Here's an explosion of gorgeous musical colors to launch our new season—in our home away from home, the Auditorium at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Elgar, Rachmaninoff and Respighi were all consummate masters at crafting music that brings out the magnificence of a full orchestra. Add superstar Garrick Ohlsson in Rachmaninoff's ardent piano concerto, and the result is sheer magic!

It's been 15 years since the Minnesota Orchestra performed the amazing feat of presenting all six of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos in a single event. Written nearly 300 years ago, the Brandenburgs are unequaled in the virtuosic demands they make of players and the joy they give audiences. Bach's chamber-sized ensemble puts each musician in the spotlight—giving us a perfect introduction to the exciting young British conductor Matthew Halls, who will lead from the harpsichord. The perfect December treat at Central Lutheran Church!

Jonathan Biss amazed audiences in his Sommerfest debut as a teenager; now his subscription concert debut in Mozart's beautiful Concerto No. 13 will reveal more of his masterful touch. Speaking of masters, Osmo Vänskä delivers not one but two Beethoven gems in this program, reminding us—especially with the Eroica that closes the concert—just why his Beethoven interpretations are the stuff of legends.

Here's the first of two weeks long anticipated by fans of British conductor Mark Wigglesworth and his electric interpretations! Wigglesworth's residency begins with the hushed pastels of Debussy's classic. Then come soaring, luminous Strauss and Wagner works sung by the fabulous British soprano Susan Bullock.

With just one CD released, the Minnesota Orchestra's recordings of Beethoven's piano concertos with pianist Yevgeny Sudbin are already generating editor's-choice awards. The Second is the most playful of the bunch, and Sudbin's own wit matches it perfectly. The chemistry of the Minnesota Orchestra with Sibelius is also amazing, a point beautifully proved by the Finnish composer's En Saga.

We're thrilled to invite you to a reunion—as Jorja Fleezanis returns to perform a spectacular solo with the Minnesota Orchestra! She communicates music's power, passion and beauty like few others, as we heard across the two decades in which she was our revered concertmaster. Central Lutheran Church provides a glorious acoustic for her violin and for Saint-Saëns' sweeping Organ Symphony, played by acclaimed organist Mark Sedio.

Here are two lovely, rarely done Sibelius symphonies, sometimes obscured by their more famous predecessors. But such music! The Third will remind you of Mahler in his sunniest C-major mood, while the Sixth opens with a string chorale of almost holy beauty. Then our season, and our time at the Convention Center, is capped by Dvořák's New World Symphony, perfectly capturing the excitement of returning to our newly renovated Orchestra Hall, and launching us into the future!