Minnesota Orchestra announces its 2017-18 season

On Friday, March 17, the Minnesota Orchestra unveiled plans for its 2017-18 classical concert season, which includes appearances by numerous acclaimed guest soloists and conductors, a Tchaikovsky Marathon, a celebration of Finland's centennial, multiple world premieres, and Music Director Osmo Vänskä leading Mahler's First and Fourth Symphonies, both of which will also be recorded during the season.

The season opens at Orchestra Hall with Vänskä conducting concerts on Sept. 14 to 16, 2017, featuring Stravinsky's Suite from The Firebird, and violinist James Ehnes, who will perform an American premiere by Swedish composer Anders Hillborg. Also on the program are works by John Adams, Ravel and Berlioz. Featuring 23 weeks of classical subscription concerts, the season includes symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Prokofiev, Rigel, Shostakovich, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky; concertos by Grieg, Jaakko Kuusisto, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, Tchaikovsky and Weill; and other classical favorites such as Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and Debussy's La Mer.

Continuing a longtime partnership with Minnesota Public Radio, the Orchestra's Friday evening classical concerts will be broadcast regionally on Classical MPR stations. And in celebration of Minnesota Public Radio's 50th anniversary, the Orchestra will perform a special concert on Saturday, Nov. 11. The event will be hosted from the stage by Brian Newhouse, and it will feature milestone moments from the Orchestra's broadcast history with MPR. It will be broadcast live on Classical MPR stations regionally.

Published below are the scheduled classical concerts for 2017-18. The orchestra also hosts a number of live-scored film screenings, chamber concerts and musical collaborations. The complete season calendar is available on the Minnesota Orchestra website.

Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts 2017-18

VÄNSKÄ OPENS THE SEASON WITH STRAVINSKY'S FIREBIRD
Thursday, September 14, 2017, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Friday, September 15, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, September 16, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
James Ehnes, violin

ADAMS Short Ride in a Fast Machine
RAVEL Pavane for a Dead Princess
HILLBORG Violin Concerto No. 2 [U.S. Premiere]
BERLIOZ Roman Carnival Overture
STRAVINSKY Suite from The Firebird

Music Director Osmo Vänskä opens the new season with fireworks in a program whose highlights include Stravinsky's Firebird Suite and a performance by violin virtuoso James Ehnes in the American premiere of Swedish composer Anders Hillborg's Violin Concerto No. 2. Music by John Adams, Ravel and Berlioz round out this grand opening to another exciting Minnesota Orchestra season.
These concerts are dedicated to the memory of former Music Director and Conductor Laureate Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (1923-2017), whose remarkable musical partnership with the Minnesota Orchestra spanned 56 years.

CELEBRATING FINLAND'S CENTENNIAL
Friday, September 22, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, September 23, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Elina Vähälä, violin

AHO Minea J.
KUUSISTO Violin Concerto
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2

This concert is presented in conjunction with the annual FinnFest Conference, which is held this fall in Minnesota, and as part of the Finland 100 celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence. The program features music by three Finnish composers; Finnish violinist Elina Vahala as the soloist in Jaakko Kuusisto's Violin Concerto; and the Orchestra's own famous Finn, Music Director Osmo Vänskä.

RODERICK COX CONDUCTS RACHMANINOFF
Thursday, October 5, 2017, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Friday, October 6, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)

Minnesota Orchestra
Roderick Cox, conductor
Alessio Bax, piano

ARGENTO Valentino Dances
GRIEG Piano Concerto
RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

Roderick Cox, the Minnesota Orchestra's associate Conductor, returns to the podium for this subscription concert, which showcases pianist Alessio Bax in Grieg's elegant Piano Concerto. Two sets of dances make up the bookends of the program: the Valentino Dances by Minnesota Orchestra Composer Laureate Dominick Argento and the energetic Symphonic Dances by Rachmaninoff.

BEETHOVEN AND PROKOFIEV
Thursday, October 12, 2017, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Friday, October 13, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, October 14, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Bixby Kennedy, clarinet

PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1
MOZART Clarinet Concerto BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4

Nathalie Stutzmann, famous for her career as a contralto, makes her Minnesota Orchestra debut on the conductor's podium. She leads the Orchestra in Prokofiev's charming First Symphony and Beethoven's bright and sunny Fourth Symphony. Clarinetist and Grand Prize winner of the FRIENDS of the Minnesota Orchestra competition performs Mozart's poignant Clarinet Concerto.

VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS THE REFORMATION SYMPHONY
Celebrating 500 Years of Reformation through Music
Thursday, November 2, 2017, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Friday, November 3, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, November 4, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Adam Kuenzel, flute
Minnesota Chorale

BACH Orchestral Suite No. 2
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 5, Reformation
CURRIER RE-FORMATION [World Premiere]

In a special program commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Osmo Vänskä conducts the Orchestra and the Minnesota Chorale in Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony, plus the world premiere of a major work by Grawemeyer Award-winning composer Sebastian Currier titled RE-FORMATION. Bach's Second Orchestral Suite opens the program, with Principal Flute Adam Kuenzel taking the solo spotlight.

FUTURE CLASSICS: EMERGING COMPOSERS SPOTLIGHT
Friday, November 10, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Kevin Puts, Composer Institute director

The Minnesota Orchestra performs new works by some of today's brightest up-and-coming composers. Osmo Vänskä conducts the concert--the culmination of the 15th anniversary of the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, a program directed by composer Kevin Puts and co-presented with the American Composers Forum. Selected composers will be announced in the spring.

MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Live Broadcast Concert
Saturday, November 11, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Brian Newhouse, host

In celebration of Minnesota Public Radio's 50th anniversary, the Orchestra performs a special concert that features milestone moments from the Orchestra's broadcast history with MPR. The concert will be hosted from the stage by MPR's Brian Newhouse and broadcast live on MPR stations.

BRAHMS' FOURTH SYMPHONY
Thursday, November 16, 2017, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Friday, November 17, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Rafael Payare, conductor
Virginie Verrez, mezzo

DUKAS The Sorcerer's Apprentice
RAVEL Sheherazade
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4

Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare leads Brahms' remarkable Fourth Symphony and Ravel's evocative Sheherazade, the latter with mezzo soloist Virginie Verrez, in his conducting debut with the Minnesota Orchestra.

A NEW YEAR CELEBRATION: TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1
Sunday, December 31, 2017, 8:30 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Monday, January 1, 2018, 2 p.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Inon Barnatan, piano
Minnesota Dance Theatre

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 1, Winter Dreams
Serenade for Strings
Piano Concerto No. 1

Music Director Osmo Vänskä conducts the annual New Year's Celebration concerts, which ring in both the New Year and the start of the Orchestra's 2018 Tchaikovsky Marathon. Following the composer's First Symphony and his Serenade for Strings, pianist Inon Barnatan performs Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. Sunday evening's performance includes a post-concert party and countdown to the New Year.

TCHAIKOVSKY MARATHON: SYMPHONY NO. 4
Friday, January 5, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Kyle Orth, piano

TCHAIKOVSKY Capriccio italien
Piano Concerto No. 2
Symphony No. 4

The Tchaikovsky Marathon continues with performances of an audience favorite, Symphony No. 4. Special guest pianist Kyle Orth, winner of the 2016 Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, makes his Minnesota Orchestra debut in the composer's Second Piano Concerto.

TCHAIKOVSKY MARATHON: SYMPHONIES NO. 2 & 5
Saturday, January 6, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, January 12, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Anthony Ross, cello

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 2
Variations on a Rococo Theme
Symphony No. 5

In this rarity, the Orchestra performs two complete symphonies by Tchaikovsky, the Second and the Fifth, in one program. In addition, Principal Cello Anthony Ross makes a center stage solo appearance in Variations on a Rococo Theme.

TCHAIKOVSKY MARATHON: SYMPHONY NO. 3 and PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3
Thursday, January 11, 2018, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Adam Neiman, piano

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 3, Polish
Piano Concerto No. 3
Swan Lake Suite

Pianist Adam Neiman performs the last of Tchaikovsky's three piano concertos in this leg of the Marathon, in a concert that also includes the composer's lesser-known Symphony No. 3 and his ever-popular ballet music from Swan Lake.

TCHAIKOVSKY MARATHON: SYMPHONY NO. 6
Saturday, January 13, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Sunday, January 14, 2018, 2 p.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
James Ehnes, violin

TCHAIKOVSKY Marche Slave
Violin Concerto
Symphony No. 6, Pathètique

As Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra near the finish line of the Tchaikovsky Marathon, they welcome back violinist James Ehnes, who performs in the 2017-18 season opening in September 2017. Ehnes plays Tchaikovsky's famous Violin Concerto; then the Orchestra concludes their journey with the composer's Sixth and final symphony, the Pathètique.

FAURE REQUIEM
Friday, February 9, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, February 10, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Bernard Labadie, conductor
Helene Guilmette, soprano
Philippe Sly, bass-baritone
Minnesota Chorale

RIGEL Symphony No. 4
MOZART Symphony No. 31, Paris
FAURE Requiem

Frenchman Bernard Labadie returns to conduct the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Chorale and soloists in Fauré's one-of-a-kind Requiem. At the center of the evening is a classic by Mozart, his Paris Symphony.

WEST SIDE STORY
Complete Film with Live Orchestra
Thursday, February 15, 2018, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Friday, February 16, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, February 17, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
David Newman, conductor

In special subscription concert performances, the Minnesota Orchestra performs the complete score to Leonard Bernstein's classic film, West Side Story, while the film is shown on the big screen above the stage. David Newman, a Hollwood composer and conductor, leads the musicians in this concert that will delight many generations of film- and music-lovers.

ANDRE WATTS PLAYS BEETHOVEN'S EMPEROR
Friday, February 23, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, February 24, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
John Storgårds, conductor
Andrè Watts, piano

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10

Beloved by Minnesota Orchestra audiences, pianist Andrè Watts plays an equally-beloved concerto, Beethoven's Emperor. Then, the Orchestra performs Shostakovich's heart-wrenching and captivating Symphony No. 10.

DEBUSSY'S LA MER
Thursday, March 1, 2018, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Friday, March 2, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, March 3, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Juraj Valcuha, conductor
Kirill Gerstein, piano

LYADOV The Enchanted Lake
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
RESPIGHI The Fountains of Rome
DEBUSSY La Mer

Slovak conductor Juraj Valčuha appears with the Minnesota Orchestra for the third consecutive season, leading a concert with master pianist Kirill Gerstein. Also featuring Debussy's La Mer and Respighi's Fountains of Rome, this combination will make for a sparkling concert at Orchestra Hall.

VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS MAHLER'S TITAN SYMPHONY
Thursday, March 15, 2018, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, March 16, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, March 17, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Erin Keefe, violin

WEILL Violin Concerto
MAHLER Symphony No. 1, Titan

Concertmaster Erin Keefe takes center stage to demonstrate her virtuoso technique in Kurt Weill's Violin Concerto. Then the Orchestra, led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, performs Mahler's Titan Symphony, his First, which the Orchestra will record in several sessions following these performances.

WAGNER, LISZT AND SCHUMANN
Friday, April 13, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, April 14, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Markus Stenz, conductor
Louis Lortie, piano

WAGNER Siegfried Idyll
LISZT Piano Concerto No. 1
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2

Markus Stenz returns to conduct the Minnesota Orchestra in the music of Wagner, Liszt and Schumann, featuring pianist Louis Lortie in Liszt's astonishing Piano Concerto No. 1.

CAMERON CARPENTER PLAYS RACHMANINOFF
Friday, April 20, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, April 21, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Klaus Mäkelä, conductor
Cameron Carpenter, organ

MUSSORGSKY Prelude to Khovanshchina
RACHMANINOFF/arr. Carpenter Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5

Music by three brilliant Russian musicians make up this program, conducted by the young Finnish conductor, Klaus Makela. At the center is a performance of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, such like no one has heard before, as Cameron Carpenter plays his International Touring Organ.

AMERICAN VOICES: COPLAND AND BERNSTEIN
Thursday, May 3, 2018, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Friday, May 4, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, May 5, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Sharon Bezaly, flute

COPLAND Suite from Billy the Kid
BEAL Flute Concerto [World Premiere]
BERNSTEIN On the Waterfront

Osmo Vänskä conducts the Orchestra in music by three American composers: Aaron Copland, Jeff Beal and Leonard Bernstein. Beal, who is the acclaimed composer for the hit TV series House of Cards, shares his brand new Flute Concerto, which receives its world premiere with flutist Sharon Bezaly as soloist.

BRITTEN AND SCHUMANN
Thursday, May 10, 2018, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Friday, May 11, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)

Minnesota Orchestra
Michael Francis, conductor
Daniel Müller-Schott, cello

BRITTEN Sinfonia da Requiem
SCHUMANN Cello Concerto
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 6

Cellist Daniel Müller-Schott shines in Schumann's beautiful Cello Concerto, led by British conductor Michael Francis, who makes his first appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra. Also programmed are Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem and Vaughan Williams' Sixth Symphony, a work that was last performed at Orchestra Hall in 1975.

ANDREW LITTON AND THE MINNESOTA CHORALE: BERNSTEIN AND WALTON
Friday, June 1, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, June 2, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Andrew Litton, conductor
Christopher Maltman, baritone
Minnesota Chorale

BERNSTEIN Fancy Free
BERNSTEIN Chichester Psalms
WALTON Belshazzar's Feast

We are thrilled to welcome Andrew Litton back to the podium to conduct music by Leonard Bernstein and the oratorio Belshazzar's Feast by William Walton. The Orchestra is joined by the Minnesota Chorale for these concerts.

BEETHOVEN AND BERLIOZ
Friday, June 8, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, June 9, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Jun Markl, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

Conductor Jun Markl and violinist Augustin Hadelich are both welcomed back to Orchestra Hall for these concerts that showcase Hadelich in Beethoven's Violin Concerto and the full Orchestra in Berlioz's epic and dramatic Symphonie fantastique.

SEASON FINALE: VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS MAHLER'S FOURTH
Thursday, June 14, 2018, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall
Friday, June 15, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (LIVE BROADCAST)
Saturday, June 16, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Carolyn Sampson, soprano
R. Douglas Wright, trombone
Kari Sundström, trombone
Andrew Chappell, bass trombone
Steven Campbell, tuba

STEPHENSON Low Brass Concerto [World Premiere]
MAHLER Symphony No. 4

The Orchestra's impressive low brass section moves to the front of the stage for the world premiere of James Stephenson's Low Brass Concerto. Then, the 2017-18 season comes to a close with Osmo Vänskä, the Minnesota Orchestra and soprano Carolyn Thompson, in performances of Mahler's intimate, heaven-sent Symphony No. 4.