Bignamini conducts Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with Gil Shaham on September 28-29; returns to lead Rachmaninoff’s First Piano Concerto with Simon Trpčeski and Brahms Symphony No. 1 on October 13-15
Free Live from Orchestra Hall webcasts return in the 2023–2024 season on dso.org, Facebook, and YouTube; September 29 and October 14 concerts will be webcast
October 16: Sibelius: Intimate Voices chamber recital at the First Christian Reformed Church in Grosse Pointe Park with DSO musicians
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (September 6, 2023) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and Music Director Jader Bignamini will open the 2023–2024 PVS Classical Series with two remarkable weekends of concerts at Orchestra Hall featuring acclaimed guest artists Gil Shaham (September 28–29) and Simon Trpčeski (October 13–15).
As previously announced, the DSO will also host an Opening Night Gala on September 30, which features cellist Yo-Yo Ma in a program to include Glinka’s Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla, Ravel’s Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé, and Dvorák’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor.
From September 28–29, Bignamini will conduct a program featuring Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with soloist Gil Shaham, whose "mastery has only grown more profound," (The San Francisco Chronicle). The program opens with the first overture by Louise Farrenc, a pioneering French Romantic composer, and closes with two mesmerizing dances by Maurice Ravel that spiral in very different directions, his La valse and Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé. The concerts will take place on Thursday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, September 29 at 8 p.m. in Orchestra Hall.
From October 13–15, Bignamini will return to lead a program of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Simon Trpčeski, who brings a "fusion of mature interpretation and youthful passion" (The Telegraph, London) to a concerto Rachmaninoff started in his teens and revised later in life. Also on the program is Brahms’s Symphony No. 1 in C minor, a genre-changing work of passion and unrelenting drive that took the composer over 20 years to write, and Weber’s Overture to Der Freischütz, which distills the drama of devilish pursuits down to a bright flash of orchestral fire. The concerts will take place on Friday, October 13 at 10:45 a.m., Saturday, October 14 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, October 15 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall.
Later that week, on Monday, October 16 at 7 p.m., DSO musicians Hae Jeong Heidi Han (violin), Will Haapaniemi (violin), Mike Chen (viola), and David LeDoux (cello) will perform a William Davidson Neighborhood Series Chamber Recital at the First Christian Reformed Church in Grosse Pointe Park. The program will feature Sibelius's String Quartet No. 4, Op. 56 “Voces Intimae.”
The September 29 and October 14 concerts will be webcast for free on dso.org, YouTube, and via Facebook Live as part of the DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series.
Bignamini will return to conduct eight more PVS Classical Series programs in the 2023–2024 season, continuing December 7–9 with Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony; Margaret Bonds’s Montgomery Variations; and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with guest soloist Sergei Babayan.
Tickets for the PVS Classical Series performances start at $19 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. Tickets for the October 16 Chamber Recital are free to Neighborhood Series subscribers and start at $15 for general admission and $10 for students.
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.
TCHAIKOVSKY’S VIOLIN CONCERTO
PVS Classical Series
Thursday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, September 29 at 8 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Jader Bignamini, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin
Music Director Jader Bignamini begins the 2023–2024 Season with the first overture by Louise Farrenc, a pioneering French Romantic composer. Gil Shaham, whose "mastery has only grown more profound," (The San Francisco Chronicle) dives into the majesties of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. Two mesmerizing dances by Maurice Ravel spiral in very different directions.
LOUISE FARRENC Overture No. 1 in E minor, Op. 23
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
MAURICE RAVEL La valse
MAURICE RAVEL Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2
RACHMANINOFF & BRAHMS
PVS Classical Series
Friday, October 13 at 10:45 a.m.
Saturday, October 14 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, October 15 at 3 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Jader Bignamini, conductor
Simon Trpčeski, piano
Simon Trpčeski brings a "fusion of mature interpretation and youthful passion" (The Telegraph, London) to a concerto Rachmaninoff started in his teens and revised later in life. It took Brahms over 20 years to complete his First Symphony, a genre-changing work of passion and unrelenting drive. Weber’s overture distills the drama of devilish pursuits down to a bright flash of orchestral fire.
CARL MARIA VON WEBER Overture to Der Freischütz
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 1
JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C minor
About Jader Bignamini
Jader Bignamini was introduced as the 18th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020, commencing with the 2020–2021 season. He kicked off his tenure as DSO Music Director with the launch of DSO Digital Concerts in September 2020, conducting works by Copland, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Georges. His infectious passion and artistic excellence set the tone for the season ahead, creating extraordinary music and establishing a close relationship with the orchestra. A jazz aficionado, he has immersed himself in Detroit’s rich jazz culture and the influences of American music.
A native of Crema, Italy, Bignamini 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 operatic arias of legends like Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Bignamini 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, Bignamini 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 Opera de Paris conducting La Forza del Destino and with Deutsche Opera Berlin conducting Simon Boccanegra; appearances with the Pittsburgh and Toronto symphonies; debuts with the Houston, Dallas, and Minnesota symphonies; Osaka Philharmonic and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo; with the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Dutch National Opera (Madama Butterfly); Bayerische Staatsoper (La Traviata); I Puritani in Montpellier for the Festival of Radio France; Traviata in Tokyo directed by Sofia Coppola; 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; Ciro in Babilonia at Rossini Opera Festival and La bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Elisir d’amore at La Fenice in Venice.
When Bignamini 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. He both embodies and exudes the excellence and enthusiasm that has long distinguished the DSO’s artistry.
About Simon Trpčeski
Simon Trpčeski has been praised as much for his powerful virtuosity and deeply expressive approach as for his charismatic stage presence. Launched onto the international scene twenty years ago as a BBC New-Generation Artist, in an incredibly fast-paced career unhindered by cultural or musical boundaries, he has collaborated with over a hundred orchestras on four continents and performed on the most prestigious stages.
Trpčeski’s fruitful collaborations with EMI Classics, Avie Records, Wigmore Hall Live, Onyx Classics, and currently Linn Records has resulted in a broad and award-winning discography. Variations, his latest solo album was released in the spring of 2022, followed by “Friendship,” a chamber music album in April 2023. His recording of Brahms piano concertos with WDR Symphony Orchestra and Cristian Macelaru will be released in November 2023.
Born in Macedonia in 1979, Trpčeski is a graduate of the School of Music at the University of St. Cyril and St. Methodius in Skopje, where he studied with Boris Romanov. Committed to strengthening the cultural image of his native country, his chamber music project MAKEDONISSIMO weaves into one unique sound world, the Macedonian folk music tradition with highly virtuoso, jazz-influenced riffs and harmonies.
In 2009, Trpčeski received the Presidential Order of Merit for Macedonia and in 2011, he became the first-ever recipient of the title “National Artist of Macedonia.” He was BBC New Generation Artist 2001-2003 and in 2003, was honored with the Young Artist Award by the Royal Philharmonic Society.
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. 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.
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.