June 1 and 8 performances webcast for free at dso.org, YouTube, and via Facebook Live as part of DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series; June 7 morning concert broadcast and streamed live on 90.9 WRCJ in Detroit and network of stations across Michigan
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (May 16, 2024) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will conclude its 2023–2024 PVS Classical Serieswith two extraordinary weekends of concerts at Orchestra Hall conducted by Music Director Jader Bignamini and featuring guest artists Nemanja Radulović (violin) and Sheku-Kanneh Mason (cello), respectively.
From May 31–June 2, Bignamini will conduct Richard Strauss’s final and largest orchestral work, An Alpine Symphony.The piece—last performed by the DSO in 2001—is inspired by Strauss’s childhood experiences and chronicles the events of a day spent climbing in the Alps. Also on the program, Radulović makes his DSO debut as soloist in Aram Khachaturian’s exhilarating Violin Concerto in D minor, which captures the fiery essence of the soloist and concludes with a thrilling finale based on Armenian folk music.
From June 7–8, the DSO will perform the final classical program of the season featuring Beethoven’s timeless Fifth Symphony. Bignamini will also conduct Julia Perry’s A Short Piece for Orchestra in celebration of the centennial of the prolific Kentucky-born composer’s birth, plus Mieczysław Weinberg's Cello Concerto featuring Kanneh-Mason as soloist in his DSO debut. Kanneh-Mason is part of a renowned musical family of seven siblings; learn more in this feature story on the DSO's blog.
Please note: Due to a scheduling conflict, the previously announced Thursday, June 6 performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony at Orchestra Hall has been rescheduled for Friday, June 7 at 8 p.m. Ticketholders for the rescheduled performance may contact the DSO Box Office for exchange options.
Strauss's Alpine Symphony will take place Friday, May 31 at 8 p.m., Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, June 2 at 3 p.m. in Orchestra Hall.
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony will take place Friday, June 7 at 10:45 a.m. and 8 p.m., and Saturday, June 8 at 8 p.m. in Orchestra Hall.
The June 1 and 8 performances will be webcast for free at dso.org, YouTube, and via Facebook Live as part of the DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series. The June 7 morning concert will be broadcast and streamed live on 90.9 WRCJ in Detroit and a network of stations across Michigan.
Tickets for these 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.
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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STRAUSS’S ALPINE SYMPHONY
PVS Classical Series
Friday, May 31 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 at 3 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Jader Bignamini, conductor
Nemanja Radulović, violin
Strauss's last and largest orchestral work has all the powers needed for an experience of awe—music for an ascent to the height of the world. Rockstar violinist Nemanja Radulović makes his DSO debut in Khachaturian’s exhilarating concerto.
ARAM KHACHATURIAN Violin Concerto in D minor
RICHARD STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64
BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH SYMPHONY
PVS Classical Series
Friday, June 7 at 10:45 a.m.
Friday, June 7 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 8 at 8 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Jader Bignamini, conductor
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason has established himself as "nothing less than the future of classical music" (NPR). We celebrate the centennial of Julia Perry’s birth with a brilliant piece by the prolific Kentucky-born composer, and we end the 2023–2024 season with the fateful theme and inevitable glories of Beethoven's timeless Fifth Symphony.
JULIA PERRY A Short Piece for Orchestra
MIECZYSŁAW WEINBERG Cello Concerto, Op. 43
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C minor
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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.
In December, Bignamini returned to Detroit to lead a triumphant performance of Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst, Strauss’s Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.” He returned again in May 2021 to conduct four programs including performances with violinist Midori and pianist Orli Shaham.
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 including 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, 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 the Houston, Dallas, and Minnesota symphonies; Osaka Philharmonic and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo; with the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and the 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 Nemanja Radulović
Serbian-French violinist Nemanja Radulović champions the power of music to bring people together with his unique energy and candor, thrilling virtuosity, depth of expression, and adventurous programming. His hotly anticipated BBC Proms debut in 2019 with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Kirill Karabits featured Barber’s Violin Concerto played with "lyric delicacy and last-movement super-virtuosity" (The Times).
Signed exclusively to Warner Classics in 2021, Radulović’s debut album on the label, ROOTS, represents a beguiling sonic journey evoked by his many influences and inspirations to date. His previous album, Baïka, one of a string of nine successful recordings made with Deutsche Grammophon and the Universal Music Group labels, was declared "a fiery whirlwind of an album…" by BBC Music Magazine, which awarded it five stars and the coveted Critics’ Choice Award. Gramophone Magazine praised Baïka’s ‘"imaginative pairings," saying that "…Radulović dispatches [the Khachaturian Violin Concerto] with energy and firepower…" and that "…with Radulović as narrator, this is an album with entrancing tales to tell."
Winner of the 2015 Echo Klassik Award for Newcomer of the Year, Radulović is an artist who seeks to broaden the boundaries of classical music. He has amassed a legion of loyal fans around the world who have enjoyed his performances with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Philharmonia, Munich Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony in Tokyo, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orquesta Nacional de España, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hanover, WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Belgian National Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Turin, Orchestra della Toscana, Tampere Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, t Copenhagen Philharmonic, Geneva Camerata, Queensland Symphony, Macao Orchestra, and the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa.
Radulović’s recent and forthcoming highlights include engagements with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, the Dusseldorf Symphony, the RTE National Symphony in Dublin, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg; an extensive UK tour with the Gavle Symphony Orchestra and Jaime Martin; sold-out performances with his ensemble Double Sens at celebrated festivals including the Folle Journée de Nantes and the Chorégies d’Orange, and in venues such as the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Berlin Philharmonie; and the opening concert on the Jeunesse Musicale series at the Vienna Konzerthaus.
Radulović has an equal passion for the intimacy of chamber music and is an increasingly active recitalist on the international circuit. He has performed at notable venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonie, both the Salle Pleyel and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Megaron in Athens, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the Melbourne Recital Centre in Australia. His many recital partners include Marielle Nordmann, Laure Favre-Kahn, and Susan Manoff.
Radulović also regularly undertakes a play/direct role with his chamber orchestra, Double Sens, which was recently celebrated for their unprecedented musical film entitled Unique – an artist, a place, a concert, which featured selections by Bach and from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, as well as a new arrangement by frequent collaborator Aleksandar Sedlar of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, all shot and recorded live at the famed Neolithic site in Carnac, France. Their other recent recordings include Paganini Fantasy (2013), Journey East (2014), BACH (2016), Tchaikovsky (2017), and Baïka(2018).
Radulović’s recognition for his work in classical music includes International Revelation of the Year by the Victoires de la musique classique in 2005, an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Arts in Niš, Serbia, and an ELLE Style Award for Musician of the Year in 2015. He has won several international violin competitions, including Joseph Joachim in Hanover, George Enescu in Bucharest, and Stradivarius in Cremona.
Born in Serbia in 1985, Radulović studied at the Faculty of Arts and Music in Belgrade, the Saarlandes Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Saarbrücken, the Stauffer Academy in Cremona with Salvatore Accardo, and the Conservatoire de Paris with Patrice Fontanarosa.
About Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s career and performances span the globe. Whether performing for children in a school hall, at an underground club, or in the world’s leading concert venues, Kanneh-Mason’s mission is to make music accessible to all. After winning the BBC Young Musician competition in 2016, Kanneh-Mason’s performance at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle in 2018 was watched by two billion people worldwide.
Highlights of the 2023–24 season include the Last Night of the Proms with the BBC Symphony and Marin Alsop, and performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orquesta Nacional de España, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Oslo Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Gävle Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic on tour in Germany, Cincinnati Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony. With his sister, Isata, he appears in recital in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, in addition to an extensive European recital tour. Kanneh-Mason will also perform a series of duo recitals with guitarist Plínio Fernandes as well as continuing his solo cello recital tour in the US and Canada. He returns to Antigua, where he has family connections, as an ambassador for the Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra. Since his debut in 2017, Kanneh-Mason has performed every summer at the BBC Proms, including in 2020 when he gave a breath-taking recital performance with his sister Isata, to an empty auditorium due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A Decca Classics recording artist, his 2022 album, Song, showcases his innately lyrical playing in a wide and varied range of arrangements and collaborations. Kanneh-Mason’s 2020 album, Elgar, reached No. 8 in the overall Official UK Album Chart, making him the first ever cellist to reach the UK Top 10. Sheet music collections of his performance repertoire along with his own arrangements and compositions are published by Faber.
Kanneh-Mason is a graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Music, where he studied with Hannah Roberts, and in May 2022 was appointed as the Academy’s first Menuhin Visiting Professor of Performance Mentoring. He is an ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Future Talent, and Music Masters. Kanneh-Mason was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List. He plays a Matteo Goffriller cello from 1700, which is on indefinite loan to him.
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.