- Haydn’s Concerto for Two Horns will feature DSO’s Karl Pituch and Johanna Yarbrough
- May 31 concert will be webcast for free at dso.org/live and available on TV to Michigan Comcast customers on Xfinity channel 900
Detroit, (May 7, 2019) – Conductor Simone Young will make her Detroit debut on a Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) Classical Series program later this month.
Two DSO horn players—Karl Pituch (Principal Horn) and Johanna Yarbrough—will be featured soloists on Haydn’s rarely-performed Concerto for Two Horns. The program also includes Webern’s Passacaglia and Brahms’s famous, final Symphony No. 4.
Young is a celebrated conductor of Austrian and German repertoire; in 2005, she became the first woman to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic, and earlier this year she stepped in on short notice to conduct Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 with the New York Philharmonic.
The concerts take place Thursday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 31 at 10:45 a.m., and Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall, within Midtown Detroit’s Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center.
One hour prior to each performance, guests are invited to enjoy an informative onstage Concert Talk about the program. These lectures and discussions will be made available for later viewing on the DSO’s YouTube channel.
Watch Live around the world: the Friday morning concert will be webcast for free at dso.org/live and via Facebook Live, as part of the DSO’s groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series. The series is presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Michigan Comcast customers can also tune in to the Friday morning concert directly on their TV sets by selecting Xfinity channel 900. Additionally, the Friday morning concert will be broadcast on the radio by WRCJ 90.9 FM and simulcast by a network of radio stations in west and northern Michigan. Visit dso.org/broadcasts for more information about experiencing DSO concerts on TV and radio.
Thanks to a generous grant from the FCA Foundation, the charitable arm of North American automaker FCA US, the DSO welcomes military veterans, active military, and their families to access discounted tickets for the Friday, May 31 performance. See below for more information about the ticket discount. The FCA Foundation and the DSO thank our veterans and active military members for their service.
The DSO Classical Series is generously sponsored by PVS Chemicals, Inc. The Saturday, June 1 performance is additionally supported by Warner Norcross + Judd LLP.
About Simone Young
Simone Young is an Australian conductor known for her keen musicianship on the opera and concert stages, and she is widely recognized as Strauss and Wagner specialist. She served as artistic director of the Hamburg State Opera and music director of the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra from 2005 to 2015; recently, she stepped in on short notice at the New York Philharmonic to conduct Mahler’s Symphony No. 6.
Young has appeared with virtually every Australian orchestra and many prestigious orchestras around the world, including the Wiener Philharmoniker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, Cincinatti Symphony Orchestra, and others. She has led opera performances with the Wiener Staatsoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Opéra National de Paris, and Metropolitan Opera.
Young can be heard on several recordings, mostly on Oehms Classics. Highlights include Mathis der Mahler and Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Hamburg State Opera, the complete Brahms and Bruckner symphonies with the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, La Juive with Wiener Staatsoper (on DVD), and Palestrina with Bayerische Staatsoper.
Young has received numerous awards and honors, including honorary doctorates at the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne. She is a Member of the Order of Australia, a Chevalier of Arts in France, and recipient of the Goethe Medal. She currently serves as a professor at the Academy of Music and Theatre in Hamburg.
About Karl Pituch
Karl Pituch was named Principal Horn of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2000. Before joining the DSO, Pituch was Associate Principal Horn with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Principal Horn with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, and Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. He served as a guest Principal Horn for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Chautauqua Festival Orchestra, and Grand Teton Festival Orchestra.
Pituch can be heard on many recordings with the Detroit, Dallas, San Francisco, and Honolulu symphony orchestras, most recently the DSO’s 2016 album featuring Kerry Turner’s “Gothic” horn concerto.
Pituch was the grand prize winner at the 1989 American Solo Horn Competition. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras in Japan, Hawaii, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, and Michigan. He has been a frequent guest artist at numerous horn conferences and serves as a board member and judge at the International Horn Competition of America. Pituch earned his degree from the University of Toledo, where he studied with Mary Kihslinger. He is also a student of Froydis Wekre and Dale Clevenger.
About Johanna Yarbrough
Johanna Yarbrough joined the DSO horn section in 2012. She recently graduated from the Colburn Conservatory of Music with a professional studies certificate, where her principal teachers were David Krehbiel and Andrew Bain. She studied with Charles Snead at the University of Alabama, where she graduated magna cum laude in 2012. She also studied with Frøydis Ree Wekre while attending the Norwegian Music Academy in Oslo, Norway. She holds the first prize of the 2009 University Division of the International Horn Competition of America.
Yarbrough spent the summers of 2010 and 2011 as a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Summer Orchestral Academy in northern Germany. She was born and raised in Tallahassee, FL, where she began studying music at age 11 with Michelle Stebleton.
Ticket Information
Tickets for Brahms Symphony No. 4 begin at $15 and can be purchased at dso.org, by calling (313) 576-5111, or in-person at the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center Box Office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit).
Groups of 10 or more can save up to 30% on the price of a single ticket for most DSO concerts. For more information, contact Group Sales Manager Jim Sabatella at (313) 576-5130 or jsabatella@dso.org.
Veterans, active military, and their families may use the code HEROES1819 to unlock $10 tickets for the 10:45 a.m. concert on Friday, May 31. The code can be used at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at (313) 576-5111.
Performance Details
Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 31, 2019 at 10:45 a.m.
Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 8 p.m.
Orchestra Hall at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center
Simone Young, conductor
Karl Pituch, horn
Johanna Yarbrough, horn
WEBERN: Passacaglia
HAYDN: Concerto for Two Horns in E-flat major (Karl Pituch, horn; Johanna Yarbrough, horn)
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
About the DSO
The 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 institution. Conductor Leonard Slatkin, who recently concluded an acclaimed decade-long tenure at the helm, now serves as the DSO’s Music Director Laureate, endowed by the Kresge Foundation. Celebrated conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik is the orchestra’s Principal Pops Conductor, while the outstanding trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. and Barbara M. 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 Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. One of America’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, Orchestra Hall will celebrate 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 radio broadcast and continues today with the free Live from Orchestra Hall webcast series, 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.