunday, July 19, at 7:30 p.m.; Alison Young hosts.
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