Hailstork, Schumann and Mendelssohn
Fri Jan 13 — Sat Jan 14, 2023
Orchestra Hall
Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado makes his Minnesota Orchestra debut, leading the ensemble in Mendelssohn’s marvelous Symphony No. 3, the young composer’s effervescent depiction of the Scottish Highlands. Up first, American composer Adolphus Hailstork’s poignant Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed pays homage to Martin Luther King, Jr. on the occasion of the 94th anniversary of his birth, and German cellist Alban Gerhardt returns to the solo spotlight to play Schumann’s remarkably passionate Cello Concerto.
A Few Things to Know
- In a composer’s note in the score of Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed, Adolphus Hailstork comments that this piece has “...no virtuosity. There are no sudden dramatic effects.” He says this music acknowledges that “a great man is being buried.”
- “The calm authority and probing insight make [Alban Gerhardt] one of the finest cellists around — expressive, unshowy and infinitely classy,” says The Guardian.
- Gerhardt has collaborated with contemporary composers including Jörg Widmann, Unsuk Chin, Brett Dean, Julian Anderson and Matthias Pintscher, and he often commits to memorizing their scores before a world premiere performance.
- In addition to guest conducting engagements around the world, Pablo Heras-Casado is the principal guest conductor for Teatro Real in Madrid.
Program
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HAILSTORK
Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed (In memoriam: Martin Luther King, Jr.)
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SCHUMANN
Cello Concerto
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MENDELSSOHN
Symphony No. 3, Scottish
Artists
Minnesota Orchestra
Pablo Heras-Casado
conductor
Alban Gerhardt
cello
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.
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