Jader Bignamini conducts two weekends of Brahms: Beethoven & Brahms (March 21–23) and Brahms’s Third Symphony (March 27–29)

BEETHOVEN & BRAHMS

PVS Classical

Friday, March 21 at 10:45 a.m.

Saturday, March 22 at 8 p.m.

Sunday, March 23 at 3 p.m.

Orchestra Hall

Jader Bignamini, conductor

Robyn Bollinger, violin

Wei Yu, cello

DSO Concertmaster Robyn Bollinger and Principal Cello Wei Yu pair up for Brahms's robust and riveting Double Concerto, the great composer’s last large orchestral work. Music Director Jader Bignamini leads the DSO in Beethoven’s lovely, lighthearted, and occasionally stormy Sixth Symphony plus Johann Strauss’s lilting and outrageously fun overture to Die Fledermaus.

JOHANN STRAUSS II Overture to Die Fledermaus

JOHANNES BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral"

 

BRAHMS’S THIRD SYMPHONY

PVS Classical 

Thursday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, March 28 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 29 at 8 p.m.

Orchestra Hall

Jader Bignamini, conductor

Alexandra Dovgan, piano 

Music Director Jader Bignamini conducts Brahms’s dramatic Third Symphony. The music moves in relentless torrents of intensity that transform into joyous affirmations. Having performed at some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world, teenage pianist Alexandra Dovgan makes her Orchestra Hall debut with a concerto by Saint-Saëns, and singular voices emerge in a new work by DSO cellist Jeremy Crosmer.

JEREMY CROSMER Solo

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No. 2

JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F major

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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. His infectious passion and artistic excellence set the tone for the seasons 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 works 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 Robyn Bollinger

Daring, versatile, and charismatic, American violinist Robyn Bollinger is the newly appointed Concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Equally at home as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader, and pedagogue, Bollinger is an artist at the forefront of classical music. Having made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut at age 12, she regularly performs with orchestras across the United States. Past highlights include engagements with the Boston Pops and the symphony orchestras of Brevard, California, Charleston, Grand Tetons Music Festival, Helena, Illinois, Indian Hill, Knoxville, and Symphony in C. In 2019, Bollinger gave the world premiere of Artifacts, a four-movement violin concerto commissioned by the California Symphony by composer Katherine Balch and written specifically for Bollinger.

A sought-after collaborator and recitalist, Bollinger is a popular figure on chamber music stages around the world. She is a returning participant at the acclaimed Marlboro Music Festival and has been featured in numerous national tours with Musicians from Marlboro. She has toured in Midori’s Music Sharing International Community Engagement Program “ICEP” in Japan, performing in recital in Osaka’s Phoenix Hall, Tokyo’s Oji Hall, and Tokyo National Arts Center. A prizewinner at the 2007 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Bollinger has appeared at the chamber music festivals of Halcyon, Highlands-Cashiers, Lake Champlain, Monadnock, and Orcas Island. She has presented recitals at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, National Sawdust, Emory University, Kalliroscope Gallery, Live from Indian Hill, the California Symphony, and more. She appears regularly with the Chameleon Arts Ensemble in Boston, the Boston Chamber Music Society, Mistral Music, Spruce Peak Chamber Music Society, and Glissando Music, among others.

Bollinger has been recognized for both her innovation and entrepreneurship. She received a prestigious Fellowship from the Lenore Annenberg Arts Fellowship Fund for her multimedia performance project, “CIACCONA: The Bass of Time,” later releasing a commercial CD and DVD of the project and presenting a national tour of the program. An examination of the history and legacy of the Bach’s famed chaconne for solo violin, the program received critical acclaim from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others. Bollinger has also been recognized with an Entrepreneurial Musicianship Grant from New England Conservatory for her ground-breaking “Project Paganini,” a performance project featuring the twenty-four Caprices of Paganini. She was recently awarded a historic Early-Career Musician Fellowship from Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, DC, to research and prepare her next multimedia project, “Encore! Just One More,” to be debuted in future seasons.

A noted leader and ensemble player, Bollinger has been a frequent Guest Concertmaster with the Pittsburgh Symphony and has made Guest Concertmaster appearances with the Indianapolis Symphony and St. Bart’s Music Festival Orchestra. She is a former member of A Far Cry, the Boston-based, democratically run chamber orchestra, and she has appeared on commercial recordings with both the Pittsburgh Symphony and A Far Cry, all of which were nominated for GRAMMY® Awards.

Bollinger is a devoted educator, having presented masterclasses at the Cincinnati Conservatory, the Longy School of music, University of California Bakersfield, Temple University Preparatory School, and a unique masterclass examining classical music in the context of Aristotle at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. She is a former faculty member at New England Conservatory Preparatory School in Boston and Brandeis University. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees with academic honors from the New England Conservatory of Music. Her major teachers included Soovin Kim, Miriam Fried, Paul Biss, Paul Kantor, and Lyle Davidson. Bollinger currently plays on a 1697 G. B. Rogeri violin on generous loan from a private collector and a 2013 Benoit Rolland bow commissioned specially for her.

About Wei Yu

Wei Yu was appointed Principal Cello of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Music Director Laureate Leonard Slatkin in 2014. He made his solo debut performing Dvořák's Cello Concerto and has appeared as soloist with the DSO every season since. Before joining the DSO, Yu was a member of the New York Philharmonic for seven seasons.

Yu was a prizewinner at the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition, the Holland American Music Society Cello Competition, the Music Teachers National Association Competition (MTNA National Collegiate Strings), Canada’s National Music Festival, Calgary’s Kiwanis Festival, and China’s National Cello competitions.

An avid chamber musician, Yu has been invited to the Marlboro, Ravinia, Great Lakes Chamber Music, and Mainly Mozart music festivals. Wei has collaborated with musicians including cellist Carter Brey and David Soyer; pianists Richard Goode and Menahem Pressler; violinists Augustin Hadelich, Midori, and Pinchas Zukerman; and members of the Guarneri, Emerson, and Juilliard Quartets. As a member of the New York Philharmonic ensembles, he made regular appearances at Merkin Concert Hall.

A successful instructor, Yu serves as a faculty member at the Northwestern University Bienen School Of Music. He has given cello masterclasses at universities and festivals in the United States, Canada, Poland, and China. During the summer, Yu teaches at the Morningside Music Bridge International Music Festival in Calgary, Canada; Carnegie Hall's National Youth Orchestra, and the Center Stage Strings Summer Institute at the University of Michigan.

Born in Shanghai, China, Yu began studying the cello at age four and made his concerto debut at age 11, performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He received a Bachelor of Music from North Park University in Chicago and a Master of Music from The Juilliard School. His principal teachers include Mei-Juan Liu, John Kadz, Hans Jørgen Jensen, and David Soyer.

About Alexandra Dovgan

Alexandra Dovgan was born in 2007 into a family of musicians and began her piano studies when she was four and a half years of age. At age five, her talent emerged when she passed the highly competitive selections to join the Academic Central Music School of Moscow State Conservatory, where she studied under renowned teacher Mira Marchenko.

Dovgan is a prize winner at five international competitions, among them being the Moscow International Vladimir Krainev Piano Competition, the International Young Pianists Competition “Astana Piano Passion,” and the International Television contest for young musicians “The Nutcracker.” Dovgan was only ten when she won the Grand Prix at the II International “Grand Piano Competition.” This event's recordings have travelled the world on Medici.TV and YouTube, moving musicians and piano lovers worldwide.

Despite her young age, Dovgan has already performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Vienna Konzerthaus, Victoria Hall in Geneve, and the Konzerthuset in Stockholm, receiving a standing ovation and enthusiastic reviews.

Since her acclaimed recital at the Salzburg Festival in July 2019, Dovgan has impressed critics and the public alike with an impressive series of international debuts: in June 2021, she played with Gustavo Dudamel and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, in September 2022 she made her debut in Japan playing with the Kioi Sinfonietta and Trevor Pinnock, and in April 2023 he performed with the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich under the baton of Paavo Jarvi.

She has also appeared with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and Trevor Pinnock, the Stockholm Philharmonic and Ton Koopman, with the Barcelona Symphony and Kazushi Ono, and with the Slovenska Filharmonija and Philipp von Steinaecker.

Among Dovgan’s upcoming major engagements, there are concerts at Vienna Konzerthaus, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Zurich Tonhalle, Berlin Konzerthaus, Munich Prinzregententheater, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Gulbenkian in Lisbon, and in Turin, Milan, Basel, Barcelona, Luxembourg, Lyon, and many others.

In summer, she made her debut at Verbier Festival and appeared in prestigious European festivals such as la Roque d’Anthéron, the Rheingau Musik Festival, and the Gstaad Menuhin Festival.

The distinguishing characteristics of Dovgan’s musicianship are spontaneous depth and consciousness, and a sound of incredible beauty and precision. You will not find any element of showing off or technical demonstration in her piano playing, but an impressive concentration combined with purity of expression and creative imagination. She possesses a charismatic presence on stage and a distinct personality.

Away from the piano, Dovgan loves skiing, playing the organ, learning ballet and mathematics, and spending time with her little brother.

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 robust performance schedule that features classical, pops, jazz, and family concerts, plus community performances. Enrico Lopez-Yañez was named Principal Pops Conductor in 2023, trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard serves as the orchestra’s Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair, and Tabita Berglund began her tenure as Principal Guest Conductor in the 2024–25 season. A dedication to broadcast innovation and technology 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.

The DSO’s distinguished history of recordings—many led by its renowned music directors—spans nearly a century, beginning with the orchestra’s first 78 rpm singles with Ossip Gabrilowitsch released on the Victrola label in 1928. A steady recording output has continued since then, with highlights including more than 20 releases with Paul Paray for Mercury’s Living Presence series, and 27 under the baton of Neeme Järvi, mostly on the Chandos label. In the 1970s, the DSO took part in the historic Black Composers Series for Columbia Records led by its then-Associate Conductor Paul Freeman and later made several acclaimed recordings with Antal Doráti for the Decca label. More recently, under the direction of Leonard Slatkin, the DSO recorded music by Rachmaninoff, Copland, and John Williams for the Naxos label, earning its first GRAMMY® nomination in 2017 for Copland’s Third Symphony / Three Latin American Sketches. The first recording with Jader Bignamini, of Wynton Marsalis’s Blues Symphony, will be released in 2025 on the Pentatone label.

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.