The Legacy of Jorja Fleezanis and Michael Steinberg

Throughout the Minnesota Orchestra’s 123-year history, some musicians’ legacies have been felt long after they leave the stage. Among the ensemble’s legendary figures is the late Jorja Fleezanis, concertmaster from 1989 to 2009. She paved the way for women in orchestral leadership and mentored countless musicians, and her hand is sometimes felt in the music itself. Such was the case in April 2026 when Leila Josefowicz took center stage in John Adams’ Violin Concerto, a work composed for Fleezanis and premiered by her and the Orchestra under Edo de Waart in 1994.

Another renowned figure in classical music—though less often seen on the Orchestra Hall stage—is Fleezanis’ late husband Michael Steinberg, who left his own mark as a leading figure in musicology, music criticism and program annotation. He also served as artistic director of the Orchestra’s Sommerfest from 1990–92. After Steinberg’s passing in 2009, Fleezanis founded the Michael Steinberg & Jorja Fleezanis Fund to commission and premiere new chamber works that pair their passions: music and the written word.

Friends of Fleezanis have continued that work since her passing in 2022. The newest premiere, The Wild Iris by Ivette Herryman Rodriguez, is based on the poem of the same name by Nobel Prize winner Louise Glück. It will be performed by five Orchestra musicians, pianist Evren Ozel and narrator Stephen Yoakam on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at 3 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Tickets are available on the Minnesota Orchestra’s website. 

Another Steinberg project has just come to fruition: Defending the Music, a book of his reviews, essays and features selected from his time as music critic for the Boston Globe from 1964 to 1976. Susan Feder, the book’s senior editor, will speak about Steinberg and the new book in the Target Atrium before the Orchestra’s concert on Friday, June 5. Orchestra President and CEO Isaac Thompson—a former student of Fleezanis’ as well as a Steinberg admirer—will host the Q&A. Links to purchase the book are at steinbergfleezanisfund.org; it will also be available at the June 7 concert. Favorable reviews of the book have already begin to appear; Jonathan Blumhofer of The Arts Fuse states that “This substantial collection of the writings of classical music critic Michael Steinberg evokes a time when critics educated, provoked, and helped build cultural life.”