Madison Symphony Orchestra

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Friday, Sept. 23, Overture Hall, 7:30 pm

The Madison Symphony Orchestra opens its season with a bang. The orchestra plays Gustav Holst’s epic suite, The Planets, accompanied by a lavish HD video presentation. Other highlights include music by George Enescu, and John Corigliano’s “Chaconne from The Red Violin” with soloist Naha Greenholtz (pictured). ALSO: Saturday, Sept. 24 (8 pm) and Sunday, Sept. 25 (2:30 pm).

press release: The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s (MSO) Season 2016-2017 will offer a full-range of classical music meant to move listeners to become “lost in the music and find themselves at the Symphony,” while uniquely including multimedia to accompany the music during two different concert weekends. Every concert also has one or two pieces of music that the MSO has never performed before (which you can see by the asterisk next to each new piece of music below).  

Season 2016-2017 opens in Sept. 2016 with a spectacular presentation of Gustav Holst’s most popular work, The Planets, accompanied by a high-definition video of celestial images that The Planets’ musical themes suggest. And in Jan. 2017, the MSO will bring back the extremely popular Beyond the Score® (BTS) format for the spellbinding Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, featuring renowned actors James DeVita and Brenda DeVita, photos, video, and a full-performance of Scheherazade. 

Single tickets are now on sale at the Overture Box Office, 201 State Street, (608) 258-4141, or www.madisonsymphony.org

AT A GLANCE: 

Sept. 23, 24, 25, 2016: The Planets: An HD Odyssey 

John DeMain, Conductor; Naha Greenholtz, Violin; Madison Symphony Orchestra; Madison Symphony Women’s Chorus, Beverly Taylor, Chorus Director

GEORGE ENESCU                    Romanian Rhapsody No. 1*

JOHN CORIGLIANO                 Chaconne from The Red Violin*

GUSTAV HOLST                       The Planets  

·         A national hero in his homeland, Enescu rarely included hints of his Romanian heritage in his music, except when he composed the Romanian Rhapsodies as a teenager. Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 elicits the feeling of a Romanian folk song ending with an increasingly wild series of “Gypsy dances”.

·         In the Chaconne, American composer Corigliano draws the audience in with a foreboding and haunting signature tune. This piece inspired the score for The Red Violin, earning Corigliano an Academy Award in 1999 for his original music score.

·         Holst’s most popular work, The Planets, will be accompanied by a spectacular new high-definition film projecting celestial images above the main stage. Holst takes the audience around the solar system and back with sections of the piece highlighting the aura of each planet. The score begins with a savage 5/4 rhythm introducing the tumultuous planet Mars and ends with the same rhythm, but in a serene homage to the planet Neptune.

                                               Oct. 21, 22, 23, 2016: Beethoven’s Pastorale

John DeMain, Conductor; Henning Kraggerud, Violin  

EDWARD ELGAR                     In the South (Alassio)*

MAX BRUCH                            Violin Concerto No. 1

HENNING KRAGGERUD           Three Postludes from Equinox*

No. 2 D minor (Prague); No. 9 A flat Major (Hangzhou); No. 19 A Major (New Orleans)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN     Symphony No. 6 (Pastorale)                                                    

Nov. 11, 12, 13, 2016: Paired to Perfection

John DeMain, Conductor; Christina and Michelle Naughton, Piano duo  

CLAUDE DEBUSSY                               Le Printemps*

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART       Concerto for Two Pianos*

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH                     Symphony No. 5  

Dec. 2, 3, 4, 2016: A Madison Symphony Christmas

John DeMain, Conductor; Sylvia McNair, Soprano; Madison Symphony Chorus,             Beverly Taylor, Director; Madison Youth Choirs, Michael Ross, Artistic Director; Mount Zion Gospel Choir, Tamera and Leotha Stanley, Directors

Jan. 15, 2017: Beyond the Score®: Scheherazade

John DeMain, Conductor; James DeVita, Actor, as Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; Brenda DeVita, Actor, as the Storyteller

NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade

 Beyond the Score® is designed for classical music aficionados and newcomers looking to delve deeper into the world of classical music.

Feb. 17, 18, 19, 2017: Ultimate Tchaikovsky: The Last Symphony

John DeMain, Conductor; Stephen Hough, Piano  

SAMUEL BARBER                    Second Essay*

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS            Piano Concerto No. 5 (The Egyptian)*             

PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY   Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)  

Mar. 10, 11, 12, 2017: Peak Performance

Carl St. Clair, Conductor; Tine Thing Helseth, Trumpet 

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN     Egmont Overture

JOHANN HUMMEL                  Trumpet Concerto*                           

RICHARD STRAUSS                  An Alpine Symphony*  

Apr. 7, 8, 9, 2017: Colossal Piano

John DeMain, Conductor; Philippe Bianconi, Piano  

ROBERT SCHUMANN              Manfred Overture

WITOLD LUTOSŁAWSKI           Concerto for Orchestra*

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF        Piano Concerto No. 3  

May 5, 6, 7, 2017: Brahms’ Requiem

John DeMain, Conductor; Nathan Laube, Organ; Devon Guthrie, Soprano; Timothy Jones, Bass-Baritone; Madison Symphony Chorus, Beverly Taylor, Director

CHARLES STANFORD               Concert Piece for Organ and Orchestra*

JOHANNES BRAHMS               A German Requiem