Vänskä Conducts Romeo and Juliet
Thu Sep 30 — Sat Oct 2, 2021
Orchestra Hall
As we dedicate these concerts to the generous donors at the heart of this Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä leads a program that reaches into the soul. Transformative music calls for unity in Valerie Coleman’s Umoja and speaks of the wonders of a bird in flight in a flute concerto by Kaija Saariaho, performed by Lorna McGhee. Then, the Orchestra retells the tale of star-crossed lovers through Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite.
A Few Things to Know
- Umoja, a Swahili word meaning Unity, is also the first principle of Kwanzaa—encouraging people to strive for and maintain unity in family, community, nation and race.
- In these concerts, the Minnesota Orchestra celebrates the career of cellist Marcia Peck, who retires at the end of October after playing in the Orchestra’s cello section for an incredible 50 years.
- Kari Kriikku’s originally-scheduled performance of Kaija Saariaho’s Clarinet Concerto, D'OM LE VRAI SENS, is being postponed to a future season. Instead, we welcome Lorna McGhee as the soloist in Saariaho’s Flute Concerto, Aile du songe (Wing of the Dream). In addition, Anders Hillborg’s Through Lost Landscapes, also originally scheduled for these concerts, will be performed on a future date.
Program
-
COLEMAN
Umoja
-
SAARIAHO
Aile du songe (Wing of the Dream), Flute Concerto
- Intermission
-
PROKOFIEV
Suite from Romeo and Juliet
Artists
Osmo Vänskä
Music Director
Since becoming the Orchestra’s music director in 2003, Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä has led the ensemble on several major international tours, including historic tours to Cuba and South Africa and six visits to Europe. His recording projects with the Orchestra have met with great success, including a disc of Mahler’s Seventh Symphony issued in summer 2020. In January 2020 Vänskä began a new tenure as music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also the honorary conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Vänskä, who began his music career as a clarinetist, has recorded Bernhard Henrik Crusell’s three Clarinet Quartets and Kalevi Aho’s Clarinet Quintet for the BIS label and is in the process of recording several duos for clarinet and violin which he has commissioned with his wife, violinist Erin Keefe.
Accessibility Services
- Assistive Listening Devices
- Large Print Programs
- Service Animals
- Wheelchair & Accessible Seating
Additional services are available upon request.
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