Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Thu Jul 28 — Fri Jul 29, 2022
Orchestra Hall
Yue Bao, assistant conductor of the Houston Symphony, examines the role of destiny in works by Verdi, Strauss and Beethoven. Soprano Jessica Rivera sings Richard Strauss’ poignant Four Last Songs, and BRKFST, a eight-member collaborative dance ensemble, will create an original work to Beethoven’s Grosse fuge in a style that merges elements of break dance and contemporary dance. Capping the program is one of the most popular symphonies ever composed, Beethoven’s Fifth.
Program
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VERDI
Overture to La forza del destino
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R. STRAUSS
Four Last Songs
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BEETHOVEN/Steinberg
Grosse fuge
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BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 5
Artists
The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra, led by Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård—who is serving as music director designate during the 2022-23 season—is recognized for distinguished performances around the world, award-winning recordings and broadcasts, educational engagement programs, and commitment to building the orchestral repertoire of the future. Founded in 1903, the Orchestra has an extensive history of touring throughout Minnesota, nationally and abroad, including high-profile visits in recent years to Cuba, Europe and South Africa. Recording projects undertaken in the past two decades include complete cycles of symphonies by Beethoven, Sibelius and Mahler, all recorded under Osmo Vänskä, who is now the Orchestra’s conductor laureate.
Conductor Yue Bao serves as the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony, assisting Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada. In May 2019, she completed a two-year tenure as the Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music, working closely with Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She has been active as both a conductor and assistant, working with conductors, Michael Tilson Thomas, Osmo Vänskä, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Marin Alsop, David Robertson, Itzhak Perlman.
Possessing a voice praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for its “effortless precision and tonal luster,” Grammy Award-winning soprano Jessica Rivera is one of the most creatively inspired vocal artists before the public today. The intelligence, dimension and spirituality with which she infuses her performances on great international concert and opera stages has garnered Rivera unique artistic collaborations with many of today’s most celebrated composers, including John Adams, Osvaldo Golijov, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jonathan Leshnoff, Nico Muhly and Paola Prestini, and has brought her together with such esteemed conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Robert Spano, Markus Stenz, Bernard Haitink and Michael Tilson Thomas. An advocate of new music, Rivera has lent her voice to a plethora of world premieres, including Adams’ opera A Flowering Tree, Frank’s Conquest Requiem, Golijov's opera Ainadamar, Muhly’s song cycle The Adulteress and Spano’s Hölderlin Lieder, a song cycle written specifically for her.
BRKFST Dance Company is a group of collaborative breaking choreographers based in St. Paul, Minnesota, and founded in 2014. BRKFST performs regionally, premiering work at Walker Arts Center, the Southern Theater and the Cowles Center. In 2022 they toured to Dublin, Ireland, for Dance2Connect (D2C) Hip Hop Festival, performing “60/40.” Their film Dreamers (2019) was deemed official selection in 11 international film festivals receiving “Grand Jury Award” (In/Motion Festival 2021) and “Best Experimental Film” (Tirana International Film Festival 2020). BRKFST has set repertoire and original work on dancers at the University of MN—Twin Cities, Carleton College, D2C Festival (Ireland) and Bates Dance Festival (Maine).
Your Concert Experience
Join us for Q&A’s, hosted discussions, exhibits and more. All free with your concert ticket!
Accessibility Services
- Assistive Listening Devices
- Large Print Programs
- Service Animals
- Wheelchair & Accessible Seating
Additional services are available upon request.
Sponsors
Co-Sponsored by Margot and Paul Grangaard
The Creative Partner position is supported by Marilyn and Glen Nelson.