Slobodeniouk Conducts Brahms
Fri Nov 12 - Sat Nov 13, 2021
Orchestra Hall
If you have followed the Minnesota Orchestra recently, you are sure to have heard a few symphonies by Gustav Mahler. What came before Mahler penned his Titan Symphony? Sung in these concerts by mezzo Sasha Cooke, Songs of a Wayfarer is filled with grief and heartache and packed with ideas that found their way into many of Mahler’s other major works. Dima Slobodeniouk returns to Orchestra Hall to conduct these songs, plus Ulysses Kay’s Suite from The Quiet One and Johannes Brahms’ passionate and tragic Symphony No. 4.
A Few Things to Know
- The Quiet One was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature in 1948 and best original screenplay in 1949; American composer Ulysses Kay composed his orchestral suite at the same time as the original score.
- “Tears ran down his cheeks as he stood there," said Brahms' biographer Florence May, describing a performance of the Fourth Symphony in 1897 with the composer in attendance. "And through the audience there was a feeling as of a stifled sob, for each knew that he was saying farewell." It was the last time Brahms heard his own music performed before passing away.
- Mezzo Sasha Cooke can be heard as a featured artist on the Minnesota Orchestra’s recording of Mahler’s Second Symphony, recorded in June 2017.
Program
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KAY
Suite from The Quiet One
1 min noteOne Minute Note
This suite of Ulysses Kay’s music from the 1948 documentary drama The Quiet One, which follows a troubled young boy and his experience at a New York reform school, distills the film’s themes of joy, fear, crisis and hope with inward-looking, gently melodic music that is inherently soloistic, using only one of each wind and brass instrument except tuba.
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MAHLER
Songs of a Wayfarer
1 min noteOne Minute Note
Gustav Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer evoke the deep despair and emotional journey of the composer’s own experience with unrequited love, traveling through the highs of happiness and the lows of intense, unimaginable pain.
- INTERMISSION
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BRAHMS
Symphony No. 4
1 min noteOne Minute Note
Johannes Brahms’ Fourth is a passionate work filled with high drama. From a first movement both warm and tragic, the symphony proceeds through a moody intermezzo and a rambunctious scherzo to a most unusual conclusion: a beautifully abstract set of variations on a Bach cantata.
Artists
Minnesota Orchestra
Dima Slobodeniouk
conductor
The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra, now in its second century, ranks among America’s top symphonic ensembles, with a distinguished history of acclaimed performances in its home state and around the world; award-winning recordings, broadcasts and educational engagement programs; and a commitment to intentionally build concert programs to feature more works by composers of color, exploring music both contemporary and historic. In September 2024, Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård begins his second season as music director.
Lauded for his deeply informed and intelligent artistic leadership, Dima Slobodeniouk has held the position of music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia since 2013, which he combines with his positions as principal conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the Sibelius Festival following his appointment in 2016. Linking his native Russian roots with the cultural influence of his later homeland Finland, he draws on the powerful musical heritage of these two countries.
He works with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestras, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and the Sydney and NHK symphony orchestras.
Your Concert Experience
Join us for Q&A’s, hosted discussions, exhibits and more. All free with your concert ticket!
Pre-Concert Panel with Patty Ryan
When: Fri Nov 12 & Sat Nov 13 | 7:00pm - 7:45pm
Where: N. Bud Grossman Mezzanine
Cellist and podcast host Patty Ryan moderates a discussion on emotion in music and its interpretation by composers, performers, and audiences. On the panel are MPR local host Gabrielle Glass, percussionist and co-founder of 10th Wave Chamber Music Collective Eri Isomura, and music therapist Leanne Barck.
Spread Help & Hope this Holiday Season
During November, we're partnering with Good in the 'Hood to collect $25 gift cards to support the Adopt a Family program, which allows parents to choose gifts that best fit the needs of their families.
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