Music Director Laureate Leonard Slatkin returns to lead a concert commemorating his time in Detroit
November 2: Detroit Harmony accepts instrument donations at Saturday's concert as part of fall instrument drive
November 3 performance webcast for free at dso.org, YouTube, and via Facebook Live as part of DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series
Subscriptions and single tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (October 22, 2024) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) welcomes back Music Director Laureate Leonard Slatkin and pianist Olga Kern for Rachmaninoff & Prokofiev at Orchestra Hall on November 2–3.
In celebration of his 80th birthday, Slatkin will conduct a program that recognizes important moments from his time with the DSO. The program begins with Voyager 130 by son Daniel Slatkin, whose In Fields was performed by the DSO at the 2018 Heroes Gala. Pianist Olga Kern, a regular guest with Slatkin on the podium, returns for the Fourth Concerto by Rachmaninoff, whose music they performed together on the DSO’s 2014 Florida Tour. The concert concludes with Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, which Slatkin conducted in May 2007, months prior to being named DSO Music Director.
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.
Rachmaninoff & Prokofiev will take place Saturday, November 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 3 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall. The November 3 performance will be webcast for free at dso.org, YouTube, and via Facebook Live as part of DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series.
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.
Detroit Harmony is hosting a metro-wide instrument drive October 14–November 16 to aid in their mission of putting an instrument into the hands of every K-12 public, private, and charter school student in the city who wants to learn to play. Before the November 2 concert, they will be accepting instrument donations beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the William Davidson Atrium within the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center. More information about the instrument drive can be found on Detroit Harmony’s instruments page.
Detroit Harmony is a citywide collaborative effort between the DSO and other arts nonprofits, schools, community organizations and city leaders. The initiative aims to strengthen Detroit’s music education opportunities for every child while also growing economic opportunity by supporting the instrument technicians, music educators, and teaching artists essential to a thriving musical community.
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PVS Classical Series
Saturday, November 2 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, November 3 at 3 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Olga Kern, piano
Music Director Laureate Leonard Slatkin takes the DSO on a musical joyride. Hold on to your seat for Prokofiev’s bold, brassy, and technically marvelous Fifth Symphony—it’s the piece that put Prokofiev on the cover of Time magazine. Olga Kern launches into the rollercoaster thrills and lavish melodies of Rachmaninoff’s final piano concerto. Opening the concert: a new work by Daniel Slatkin.
DANIEL SLATKIN Voyager 130
SERGEI RACHMONINOFF Piano Concerto No. 4
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5
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About Leonard Slatkin
Internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin is Music Director Laureate of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Directeur Musical Honoraire of the Orchestre National de Lyon (ONL), Conductor Laureate of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO), Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, and Artistic Consultant to the Las Vegas Philharmonic. He maintains a rigorous schedule of guest conducting and is active as a composer, author, and educator.
To celebrate his 80th birthday, he is returning to orchestras he led as Music Director, including the DSO, ONL, SLSO, and National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, DC). Additional 2024-25 highlights include the New York Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Philharmonia, National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland), Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Philharmonic, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, Kristiansand Symfoniorkester, Jersusalem Symphony, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Moreover, his composition Schubertiade: An Orchestral Fantasy and his arrangement of Scarlatti keyboard sonatas are receiving world premieres this season.
Slatkin has received six Grammy Awards and 35 nominations. Naxos recently reissued Vox audiophile editions of his SLSO recordings featuring the works of Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev. Other Naxos recordings include Slatkin Conducts Slatkin—a compilation of pieces written by generations of his family—as well as works by Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Berlioz, Copland, Borzova, McTee, and Williams. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Slatkin also holds the rank of Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor. He has been awarded the Prix Charbonnier from the Federation of Alliances Françaises, Austria’s Decoration of Honor in Silver, and the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton.
About Olga Kern
With a vivid onstage presence, dazzling technique, and keen musicianship, pianist Olga Kern is widely recognized as one of the great artists of her generation, captivating audiences and critics alike. A Steinway Artist, Kern is a laureate of several international competitions. In 2016, she was Jury Chairman of both Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition and the first Olga Kern International Piano Competition, where she also holds the title of Artistic Director. In December 2021, Kern was Jury Chairman of the First Chopin Animato International Piano competition in Paris, France. Kern frequently gives masterclasses and since 2017 has served on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. Also in 2017, Kern received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor (New York City). In 2019, she was appointed the Connie & Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music at the Virginia Arts Festival.
Kern has performed with many prominent orchestras, including the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, and others. She was also a featured soloist on US tours with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2018 and 2022, and during the 2017–18 season, served as Artist in Residence at the San Antonio Symphony.
Highlights of the 2023–24 season included Rachmaninoff’s four piano concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Austin Symphony, appearances with the Czech Philharmonic on a nationwide telecast, and tours of South Africa and Asia.
Kern’s discography includes a Harmonia Mundi recording of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Christopher Seaman; her Grammy Award-nominated disc of Rachmaninoff’s Corelli Variations and other transcriptions; and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Warsaw Philharmonic and Antoni Wit.
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.