MSO 2025.26 Classics Season Brochure by Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

JOIN YOUR MSO FOR A MILESTONE 2025.26 SEASON!

Dear Friends and Music Lovers,

It gives me such joy to welcome you to the 2025.26 Classics season of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. From the first program to the last, my aim is simply for us to experience the orchestra’s radiant brilliance in the most beautiful works of music imaginable.

SAVE UP TO 25% WITH PRIORITY SEATING

Take advantage of discounted package pricing — up to 25% off regular single tickets. Plus, subscribers access the best seats before they become available to the general public.

ADDITIONAL 20% DISCOUNT

Enjoy the best pricing when you purchase additional concerts throughout the season.

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When new concert dates are announced, subscribers receive advance notice for the best seats with 20% VIP savings.

FREE, UNLIMITED EXCHANGES

Customize your package by exchanging any of your subscription dates with other MSO concerts including Classics, Pops, Film with Orchestra, and more. Exchange tickets up to 24 hours before a performance by simply calling the MSO Box Office or logging into your account at mso.org

This very special season also marks the 50th anniversary of one of the great gems of the MSO family with its rich history and renowned excellence: our very own Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. For five remarkable decades, our chorus has been a vocal powerhouse in the musical landscape of the city, giving expression to our times and bringing voices of comfort to our community. Having grown up in the Gewandhaus Choir, I know the power of singing together, and how choirs become family. After dozens of memorable performances, masterfully prepared by my dear colleague and director of our chorus Cheryl Frazes Hill, this season will showcase our MSO Chorus in three spectacular programs, including our third annual Bach Festival in March 2026 with Bach‘s most towering work, the St. Matthew Passion, and our season finale with Beethoven’s Missa solemnis.

Whether you attend performances at the Bradley Symphony Center seeking solace, excitement, or a haven from the toil of daily life, we are certain the music will fill the need. The voices of our city’s orchestra, choir, and citizens will ring out all season long and I look forward to the shared moments of joy, peace, and inspiration with you.

With deep gratitude,

KEN-DAVID MASUR Music Director Polly and Bill Van Dyke Music Director Chair

A HERO’S LIFE

SERIES TYPE: 8A | 10A | 20 | 8M

SAT SEP 13, 2025 7:30 PM | SUN SEP 14, 2025 2:30 PM

Music Director Ken-David Masur opens his phenomenal final season with a festive fanfare and celebration. Richard Strauss’s tone poem Ein Heldenleben (“A Hero’s Life”) raises a ruckus with, in the composer’s words, “lots of horns, horns being quite the thing to express heroism.”

KEN-DAVID MASUR conductor

STEWART GOODYEAR piano

ANDREA TARRODI Festouvertyr

RAVEL Piano Concerto for the Left Hand

STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben

ODE TO JOY: BEETHOVEN’S NINTH

SERIES TYPE: 8 | 8B | 10B | 20 | 8M

FRI OCT 3, 2025 7:30 PM | SAT OCT 4, 2025 7:30 PM

SUN OCT 5, 2025 2:30 PM

Written after Beethoven’s most profound period of despair, his Ninth Symphony is an impassioned testament to life, friendship, and the human spirit. The Milwaukee Symphony Chorus celebrating its landmark 50th year brings the “Ode to Joy” and more to life.

KEN-DAVID MASUR conductor

MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY CHORUS

CHERYL FRAZES HILL director

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9

STEWART GOODYEAR

SEVENTH SYMPHONY

SERIES TYPE: PRELUDE | 8A | 10A | 20

FRI OCT 10, 2025 11:15 AM | SAT OCT 11, 2025 7:30 PM

The MSO welcomes Eric Jacobson to conduct Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony, a work of tragic grandeur flecked with sunlight. MSO Principal Tuba Robyn Black takes center stage for Vaughan Williams’s Tuba Concerto, showcasing the unique qualities of the instrument throughout.

ERIC JACOBSEN conductor

ROBYN BLACK tuba

TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade for Strings

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Tuba Concerto

DVOŘ ÁK Symphony No. 7

ERIC JACOBSEN

MENDELSSOHN’S REFORMATION

SERIES TYPE: 8 | 8B | 10B | 20

FRI OCT 17, 2025 7:30 PM | SAT OCT 18, 2025 7:30 PM

Pianist Orion Weiss joins the MSO for piano variations by Dohnányi. Mendelssohn’s Fifth Symphony, known as the “Reformation” for its celebration of the Protestant church, turns Martin Luther’s hymn “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” into a triumphant oratorio without words.

KEN-DAVID MASUR conductor

ORION WEISS piano

BRAHMS Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn

DOHNÁNYI Variations on a Nursery Tune

MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 5, “Reformation”

PAUL LEWIS PLAYS GRIEG

SERIES TYPE: PRELUDE | 10B | 20

FRI NOV 14, 2025 11:15 AM | SAT NOV 15, 2025 7:30 PM

Composer Carl Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony, now best known as “The Inextinguishable” — sets out to “express what we understand by the spirit of life or manifestations of life, that is: everything that moves, that wants to live.”

RUNE BERGMANN conductor

PAUL LEWIS piano

RAUTAVAARA Cantus Arcticus GRIEG Piano Concerto

NIELSEN Symphony No. 4, “The Inextinguishable”

HANDEL’S MESSIAH

SERIES TYPE: 8 | 10A | 20 | 8M

FRI NOV 21, 2025 7:30 PM | SAT NOV 22, 2025 7:30 PM

SUN NOV 23, 2025 2:30 PM

MCGEGAN

Handel’s Messiah is among the most revered oratorios of all time — and in the hands of conductor and 18th century interpreter Nicolas McGegan, it is simply sublime. The spotlight shines on the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus.

NICHOLAS MCGEGAN conductor

SHERAZADE PANTHAKI soprano

KEY’MON MURRAH countertenor

THOMAS COOLEY tenor

ENRICO LAGASCA bass baritone

HANDEL Messiah

BEETHOVEN & HAYDN

SERIES TYPE: 8 | 8A | 10A | 20 FRI JAN 23, 2026 7:30 PM | SAT JAN 24, 2026 7:30 PM

LEONG

Kerson Leong, a violinist who speaks “with sincerity and without exaggeration” (The Strad ), performs Beethoven’s beloved Violin Concerto. The MSO welcomes leading 18th century expert Bernard Labadie to conduct one of the era’s finest gems: Haydn’s rambunctious “Drumroll” Symphony.

BERNARD LABADIE conductor

KERSON LEONG violin

HAYDN Symphony No. 103, “Drumroll”

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto

KERSON

PAUL LEWIS

NICHOLAS

ZEITOUNI CONDUCTS MOZART

SERIES TYPE: 8B | 10B | 20 | 8M

SAT JAN 31, 2026 7:30 PM | SUN FEB 1, 2026 2:30 PM

Guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni guides this rollicking dance across central and eastern Europe: hear the spirit of Ligeti’s Romania, Kodály’s love for his native Hungary, and Mozart’s musical postcard from Prague.

JEAN-MARIE ZEITOUNI conductor STEPHEN HOUGH piano

LIGETI Concert Românesc

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 21

KODÁLY Dances of Galánta MOZART Symphony No. 38, “Prague”

JEAN-MARIE ZEITOUNI

SAINT- SAËNS “ORGAN” SYMPHONY

SERIES TYPE: PRELUDE | 8A | 10A | 20

FRI FEB 6, 2026 11:15 AM | SAT FEB 7, 2026 7:30 PM

Witness the musicianship of the first and only organist to win a Grammy Award as Paul Jacobs performs Saint-Saëns’s “Organ” Symphony, a work so expressive the composer claimed, “I have given all that I had to give.”

KEN-DAVID MASUR conductor

PAUL JACOBS organ

BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No.3

EDMUND FINNIS The Landscape Wakes (World Premiere)

BARBER Toccata Festiva

SAINT-SAËNS

Symphony No. 3, “Organ”

TCHAIKOVSKY’S SLEEPING BEAUTY

SERIES TYPE: PRELUDE | 8B | 10B | 20

FRI FEB 20, 2026 11:15 AM | SAT FEB 21, 2026 7:30 PM

One of the finest cellists performing today, Johannes Moser plays composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Before we fall, fresh off its world premiere with the San Francisco Symphony. Alpesh Chauhan leads this energetic new work, as well as romantic selections from Tchaikovsky’s iconic Sleeping Beauty.

ALPESH CHAUHAN conductor JOHANNES MOSER cello

ANNA Before we fall THORVALDSDOTTIR (Cello Concerto) TCHAIKOVSKY Selections from Sleeping Beauty

JOYCE YANG PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY

SERIES TYPE: 8 | 8A | 10A | 20 | 8M

FRI FEB 27, 2026 7:30 PM | SAT FEB 28, 2026 7:30 PM

SUN MAR 1, 2026 2:30 PM

Piano virtuoso Joyce Yang returns to the MSO stage to put her “agility, balance and velocity” (The Washington Post) on full display with Tchaikovsky’s highly original First Piano Concerto.

RYAN TANI conductor

JOYCE YANG piano

ANNA CLYNE Color Field

SIBELIUS

Symphony No. 6

TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1

JOYCE YANG

ALPESH CHAUHAN

PAUL JACOBS

HADELICH & BRAHMS

SERIES TYPE: PRELUDE | 8B | 10B | 20

FRI MAR 6, 2026 11:15 AM | SAT MAR 7, 2026 7:30 PM

Hailed as one of the greatest violinists of our time, Augustin Hadelich returns to the MSO to perform Brahms’s soulful Violin Concerto. Music Director

Ken-David Masur conducts Brahms’s Third Symphony, a nostalgic work with a recurring musical theme

Clara Schumann described as “free but happy.”

AUGUSTIN HADELICH

KEN-DAVID MASUR conductor

AUGUSTIN HADELICH violin

DETLEV GLANERT Vexierbild. Kontrafaktur mit Brahms

BRAHMS Symphony No. 3

BRAHMS Violin Concerto

BACH’S

ST. MATTHEW PASSION

SERIES TYPE: 8 | 8B | 10B | 20

FRI MAR 20, 2026 7:30 PM | SAT MAR 21, 2026 7:30 PM

PATRICK GRAHL

At a time when the church was questioning the morality of art, Bach gave the world a musical triumph of faith and spirit. The Milwaukee Symphony Chorus sings the text from the Gospel of Matthew, sharing a profound biblical narrative with color and emotion.

KEN-DAVID MASUR conductor

MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY CHORUS

CHERYL FRAZES HILL director

PATRICK GRAHL tenor

BACH St. Matthew Passion

WINCOR CONDUCTS SHOSTAKOVICH NO. 1

SERIES TYPE: PRELUDE | 8A | 10A | 20

FRI APR 10, 2026 11:15 AM | SAT APR 11, 2026 7:30 PM

Guest conductor Katharina Wincor leads a masterwork by young Shostakovich — his mischievous First Symphony. Penned when he was a conservatory student, it remains one of his most celebrated contributions to music.

KATHARINA WINCOR conductor

DAVID FRAY piano

WEBERN Passacaglia

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 9, “Jeunehomme”

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 1

KATHARINA WINCOR

SCHUMANN ROMANCE

SERIES TYPE: 8 | 8B | 10B | 20

FRI APR 17, 2026 7:30 PM | SAT APR 18, 2026 7:30 PM

Violinist Nancy Zhou takes center stage for Clara Schumann’s Three Romances. Robert Schumann struggled against illness and depression to complete his Second Symphony, but eventually added a boisterous finale “in which I am myself again.”

KEN-DAVID MASUR conductor

NANCY ZHOU violin

GABRIELA ORTIZ Clara

C. SCHUMANN Three Romances

JOACHIM Variations for Violin and Orchestra

SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2

NANCY ZHOU

FANDANGO & RAPSODIE

SERIES TYPE: 8A | 10A | 20 | 8M

SAT APR 25, 2026 7:30 PM | SUN APR 26, 2026 2:30 PM

SETAPEN

Guest conductor Asher Fisch leads this vivid program featuring two Spain-inspired pieces by Ravel. MSO First Associate Concertmaster Ilana Setapen commands the stage with Arturo Márquez’s folk-infused violin concerto Fandango

ASHER FISCH conductor

ILANA SETAPEN violin

RAVEL Alborado del gracioso

ARTURO MÁRQUEZ Fandango

RAVEL Rapsodie espangole

TURINA Danzas fantásticas

COPLAND & TWAIN: AN AMERICA250 CELEBRATION

SERIES TYPE: PRELUDE | 10B | 20 | 8M

FRI MAY 8, 2026 11:15 AM | SAT MAY 9, 2026 7:30 PM

SUN MAY 10, 2026 2:30 PM

Co-premiere by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Ravinia Festival

This new theatrical concert marries Aaron Copland’s stirring incidental music with Mark Twain’s poignant observations of a changing America. Ken-David Masur leads the orchestral power of the MSO, joined by six costumed actors and projected visuals.

KEN-DAVID MASUR conductor

BILL BARCLAY director; Concert Theatre Works

COPLAND Music for Movies

COPLAND Music for the Theatre

STRAVINSKY’S FIREBIRD

SERIES TYPE: 8 | 10A | 20

FRI MAY 29, 2026 7:30 PM | SAT MAY 30, 2026 7:30 PM

Jader Bignamini conducts a suite from Stravinsky’s fairytale ballet, The Firebird. Rising star Giuseppe Gibboni performs an intoxicating violin concerto by Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz legend Wynton Marsalis.

JADER BIGNAMINI conductor

GIUSEPPE GIBBONI violin

WYNTON MARSALIS Violin Concerto RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Capriccio espagnol

STRAVINSKY Suite from The Firebird (1919)

RACHMANINOFF & SAINT- SAËNS

SERIES TYPE: PRELUDE | 8B | 10B | 20

FRI JUN 5, 2026 11:15 AM | SAT JUN 6, 2026 7:30 PM

MSO Concertmaster Jinwoo Lee performs Saint-Saëns’s Third Violin Concerto, a veritable showpiece for the instrument’s sparkling character and color. Iván López Reynoso conducts Rachmaninoff’s deliciously heartbreaking Second Symphony.

IVÁN LÓPEZ REYNOSO conductor

JINWOO LEE violin

SAINT-SAËNS Violin Concerto No. 3

RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2

ILANA

GIUSEPPE GIBBONI

BILL BARCLAY

JINWOOD LEE

MASUR CONDUCTS MISSA SOLEMNIS CLASSICS SEASON FINALE

SAT JUN 13 , 2026 7:30 PM

SUN JUN 14 , 2026 2:30 PM

KEN-DAVID MASUR conductor

MILWAUKEE

SYMPHONY CHORUS

CHERYL FRAZES HILL director

BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis

“My chief aim was to awaken and permanently instill spiritual feelings not only in the singers but in the listeners,” said Beethoven of his immense and moving Missa solemnis (“Solemn Mass”). Observing the structure of a traditional Catholic mass, the Missa solemnis is a vibrant expression of faith and common humanity. This concert concludes Music Director Ken-David Masur’s final season, as well as the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus’s 50th anniversary celebration. As Beethoven penned at the top of his score: “From the heart: may it go to the heart.”

SEASON OPENING EVENT PRESENTED BY LAURA AND MIKE ARNOW

We look forward to celebrating the start of a historic 2025.26 season with you and fellow supporters during a sensational night at the Bradley Symphony Center filled with glorious live music, delicious food, and unforgettable festivities at the MSO’s largest annual fundraiser.

MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 2025

Visit mso.org/gala for tickets & details

Sponsorship opportunities available

BRADLEY SYMPHONY CENTER: GOOD TO KNOW

PARKING PERKS

Purchase discounted, pre-paid parking at The Avenue, located across the street from the Bradley Symphony Center. Or enjoy convenient valet parking, available at the marquee entrance on West Wisconsin Avenue.

FOOD & BEVERAGE SERVICE

Resonance Food Co. offers a variety of choices prepared onsite for your convenience. Enjoy tasty pre-concert treats and libations at multiple bar locations, or visit the Chef’s Carving Station for made-to-order sandwiches, sides, and desserts. On select evenings, reserve a table for Sound Bites, a sit-down dinner in the Ellen & Joe Checota Atrium featuring delicious multi-course offerings through an elevated chef’s table experience. The Ellen & Joe Checota Gallery also offers drinks and eats for post-concert mingling.

BOX OFFICE

Our MSO Box Office is ready to help with any questions. Call 414-291-7605 or email tickets@mso.org. Office hours are Mon – Fri 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, Sat 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm, and 90 minutes before all performances. The Box Office is not open post-performance. We have easy access, street level walk-up windows for in-person service at the Bradley Symphony Center

CELEBRATING

HONORING HALF A CENTURY OF PASSION, DEDICATION, AND MUSICAL EXCELLENCE

Since their debut under the direction of the legendary choral pedagogue Margaret Hawkins and Kenneth Schermerhorn in June 1976, the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus has earned national acclaim and become indelibly woven into the musical fabric of the region. A half-century of appearances at some of the nation’s finest performing arts centers, from Carnegie Hall to the Ravinia Festival, and collaborations with leading arts groups throughout the city have established an artistic reputation of the highest caliber. Our 2025.26 season plumbs the depths of the vocal repertoire, embracing everything from the sublime ecstasy of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to the devotional exaltation of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, celebrating a world-class heritage distinct to Milwaukee.