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
-
SIMON
Fate now conquers
-
BEETHOVEN
Piano Concerto No. 3
- INTERMISSION
-
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 2
Artists
Minnesota Orchestra
Nicholas Collon
conductor
Jon Kimura Parker
piano
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.
British conductor Nicholas Collon is Founder and Principal Conductor of Aurora Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony (the first non-Finnish conductor ever to hold this post), and Principal Guest Conductor of the Guerzenich Orchester in Cologne.
He is recognized as a born communicator, innovative programmer, and high-caliber interpreter of a wide repertoire. Under his direction Aurora Orchestra has become known for their eclectic programming and for performing complete symphonies from memory, becoming Associate Orchestra (and from the 2022-23 season Resident Orchestra) at the Southbank Centre and appearing every year at the BBC Proms.
Known for his passionate artistry and engaging stage presence, pianist Jon Kimura Parker has performed regularly at the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, London’s South Bank, the Sydney Opera House and the Beijing Concert Hall. In 2019 he was appointed the Minnesota Orchestra’s first-ever creative partner for Summer at Orchestra Hall, a new role in which he is serving as a creative force behind the Orchestra’s summer festival and appearing each summer as a host, performer and personality.
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.
