Bignamini returns October 13-15 for Mozart’s “Prague” Symphony and Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with Kian Soltani
Free Live from Orchestra Hall webcasts return in the 2022-2023 season on dso.org and Facebook; October 1 and 15 concerts will be webcast
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (September 14, 2022) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and Music Director Jader Bignamini will gather with audiences in Orchestra Hall, kicking off the 2022-2023 season with three concerts on September 30, October 1, and October 2.
Conducted by Bignamini, the performances will feature the esteemed pianist Emanuel Ax in Frédéric Chopin’s virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 2. The program also includes Claude Debussy’s La mer, a sonorous evocation of a day at sea, and Maurice Ravel’s Boléro, a dance that swirls with inexorable force over a gradual crescendo. Audiences will also enjoy a new work, Emerge, co-commissioned by the DSO from composer Michael Abels, well known for his scores to Jordan Peele films Get Out, Us, and the recent Nope. Abels’s work is about our collective response to, and recovery from, the extended pandemic.
The concerts will take place Friday, September 30 at 8 p.m., Saturday, October 1 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, October 2 at 3 p.m. The October 1 concert will be webcast for free at dso.org and via Facebook Live as part of the DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series.
Bignamini will return to conduct nine more PVS Classical Series programs in the 2022-2023 season, beginning October 13-15 with Mozart's “Prague” Symphony; Prokofiev’s “Classical Symphony”; Joseph Bologne’s Symphony No.2, Overture to “L’Amant anonyme”; and Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with guest soloist Kian Soltani. The October 15 concert will be webcast for free at dso.org and via Facebook Live as part of the DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series.
Earlier that week, on Wednesday, October 12 at 7 p.m., DSO musicians Jeffery Zook (flute), Sujin Lim (violin), Marian Tanau (violin), Mike Chen (viola), and Jeremy Crosmer (cello) will perform a William Davidson Neighborhood Series chamber recital at St. Francis D’Assisi Catholic Church in Detroit. The program will include Barber’s String Quartet, the solemn and beautiful slow movement of which Barber later turned into his Adagio for Strings. Also on the program: Florence Price’s Five Folksongs in Counterpoint and the world premiere of Jeremy Crosmer’s Spirit Modes.
Safety policies: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has adjusted its safety policies for the 2022-23 season. The DSO no longer requires audiences to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 test to attend performances. Masks are optional although strongly recommended at DSO performances, particularly when Wayne County and surrounding communities are in the high or “red” category as defined by the CDC. The DSO asks all audience members to do their part to create a safe environment for everyone. To that end, those who are not feeling well are encouraged to stay home—and the DSO will offer ticket donations, exchanges, and credit for future performances this season. Policies will be regularly assessed and are subject to change.
Tickets for the PVS Classical Series performances start at $15 and can be purchased at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at 313.576.5111, open Monday through Friday, 11 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 Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Digital programming is produced from the Al Glancy Control Room. The William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series is made possible by a generous grant from the William Davidson Foundation. WRCJ 90.9 FM also supports the Series.
EMANUEL AX PERFORMS CHOPIN; LA MER AND BOLEROPVS Classical SeriesFriday, September 30 at 8 p.m.Saturday, October 1 at 8 p.m.Sunday, October 2 at 3 p.m.Orchestra HallJader Bignamini, conductorEmanuel Ax, pianoJader Bignamini opens the season with orchestral favorites: Debussy’s sonorous evocation of a day at sea and Ravel’s dance that swirls its gradual crescendo with inexorable force. Beloved pianist Emanuel Ax performs Chopin’s virtuosic showcase, and a new work by Michael Abels, well known for his film scores to Get Out and Us, opens the program.MICHAEL ABELS Emerge (Commission)FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 2CLAUDE DEBUSSY La merMAURICE RAVEL Boléro
BARBER & PRICE | STRING QUARTETWilliam Davidson Foundation Neighborhood SeriesWednesday, October 12 at 7 p.m.St. Francis D’Assisi Catholic ChurchJeffery Zook, fluteSujin Lim, violinMarian Tanau, violinMike Chen, violaJeremy Crosmer, celloMusicians from the DSO perform Barber’s string quartet, the solemn and beautiful slow movement of which Barber later turned into his Adagio for Strings. Florence Price takes familiar American folk tunes and transforms them into a sublime, multifaceted musical experience. We open with a world premiere by DSO cellist Jeremy Crosmer.JEREMY CROSMER Spirit Modes (world premiere)SAMUEL BARBER String Quartet in B minorFLORENCE PRICE Five Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet
JADER CONDUCTS MOZART’S PRAGUE SYMPHONYPVS Classical SeriesThursday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m.Friday, October 14 at 10:45 a.m.Saturday, October 15 at 8 p.m.Orchestra HallJader Bignamini, conductorKian Soltani, celloMozart’s “Prague” Symphony, a lively three-movement work, premiered to adulation in the city that bears its name. Haydn’s buoyant Cello Concerto No. 1 is performed by Kian Soltani, hailed by Gramophone for the “sheer perfection” of his playing. The concert begins with Prokofiev’s thrilling combination of the styles of Haydn and Mozart with his own 20th Century sensibility. Also on the program is a symphonic gem from the time of Mozart and Haydn by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.SERGEI PROKOFIEV Classical Symphony, (Symphony No. 1)JOSEPH HAYDN Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in C major, H.VIIb:1JOSEPH BOLOGNE, CHEVALIER DE SAINT-GEORGES Symphony No.2, Overture to “L’Amant anonyme”WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Symphony No. 38, "Prague"
About Emanuel AxBorn to Polish parents in what is today Lviv, Ukraine, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. Ax made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists Series, and in 1974 won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975, he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed four years later by the Avery Fisher Prize.
In fall 2021, he resumed a post-Covid touring schedule that included concerts with the Colorado, Pacific, Cincinnati, and Houston symphonies, as well as Minnesota, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Cleveland orchestras. 2022-23 will include a tour with Itzhak Perlman and friends, and a continuation of the “Beethoven for 3” touring and recording project with partners Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma, this year on the west coast.
In recital, he can be heard in Palm Beach, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston, Las Vegas, and New York, and with orchestras in Atlanta, Detroit, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Naples, Portland OR, Toronto, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland. Touring in Europe in the fall and spring includes concerts in Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and France.
Ax has been a Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987 and following the success of the Brahms Trios with Kavakos and Ma, the trio launched an ambitious, multi-year project to record all the Beethoven Trios and Symphonies arranged for trio, of which the first two discs have recently been released. He has received Grammy Awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas. He has also made a series of Grammy-winning recordings with cellist Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano. In the 2004-05 season, Ax contributed to an International Emmy Award-Winning BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust that aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In 2013, Ax’s recording, Variations, received the Echo Klassik Award for Solo Recording of the Year (19th Century Music/Piano).
Ax is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates of music from Skidmore College, New England Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and Columbia University.
About Jader BignaminiJader Bignamini was introduced as the 18th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020. The DSO’s 2022-2023 season marks his second full year as DSO Music Director, and his infectious passion and artistic excellence have set the tone for the DSO on stage, establishing a close relationship with the orchestra and creating extraordinary music together. A jazz aficionado, he has immersed himself in Detroit’s rich jazz culture and the influences of American music.
A native of Crema, Italy, Jader studied at the Piacenza Music Conservatory and began his career as a musician (clarinet) with Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi in Milan, later serving as the group’s resident conductor. Captivated by the symphonies of greats like Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Jader explored their complexity and power, puzzling out the role that each instrument played in creating a larger-than-life sound. When he conducted his first professional concert at the age of 28, it didn’t feel like a departure, but an arrival.
In the years since, Jader has conducted some of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras and opera companies in venues across the globe including working with Riccardo Chailly on concerts of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in 2013 and his concert debut at La Scala in 2015 for the opening season of La Verdi Orchestra. Recent highlights include debuts with The Cleveland Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra; the Osaka Philharmonic and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo; Madama Butterfly with the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Dutch National Opera; Gianni Schicchi with Canadian Opera Company; Rigoletto with Oper Frankfurt; La Traviata with Bayerische Staatsoper; I Puritani in Montpellier for the Festival of Radio France; Traviata in Tokyo directed by Sofia Coppola; Andrea Chénier at New National Theatre in Tokyo; Rossini’s Stabat Mater at Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy; Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle at Teatro dell’Opera in Rome; return engagements with Oper Frankfurt (La forza del destino) and Santa Fe Opera (La Bohème); Manon Lescaut at the Bolshoi; Traviata, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot at Arena of Verona; Il Trovatore and Aida at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera; Madama Butterfly, I Puritani, and Manon Lescaut at Teatro Massimo in Palermo; Simon Boccanegra and La Forza del Destino at the Verdi Festival in Parma; and La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Elisir d’amore at La Fenice in Venice.
When Jader leads an orchestra in symphonic repertoire, he conducts without a score, preferring to make direct eye contact with the musicians. He conducts from the heart, forging a profound connection with his musicians that shines through both onstage and off. Jader both embodies and exudes the excellence and enthusiasm that has long distinguished the DSO’s artistry.for a wide variety of people.
About the DSOThe most accessible orchestra on the planet, 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. As a community-supported orchestra, generous giving by individuals and institutions at all levels drives the continued success and growth of the organization. In January 2020, Italian conductor Jader Bignamini was named the DSO’s next music director to commence with the 2020-2021 season. Celebrated conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik is the orchestra’s Principal Pops Conductor, while Oscar-nominated trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair.
Making its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, the DSO offers a performance schedule that features PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. One of the world’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, Orchestra Hall celebrated its centennial in 2019-2020. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in seven metro area venues, as well as a robust schedule of eclectic multi-genre performances in its mid-size venue The Cube, constructed and curated with support from Peter D. & Julie F. Cummings.ld’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, Orchestra Hall celebrated its centennial in 2019-2020. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in seven metro area venues, as well as a robust schedule of 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, which also reaches tens of thousands of children with the Classroom Edition expansion. With growing attendance and unwavering philanthropic support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to embrace and inspire individuals, families, and communities through unsurpassed musical experiences.