January 18 performance webcast for free at dso.org, YouTube, and via Facebook Live as part of DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (January 3, 2025) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will continue its PVS Classical Series with The Rite of Spring at Orchestra Hall on January 16–18, with three concerts featuring guest conductor Daniele Rustioni and violinist Francesca Dego, a married couple and frequent artistic collaborators.
The program will feature Stravinsky’s groundbreaking masterpiece, The Rite of Spring, which caused an uproar at its 1913 premiere in Paris, challenging every expectation of what music could be. It begins with the haunting call of an otherworldly bassoon before erupting into primal rhythms and raw, driving energy that forever changed the course of music.
The program will also include Shostakovich’s deeply emotional First Violin Concerto featuring Dego as soloist and Camille Pépin’s Les Eaux célestes, which is inspired by an ancient Chinese legend later adopted into Japanese folklore depicting the love between the sky god’s daughter, who weaves clothing from clouds, and a young man herding cows beneath the stars.
The Rite of Spring will take place Thursday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, January 17 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, January 18 at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall.
The January 18 performance of The Rite of Spring will be webcast for free at dso.org, YouTube, and via Facebook Live as part of DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series.
Tickets for these performances start at $20 and can be purchased at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at 313.576.5111, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The title sponsor of the DSO’s Classical Series is PVS Chemicals, Inc. DSO Live is presented by Ford Philanthropy. Technology support comes from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Digital programming is produced from the Al Glancy Control Room.
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PVS Classical Series
Thursday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, January 17 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, January 18 at 8 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Daniele Rustioni, conductor
Francesca Dego, violin
Stravinsky’s groundbreaking masterpiece caused a riot at its 1913 premiere in Paris, challenging every expectation of what music could be. It begins with the haunting call of an otherworldly bassoon before erupting into primal rhythms and raw, driving energy that forever changed the course of music. Its influence has rippled through generations, inspiring everyone from progressive rock icons to contemporary film composers.
Experience this heart-pounding tour-de-force in Orchestra Hall, where its visceral intensity will transport you to a world of untamed dance and ancient ritual.
The evening also features Francesca Dego, praised for her “verve and an evident delight in the unexpected” (Gramophone), bringing Shostakovich’s deeply emotional First Violin Concerto to life.
CAMILLE PÉPIN Les Eaux célestes
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1
IGOR STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
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About Daniele Rustioni
Daniele Rustioni is one of the most compelling conductors of his generation and is a major presence at leading opera houses and symphony orchestras. In 2022, the International Opera Awards named him “Best Conductor.” His opera repertoire numbers over 70 works spanning over centuries and ranging from Italian to French, German to Russian, and more.
Now in his eighth season as Music Director of Opéra National de Lyon, Rustioni concludes his tenure in summer 2025. He was Principal Guest Conductor of the Bavarian State Opera until October 2023, a position created especially for him for the first time in the history of this iconic German house. He has led performances at the nearly all of the most important international opera houses and festivals, including Aix-en-Provence Festival, BBC Proms, Berlin State Opera, Dutch National Opera, Paris Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Salzburg Festival, Teatro Real, Zurich Opera House, and the Teatro alla Scala. In Italy, his homeland, he has also conducted at Opera di Roma, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Rossini Opera Festival, and Teatro San Carlo (Naples).
In addition to opera and symphonic concerts, Rustioni and the Opéra National de Lyon give regular performances at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris as well as at the Aix-en-Provence Summer Festival. He opened the company’s 2024–2025 season with a critically acclaimed new production of Wozzeck staged by Richard Brunel. In July 2024, he received the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres of the French Republic for his cultural services as Music Director of the Opéra National de Lyon.
The Metropolitan Opera has been an important part of Rustioni’s artistic life since his debut in 2017 with Aida. In November 2024, he was appointed as the third Principal Guest Conductor of the legendary opera house in New York beginning with the 2025–2026 season, following the footsteps of his predecessors Valery Gergiev and Fabio Luisi. Most recently, he led the new production of Carmen at New Year’s Eve Gala followed by performances in January 2024. He has also led performances of Falstaff, Le Nozze di Figaro, and a new production of Rigoletto. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Met Orchestra in February 2023.
Highlights of the 2024–2025 season include debuts with the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonie de Luxembourg, New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and San Diego Symphony. He returns to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, among others. Rustioni’s guest conducting engagements in recent seasons have included the London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Hallé Orchestra, BBC Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, Netherlands Philharmonic at Concertgebouw, Belgian National Orchestra, Philharmonia Zürich, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC), and the Filarmonica della Scala.
In spring 2024, Rustioni completed his tenure as Music Director of the Ulster Orchestra, which he repositioned within the orchestral firmament in the UK. He was Music Director of the Orchestra della Toscana from 2014 to 2020 and served as Artistic Director until January 2023.
Rustioni has made regular appearances in Japan since his debut conducting Madama Butterfly at the Nikkikai Opera in 2014, including performances with the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra, the HPAC Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Osaka Philharmonic, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
Rustioni’s most recent recording was Aigul Akhmetshina’s debut album on Decca. His discography includes a variety repertoire for Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, Opera Rara, and Sony Classical. In 2022, Naxos released the video of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel directed by Barrie Kosky at the Opéra National de Lyon.
Rustioni began his career in 1993 as a member of Teatro alla Scala’s children’s chorus. He continued his studies at the Milan Conservatory “G.Verdi”, Sienna’s Accademia Musicale Chigiana, and London’s Royal Academy of Music. He resides in London with his wife violinist Francesca Dego and their daughter.
About Francesca Dego
Celebrated as both a recitalist and concerto performer of notable distinction, Francesca Dego is one of the most sought-after violinists on the international scene.
Recent highlights include concerts with the Orchestre Chambre de Lausanne, BBC Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, La Verdi Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, NHK Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan and Tokyo Symphony Orchestras, Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Teatro Carlo Felice Genova at St. Petersburg’s renowned “Stars of the White Nights” festival, Teatro Regio di Torino, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and all the major Italian orchestras, Orquestra de Sevilla and de la Comunitat Valenciana at Palau de les Arts, Auckland Philharmonia, Oviedo Philharmonic, Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Santa Barbara Symphony, Het Gelders Orkest, and the Orkest van het Oosten.
Dego regularly collaborates with esteemed conductors such as Sir Roger Norrington, Fabio Luisi, Lionel Bringuier, Dalia Stasevska, Christopher Hogwood, Yoel Levi, Donato Renzetti, Jonathon Heyward, Wayne Marshall, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Diego Matheuz, Shlomo Mintz, Gemma New, Jader Bignamini, Alpesh Chauhan, and Xian Zhang, to name a few.
Dego is signed exclusively to CHANDOS Records and her recent release of Mozart Violin Concertos 3 and 4 conducted by Sir Roger Norrington with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra was received to unanimous critical acclaim, including BBC Music Magazine 5* “Record of the month,” at the beginning of the 2022–2023 season. Other releases include concertos by Paganini and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari alongside the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Daniele Rustioni, the recital disc Il Cannone, as well as a complete survey of the violin sonatas by Beethoven and of Paganini’s Caprices for Deutsche Grammophon.
Dego is based in London and plays on a rare Francesco Ruggeri violin (Cremona 1697).
About the DSO
The acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. Led by Music Director Jader Bignamini since 2020, the DSO makes its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, offering a performance schedule that features the PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in metro area venues, as well as eclectic multi-genre performances in its mid-size venue The Cube, constructed and curated with support from Peter D. & Julie F. Cummings. A dedication to broadcast innovation began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts.
Since its first school concerts a century ago, and particularly since the founding of the Civic Youth Ensembles in 1970, the DSO has been a national leader in bringing the benefits of music education to students, teachers, and families in Detroit and surrounding communities. The DSO remains committed to expanding its participation in the growth and well-being of Detroit through programs like its Detroit Neighborhood Initiative—cultural events co-created with community partners and residents—and Detroit Harmony, a promise to provide an instrument and instruction to any student in the city who wants to learn. With unwavering support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to impact lives through the power of unforgettable musical experiences.