Photos by: Benjamin Ealovega, Lisa Marie Mazzucco, Chris Hynes
Star soloists: violinist James Ehnes, pianist Emanuel Ax and violinist Naha Greenholtz.
When the Madison Symphony Orchestra launches its 2018-19 season this September, it will mark maestro John DeMain’s 25th season as conductor. For the occasion, DeMain has selected programs that reflect his favorite compositions and soloists.
Most notable is “Remembering Lenny,” celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein. DeMain worked closely with Bernstein for years, and even led Bernstein’s final opera, A Quiet Place, when he was the music director at the Houston Grand Opera. On May 20, he conducted the Bernstein celebration at the Washington National Opera Gala at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Madison Symphony Orchestra’s tribute on Nov. 9-11 will include music from Candide and On the Town, plus the Symphony No. 2, “The Age of Anxiety,” with frequent collaborator Christopher Taylor as pianist. The program concludes with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, the last work Bernstein conducted.
Other longtime favorites of DeMain’s are Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (Feb. 15-17), Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 (March 8-10) and Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet (Sept. 28-30), from which he will devise his own suite of selections.
DeMain has long been fascinated by Debussy’s La Mer (April 12-14) for its challenging score. And then there is Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, the gigantic “Symphony of a Thousand” to be performed May 3-5. DeMain is a fan of Mahler’s music, and this will serve as appropriate climax to the anniversary season.
We will also see the return of the maestro’s favorite soloists. One outstanding returnee is pianist Emanuel Ax, whom DeMain was able to secure to play the Brahms Second Piano Concerto for the May concerts. Another is Canadian violinist James Ehnes, who will tackle the Brahms Violin Concerto in the February program. And a thrilling newcomer is pianist Marc-André Hamelin, who will make his Madison debut in April, playing Strauss’ Burleske and Ravel’s Concerto in G. (Mozart’s “Prague” Symphony No. 38 will also be offered.)
In addition to the flashy soloists, DeMain hasn’t forgotten to pay tribute to his own players, who will be highlighted in March. From the orchestra’s ranks will come Naha Greenholtz in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, JJ Koh in Debussy’s Clarinet Rhapsody, and Joshua Biere in the Tuba Concerto of Vaughan Williams. The whole orchestra will be shown off in George Gershwin’s An American in Paris.
Long a passionate enthusiast for Gershwin’s music, DeMain is also eager to highlight leading American composers of today. The audience will hear Jennifer Higdon’s Fanfare Ritmico in the September program and in February, the whimsical The Most Often Used Chords by John Harbison, who has long ties to Madison.
On January 20, the MSO will present another “Beyond the Score” multimedia program. This one delves into Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony No. 4, which DeMain will conduct. He will also direct the annual Christmas holiday event, Nov. 30-Dec. 2.
The one program that DeMain will not conduct is on Oct. 19-21, when guest conductor Tania Miller will take the podium to lead Michael Oesterle’s environmental reflection Home and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, along with Elgar’s soaring Cello Concerto, with Zuill Bailey as soloist.
