Jon Kimura Parker Plays Beethoven
Fri Jul 15, 2022
Orchestra Hall
Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his Second Symphony and Third Piano Concerto, both bold and masterful works, around the same time—a period in which he was coming to grips with his advancing hearing loss. In his Minnesota Orchestra debut, British conductor Nicholas Collon explores both works, with Summer at Orchestra Hall Creative Partner and pianist Jon Kimura Parker interpreting the fiery concerto. The concert opens with contemporary American composer Carlos Simon’s energetic and colorful Fate Now Conquers, which was inspired by a journal entry from Beethoven.
- This is the beginning of Summer at Orchestra Hall! After a two-year postponement, we're thrilled to share the vision that Jon Kimura Parker, Minnesota Orchestra musicians and artistic team have created.
- Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 and his Piano Concerto No. 3 were written around the same time and were premiered on the same concert April 5, 1803.
- The title of Carlos Simon's Fate Now Conquers was taken from a personal diary entry of Beethoven's from 1815; he copied a line from Homer's Illiad: "But Fate now conquers; I am hers; and yet not she shall share in my renown; that life is left to every noble spirit. And that some great deed shall beget that all lives shall inherit."
Program
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SIMON
Fate now conquers
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BEETHOVEN
Piano Concerto No. 3
- INTERMISSION
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BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 2
Artists
The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra, founded in 1903 and led since its centennial by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, is recognized for distinguished performances around the world, award-winning recordings, radio broadcasts, educational engagement programs, and commitment to building the orchestral repertoire of the future. The Orchestra tours regularly throughout Minnesota and nationally, and has toured abroad in Australia, Canada, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and South Africa. Recording has been an important part of the organization’s mission since the 1920s. During Vänskä’s tenure, the Orchestra has undertaken acclaimed recordings, including complete cycles of symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven, Jean Sibelius and—now underway—Mahler.
Known for his passionate artistry and engaging stage presence, with multiple solo appearances at the Berlin Philharmonic, London’s South Bank, the Sydney Opera House, and the Beijing Concert Hall, Jon Kimura Parker continues to perform to great acclaim. Conductors he has recently worked with include Marin Alsop, Teddy Abrams, Claus Peter Flor, James Gaffigan, Hans Graf, Giancarlo Guerrero, Jeffrey Kahane, Andrew Litton, Tito Muñoz, Gianandrea Noseda, Larry Rachleff, Lahav Shani, Bramwell Tovey, Xu Zhong, David Zinman and Pinchas Zukerman. A true Canadian ambassador of music, Parker has given command performances for Queen Elizabeth II, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Prime Ministers of Canada and Japan. He is an Officer of The Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian honor. In the past two years he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of British Columbia.
Accessibility Services
- Assistive Listening Devices
- Large Print Programs
- Service Animals
- Wheelchair & Accessible Seating
Additional services are available upon request.
Sponsors
The Creative Partner position is supported by Marilyn and Glen Nelson.