Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
Fri Aug 27 — Sat Aug 28, 2021
Orchestra Hall
The Minnesota Orchestra’s summer season concludes with a thrilling grand finale conducted by Karina Canellakis. Pianist Jon Kimura Parker caps his first season onstage as the Orchesta’s creative partner for summer programming with two movements from the stunningly beautiful and exceptionally challenging Piano Concerto No. 21 by Wolfgang Amadè Mozart. The Orchestra will fill the stage again in a way that has not been possible for many months, allowing audience and musicians a chance to revel and reconnect through Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s emotional Fourth Symphony, the final movement of which the composer himself suggested was a reminder to “rejoice in the happiness of others.” Opening the program is the noble, blues-infused final movement from American composer William Grant Still’s First Symphony.
Program
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STILL
Lento, con risoluzione, from Symphony No. 1, Afro-American
1 min noteOne Minute Note
Still’s Afro-American Symphony blends two musical cultures into one, combining elements of jazz and African American spirituals with European classical forms. The fourth movement of his symphony—which opens tonight’s program—originally carried the title Aspiration, and the music is appropriately filled with hope and optimism.
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MOZART
Andante and Allegro vivace, from Piano Concerto No. 21
1 min noteOne Minute Note
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 captivates audiences with an unlikely balance of constant momentum and entrancing beauty. An inventive piano solo, colored by brass fanfares and woodwind melodies, makes this a star among Mozart’s many concertos. -
TCHAIKOVSKY
Symphony No. 4
1 min noteOne Minute Note
Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, like Beethoven’s Fifth, presents a Fate motif at the outset. This is an adventurous work carrying us through lyrical episodes as well as high drama on the way to an exuberant conclusion.
Artists
Minnesota Orchestra
Karina Canellakis
conductor
Jon Kimura Parker
piano
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.
Internationally acclaimed for her emotionally charged performances, technical command and interpretive depth, Karina Canellakis has become one of the most in-demand conductors of her generation. She is the Chief Conductor of Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Principal Guest Conductor of the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB).
The 2021-22 season includes concerts with some of the finest European and US orchestras, including her debuts with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the HR-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio), and returns to the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Bavarian Radio), Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Orchestre de Paris. During the summer of 2021, she made debuts with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood, the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Festival, the Orchestre National de France at the St. Denis Festival, and performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Wiener Symphoniker as the culminating performance of “9 Beethoven Symphonies from 9 different European cities” live on ARTE.
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.
National Anthem Responses Display
When: Fri Sep 24 | Pre-concert and Intermission
Where: Balcony A
These concerts include both The Star Spangled Banner and Jessie Montgomery's Banner, which explores the idea of the anthem for the 21st century. Artists from Homewood Studios share visual responses to the topic alongside written remarks about the national anthem's history by scholar Melinda Russell.
Accessibility Services
- Assistive Listening Devices
- Large Print Programs
- Service Animals
- Wheelchair & Accessible Seating
Additional services are available upon request.
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