MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PROGRAM ONE / Sept 2022 - November 2022

imagination technology = possibility

Together, we are expanding human possibility in our communities –helping nurture the next generation of builders, makers and innovators.

Don & Marian Yoder Saint John’s Residents

YouWelcome!arehere!

I cannot begin to tell you how important that is. Never again will we take for granted the value of gathering together and sharing artistic experiences with Ken-David Masur, this amazing orchestra, and the guest artists we bring every week to Milwaukee. The Bradley Symphony Center has become a home for music in our city, and we hope everyone feels welcome in this beautiful looking AND sounding place.

The performing arts in Milwaukee and across the country have seen a slow but steady return to normalcy, but we are not yet back to pre-pandemic levels of attendance, and we need your help to get there. Anyone who attends the MSO leaves with a sense of pride in Milwaukee, but many Milwaukeeans haven’t been to the MSO since before the pandemic or ever. Invite them. Bring your family, your friends, and your neighbors. Post about this concert on social media and show that you are an MSO advocate and fan.

In many ways, we did not experience “our moment” as we opened our new hall at the height of the pandemic. But now we are incredibly optimistic that this season is the season of full houses where you and your guests are safe. In addition to a brand new HVAC system, the Bradley Symphony Center is equipped with a state-of-the-art Plasma Air Bipolar Ionization system that is effective at deactivating virus particles and improving indoor air quality. HVAC ionization is more effective than other air-cleaning methods and greatly reduces dust, mold, allergens, and viruses.

And now it is time for you and your friends to all be delighted and inspired by masterpieces like Strauss’s Alpine Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, and Still’s Symphony No. 2 “Song of a New Race,” as well as works by contemporary composers like Wynton Marsalis and Iman Habibi. And make sure to take a look at all the great Pops concerts and film with orchestra presentations we offer throughout the year. There is something for everyone! So many great things are happening at the MSO and we are thrilled you are here!

Mark PresidentNiehausand Executive Director

Photo by Scott Paulus

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Ken-David Masur, is among the finest orchestras in the nation and the largest cultural institution in Wisconsin. Since its inception in 1959, the MSO has found innovative ways to give music a home in the region, develop music appreciation and talent among area youth, and raise the national reputation of Milwaukee.

The MSO’s full-time professional musicians perform over 135 classics, pops, family, education, and community concerts each season in venues throughout the state. A pioneer among American orchestras, the MSO has performed world and American premieres of works by John Adams, Roberto Sierra, Phillip Glass, Geoffrey Gordon, Marc Neikrug, and Matthias Pintscher, as well as garnered national recognition as the first American orchestra to offer live recordings on iTunes. Now in its 51st season, the orchestra’s nationally syndicated radio broadcast series, the longest consecutive-running series of any U.S. orchestra, is heard annually by more than two million listeners on 147 subscriber stations in 38 of the top 100 markets.

In January of 2021, the MSO completed a years-long project to restore and renovate a former movie palace in the heart of downtown Milwaukee. The Bradley Symphony Center officially opened to audiences in October 2021. This project has sparked a renewal on West Wisconsin Avenue and continues to be a catalyst in the community.

The MSO’s standard of excellence extends beyond the concert hall and into the community, reaching more than 40,000 children and their families through its Arts in Community Education (ACE) program, Youth and Teen concerts, Family Series, and Meet the Music pre-concert talks.

Celebrating its 33rd year, the nationally-recognized ACE program integrates arts education across all subjects and disciplines, providing opportunities for students when budget cuts may eliminate arts programing. The program provides lesson plans and supporting materials, classroom visits from MSO musician ensembles and artists from local organizations, and an MSO concert tailored to each grade level. This season, more than 5,800 students and 500 teachers and faculty are expected participate in ACE both in person and in a virtual

by Jonathan Kirn

2022.23 SEASON

KEN-DAVID MASUR

Music Director

Polly and Bill Van Dyke Music Director Chair

EDO DE WAART

Music Director Laureate

YANIV DINUR

Resident Conductor

CHERYL FRAZES HILL Chorus Director

Margaret Hawkins Chorus Director Chair

TIMOTHY J. BENSON

Assistant Chorus Director

FIRST VIOLINS

Ilana Setapen, Acting Concertmaster, Charles and Marie Caestecker Concertmaster Chair

Jeanyi Kim, Acting Associate Concertmaster (2nd Chair)

Alexander Ayers

CELLOS

Susan Babini, Principal, Dorothea C. Mayer Cello Chair

Nicholas Mariscal, Assistant Principal

Scott Tisdel, Associate Principal Emeritus Madeleine Kabat Peter Szczepanek

Peter J. Thomas Adrien Zitoun

BASSES

Jon McCullough-Benner, Principal, Donald B. Aber t Bass Chair

Andrew Raciti, Associate Principal Nash Tomey, Assistant Principal (3rd Chair)

Brittany Conrad Peter Hatch

Paris Myers

HARP

Julia Coronelli, Principal, Walter Schroeder Harp Chair

FLUTES

Sonora Slocum, Principal, Margaret and Roy Butter Flute Chair

Heather Zinninger, Assistant Principal Jennifer Bouton Schaub

PICCOLO Jennifer Bouton Schaub

CONTRABASSOON Beth W. Giacobassi

HORNS

Matthew Annin, Principal, Krause Family French Horn Chair

Krystof Pipal, Associate Principal Dietrich Hemann, Andy Nunemaker French Horn Chair

Darcy KelseyHamlinWilliams**

TRUMPETS

Matthew Ernst, Principal, Walter L. Robb Family Trumpet Chair

David Cohen, Associate Principal, Martin J. Krebs Associate Principal Trumpet Chair

Alan Campbell, Fred Fuller Trumpet Chair

TROMBONES

Megumi Kanda, Principal, Marjorie TromboneTiefenthalerChair

Kirk Ferguson, Assistant Principal

BASS TROMBONE

John Thevenet, Richard M. Kimball Bass Trombone Chair

TUBA

AlexandraMargotLijiaAllisonDylanaJi-YeonKadotaLee**LeungLoveraPhangSchwartzSwitala**

Yuka

SECOND VIOLINS

Jennifer Startt, Principal, Andrea and Woodrow Leung Second Violin Chair

Timothy Klabunde, Assistant Principal John Bian, Assistant Principal (3rd Chair)

Glenn Asch

Lisa Johnson Fuller

Paul MaryLaurieShengnanHyewonHauerKimLi*ShawgerTerranova

VIOLAS

Robert Levine, Principal, Richard O. and Judith A. Wagner Family Principal Viola Chair

Samantha Rodriguez, Acting Assistant Principal, Friends of Janet F. Ruggeri Viola Chair

Alejandro Duque, Acting Assistant Principal (3rd Chair)

Elizabeth Breslin

Nathan Hackett

Erin H. Pipal

Helen Reich

OBOES

Katherine Young Steele, Principal, Milwaukee Symphony League Oboe Chair

Kevin Pearl, Assistant Principal Margaret Butler

ENGLISH HORN

Margaret Butler, Philip and Beatrice Blank English Horn Chair in memoriam to John Martin

CLARINETS

Todd Levy, FranklynPrincipal,Esenberg Clarinet Chair

Benjamin Adler, Assistant Principal, Donald and Ruth P. Taylor Assistant Principal Clarinet Chair Taylor Eiffert

E FLAT CLARINET

Benjamin Adler

BASS CLARINET Taylor Eiffert

BASSOONS

Catherine Van Handel, Principal, Muriel C. and John D. Silbar Family Bassoon Chair

Rudi Heinrich, Assistant Principal Beth W. Giacobassi

Robyn Black, Principal

TIMPANI

Dean Borghesani, Principal Chris Riggs, Assistant Principal

PERCUSSION

Robert Klieger, Principal Chris Riggs

PIANO

Melitta S. Pick Endowed Piano Chair

PERSONNEL MANAGER

Françoise Moquin, Director of Orchestra Personnel

LIBRARIAN

Paul Beck, Principal Librarian, Anonymous Donor, Principal Librarian Chair

PRODUCTION

Tristan Wallace, Technical Manager & Live Audio Super visor

Paolo Scarabel, Stage Technician & Deck Supervisor

* Leave of Absence 2022.23 Season

** Acting member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra 2022.23 Season

C enter for A rts and P erformance

LAUREN JELENCOVICH

Friday, October 28, 2022 • 7:30 p.m.

A deeply passionate artist, soprano Lauren Jelencovich will dazzle with Broadway, pop, and classical music.

YESTERDAY AND TODAY:

THE INTERACTIVE BEATLES EXPERIENCE

Friday, November 18, 2022 • 7:30 p.m.

An amazing program of Beatles music determined completely by the audience through request cards filled out prior to the show.

SILVER BELLS AND DIAMONDS

Saturday, December 10, 2022 • 2:30 p.m.

Enjoy great holiday favorites along with hit songs from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.

KO-THI DANCE COMPANY

Friday, February 3, 2023 • 7:30 p.m.

Ko-Thi Dance Company passionately preserves and performs dance and music rooted in the cultures of the African Diaspora.

ALLIANCE BRASS

Friday, March 31, 2023 • 7:30 p.m.

Alliance Brass has emerged as one of the country’s most exciting ensembles.

PIANO CELEBRATIONS SERIES

Celebrate the beauty, power, and majesty of the Steinway grand piano in this series:

Jenny Lin

Sunday, October 23, 2022 • 2:30 p.m. Barron Ryan Saturday, February 11, 2023 • 2:30 p.m.

Anderson & Roe Piano Duo Sunday, April 16, 2023 • 2:30 p.m.

Center for Arts and Performance | Schwan Concert Hall

8815 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Box Office: 414.443.8802

For more information, tickets, and video samples visit: wlc.edu/guestartistseries

KEN-DAVID

Hailed as “fearless, bold, and a life-force” (San Diego UnionTribune) and “a brilliant and commanding conductor with unmistakable charisma” (Leipzig Volkszeitung), Ken-David Masur is music director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

In 2022.23, Masur leads a range of programs with the Milwaukee Symphony, where his programming throughout the season explores the natural world and its relationship to humanity.  He also continues the second year of an MSO artistic partnership with pianist Aaron Diehl and leads choral and symphonic works including Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. As principal conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Masur leads concerts throughout the season, including an annual Bach Marathon. Other engagements include subscription weeks with the Nashville and Omaha symphony orchestras, and a return to Poland’s Wroclaw Philharmonic.

In 2021.22, Masur made debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and led performances with the Rochester Philharmonic and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. Following the gala opening of the Bradley Symphony Center, highlights of the MSO season included a semi-staged production of Peer Gynt.  In the summer of 2022, Masur debuted at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, leading three programs with the Festival Orchestra, including members of the Berlin and Vienna philharmonics, and another concert with the Sapporo Symphony. He debuted at Classical Tahoe in three programs that were broadcast on PBS; and led the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Branford Marsalis, and James Taylor at Tanglewood in a celebration of the composer John MasurWilliams. has

conducted distinguished orchestras around the world, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, l’Orchestre National de France, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the National Philharmonic of Russia, and orchestras throughout the United States, France, Germany, Korea, Japan, and PreviouslyScandinavia.Masur

was associate conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he led numerous concerts, at Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood, of new and standard works featuring guest artists such as Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Emanuel Ax, Garrick Ohlsson, Joshua Bell, Louis Lortie, Kirill Gerstein, Nikolaj Lugansky, and others. For eight years, Masur served as principal guest conductor of the Munich Symphony, and has also served as associate conductor of the San Diego Symphony and as resident conductor of the San Antonio Symphony. Music education and working with the next generation of young artists are of major importance to Masur. In addition to his work with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, he has led orchestras and masterclasses at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Chamber Orchestra, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts, New England Conservatory, Boston University, Boston Conservatory, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and at other leading universities and conservatories throughout the Masur is passionateworld.about the growth, encouragement and application of contemporary music and has conducted and commissioned dozens of new works, many of which have premiered at the Chelsea Music Festival, an annual summer music festival in New York City founded and directed by Masur and his wife, pianist Melinda Lee Masur.   The Festival seeks to engage audiences with its ground-breaking collaborations between the performing, visual and culinary arts, and has been praised by The New York Times as a “gem of a series.”

Photo by Adam DeTour

EDO DE WAART, MUSIC DIRECTOR LAUREATE

his long and illustrious career, renowned Dutch conductor Edo de Waart has held a multitude of posts with orchestras around the world, including music directorships with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony, New Zealand Symphony, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and a chief conductorship with De Nederlandse Opera and Santa Fe Opera. Edo de Waart is principal guest conductor of San Diego Symphony, conductor laureate of both Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and music director laureate of Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Edo de Waart kicks off the 2022.23 season by returning to Sydney Symphony Orchestra with three performances in the newly renovated Sydney Opera House. Further engagements include Milwaukee, San Diego, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Antwerp symphony orchestras, and a special recording project of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 and Grieg’s Concerto for Piano with Royal Scottish National Orchestra and regular collaborator Joyce Yang.

As an opera conductor, Edo de Waart has enjoyed success in a large and varied repertoire in many of the world’s greatest opera houses. He has conducted at Bayreuth, Salzburg Festival, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opéra Bastille, Santa Fe Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. With the aim of bringing opera to broader audiences where concert halls prevent full staging, he has, as music director in Milwaukee, Antwerp, and Hong Kong, often conducted semi-staged and opera in concert performances.

A renowned orchestral trainer, he has been involved with projects working with talented young players at the Juilliard and Colburn schools and the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. Edo de Waart’s extensive catalogue encompasses releases for Philips, Virgin, EMI, Telarc, and RCA. Recent recordings include Henderickx’s Symphony No.1 and Oboe Concerto, Mahler’s Symphony No.1, and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, all with Royal Flemish Philharmonic.

Beginning his career as an assistant conductor to Leonard Bernstein at New York Philharmonic, Edo de Waart then returned to Holland where he was appointed assistant conductor to Bernard Haitink at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Edo de Waart has received a number of awards for his musical achievements, including becoming a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion and an Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia. He is also an honorary fellow of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

ORCHESTRAThroughout

Photo by Jesse Willems

YANIV DINUR, RESIDENT CONDUCTOR

Winner of the 2019 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Fellow Award, Yaniv Dinur is the resident conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and music director of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. He is lauded for his insightful interpretations and unique ability to connect with concertgoers of all ages and backgrounds, from season subscribers to symphony newcomers.

Dinur conducts more than 50 concerts per season with the Milwaukee Symphony and was named by the Milwaukee Business Journal as one of the city’s most impressive young leaders currently making a positive difference in Milwaukee.

In New Bedford, he has brought star soloists such as Yefim Bronfman, Pinchas Zukerman, Karen Gomyo, and Vadim Gluzman to play with the orchestra. Under his leadership, the New Bedford Symphony has been nationally recognized for its bold, engaging programming and artistic quality, leading to the League of American Orchestras selecting the orchestra to perform at the 2021 League Conference.

Dinur’s recent and upcoming guest conducting highlights include subscription debuts with the symphonies of San Diego, Edmonton, Tulsa, Sarasota, Fort Worth, and Orchestra Haydn in Italy. He made his conducting debut at the age of 19 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, which led to multiple return engagements. Since then, he has conducted orchestras around the world, including the Israel Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Houston Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, New World Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Portugal Symphony, Sofia Festival Orchestra/Bulgaria, State Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Torino Philharmonic, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.

An accomplished pianist, Dinur made his concerto debut with the Milwaukee Symphony in 2019, playing and conducting Mozart’s D Minor Concerto. He received critical acclaim for his “fluid, beautifully executed piano passages” and “deeply musical playing” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Born in Jerusalem, Dinur began studying the piano at the age of six with his aunt, Olga Shachar, and later with Prof. Alexander Tamir, Tatiana Alexanderov, Mark Dukelsky, and Edna Golandsky. He studied conducing in Israel with Dr. Evgeny Zirlin and Prof. Mendi Rodan, and holds a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where he was a student of Prof. Kenneth Kiesler.

Photo by Erin Kavanaugh

January

MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY CHORUS

The Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, founded in 1976, is known and respected as one of the finest choruses in the country. Under the direction of Dr. Cheryl Frazes Hill, the 2022.23 chorus season with the MSO includes works by Brahms, the beloved Holiday Pops concert, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s grand oratorio Elijah, the ethereal finale of Holst’s The Planets, and Mahler’s magnificent Symphony No. 2, known as the “Resurrection” Symphony.

The 150-member volunteer chorus has been praised by reviewers for “technical agility,” “remarkable ensemble cohesion,” and “tremendous clarity.” In addition to performances with the MSO, the chorus has appeared on public television and recorded performances for radio stations throughout the country. The chorus has performed a cappella concerts to sold-out audiences and has made guest appearances with other performing arts groups including Present Music, Milwaukee Ballet, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The chorus has also made appearances at suburban Chicago’s famed Ravinia Festival.

The Margaret Hawkins Chorus Director Chair was funded by a chorus-led campaign in 2006 in honor of the founding choral director, Margaret Hawkins, during the ensemble’s 30th anniversary season.

Comprised of teachers, lawyers, students, doctors, musicians, homemakers, and more, each of its members brings not only musical quality, but a sheer love of music to their task. “We have the best seats in the house,” one member said, a sentiment echoed throughout the membership. Please visit mso.org/chorus for more information on becoming a part of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus.

Photo by Jonathan Kirn

Barbara A. Ahlf

Laura Albright-Wengler

* James B. Anello

u Thomas R. Bagwell

Mary Ann Beatty

Marshall Beckman

Maria Cornelia Beilke

* JoAnn EdwardBerkBlumenthal

u Scott

RachelKimberlyMeganRebecaBeckyColinSarahAmandaSarahIanEliseGerardoGabrielleEllenMaggieMichelleElizabethNeilBeccaBolensBowenR.BrooksBrownBudnyBurkN.BurmeisterCampbellCarcarCismesiaClarkM.CookCoplanCulhaneDestacheDieslerA.DishawKathleenDixsonDuncanDutler

u James

CarlyCatherineSarahMichaelAmandaJayHannahJoeMarleneEdgarK.EgoEhlingerEllisonEndresSwygardFairchildFaustN.FerreiraFettigMarieFitzgerald

Robert Friebus Karen Frink Maria

MadelineBethEricMarkAshleyVirginiaCharylKaraJamesGeorgeFullerGallowayT.GallupGrajkowskiGranatellaD.GrossmanGuttingR.HagnerW.HanrehanHarendaHehemann

u Karen Heins Mary Catherine Helgren

Kurt Hellermann

Sarah Magid Grace Majewski

Joy KathleenOscarKathrynJustinSaigeMastMatsonJ.MaurerMcGinnMenoyoOrtman Miller

Megan Miller

Victor Montañez Cruz

• Marjorie Moon Bailey

Matthew Seider Bennett Shebesta

u Hannah Sheppard

David TimKristenSiegworthM.SingerSocha

u Bruce Soto

Joel P. AshleySpiessSprangers

* Todd Stacey

u Donald E. Stettler

STAFF

Cheryl

Timothy J.

Christina

Kayoko Miyazawa,

Darwin J.

StanMatthewAmyLauraRae-MyrMichelleHerrickHiebertaHilliardHochmuthHudsonHuntHusi

Sara E.

R.GraceMollyRobertThomasAliceMaryJasonKristinMatthewJenniferMoorheadMuellerNeuNikkelNilesBethNortonNutesonOhlgrenPaddockPagryzinskiParlierScottPierce

u Tina Itson

• Christine Jameson

Paula J. HeidiJohnAndrewJeskeJohnsonJorgensenL.Kastern

u Michelle Beschta Klotz

Robert Anton Knier

Jill KaleighHannahKortebeinKovachKozak-Lichtman

u Joseph M. Krechel

Harry Krueger

Rick Landin

Jana KristineRobertAlexandraLarsonLerch-GagglLochheadLorbeske

u Jessica E. Pihart Ubaldo Piña-Martinez Olivia KaitlinGabrielPogodzinskiPoulsonQuigley

* Jason

RandSarahJohnDarwinJamesBridgetCarlosAmandaMarcJamesReuschleinReynoldsCharlesRicardRobisonRojoSampsonSampsonJ.SandersT.SchillingSchmeiserC.Schmidt

u Allison Schnier Bob Schuppel

Amanda D. Steven

Scott Stieg

* Donna Stresing Ashley Ellen Suresh

Dean-Yar Tigrani Clare

MaureenKevinKathleenEmilieChristinaGrantErinMichaelEmmaTessBarbaraJessicaUrbanskiWagnerWanlessWeinkaufMingeszWeissWerniWeyersWheelerWilliamsWilliamsWojcik-MayR.WollerWoyci

* Jamie M. StephanieYuZimmer

u Section Leader

6 Mentor

• Librarian

DR. CHERYL FRAZES HILL, CHORUS DIRECTOR

Dr. Cheryl Frazes Hill is now in her sixth season as director of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus. In addition to her role in Milwaukee, she is the associate conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Frazes Hill is Professor Emeritus at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, where she served for 20 years as director of choral activities. During the 2022.23 season, Frazes Hill will prepare the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus for classical performances of Brahms’s Gesang der Parzen, Schicksalslied, and Academic Festival Overture, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Holst’s The Planets, and Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony.

In her role as the Chicago Symphony Chorus associate conductor, she has prepared the chorus for Maestros Boulez, Barenboim, Levine, Mehta, Tilson Thomas, Conlon, Alsop, and many others. She most recently prepared the Chicago Symphony Chorus for performances of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Recordings of Frazes Hill’s chorus preparations on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra label include Beethoven, A tribute to Daniel Barenboim and Chicago Symphony Chorus: A 50th anniversary Celebration.

Under her direction, the Roosevelt University choruses have been featured in prestigious and diverse events, including appearances at national and regional music conferences, and performances with professional orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the Illinois Philharmonic. The Roosevelt Conservatory Chorus received enthusiastic reviews for their American premiere of Jacob Ter Velduis’s Mountaintop. Other recent performances have included the internationally acclaimed production of Defiant Requiem and appearances with The Rolling Stones during a recent United States concert tour.

Frazes Hill received her Doctorate in Conducting and her Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and two undergraduate degrees from the University of Illinois. An accomplished vocalist, she is a featured soloist, nominated for a Grammy Award in the CBS Masterworks release Mozart, Music for Basset Horns. An award-winning conductor/educator, Frazes Hill has received the ACDA Harold Decker Conducting Award, the Commendation of Excellence in Teaching from the Golden Apple Foundation the Illinois Governor’s Award, Roosevelt University’s Presidential Award for Social Justice, the Northwestern University Alumni Merit Award, and the Outstanding Teaching Award from the University of Chicago, among many

Aothers.published

author, Margaret Hillis: Unsung Pioneer is her newly released book, a biography of the famed female conductor, available on Amazon and in bookstores. She is nationally published on topics of her research in music education and choral conducting. Frazes Hill is a frequent guest conductor and guest speaker, most recently featured with conductor Marin Alsop at Ravinia Festival’s Breaking Barriers: Women on the Podium.

ALPINE GLORY

Friday, September 30, 2022 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 7:30 pm

ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL

Ken-David Masur, conductor Christina Naughton, piano

Michelle Naughton, piano

WYNTON MARSALIS

Herald, Holler and Hallelujah!

FELIX MENDELSSOHN

Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E major

I. Allegro vivace

II. Adagio non troppo – più mosso

III. Allegro

Christina Naughton, piano

Michelle Naughton, piano

RICHARDINTERMISSIONSTRAUSS

Eine Alpensinfonie [An Alpine Symphony], Opus 64 Night – Sunrise – The ascent – Entering the forest –Wandering by the brook – By the waterfall – Flowery meadows –Alpine pasture – Lost in thickets and undergrowth – On the glacier –Dangerous moments – On the summit – Vision –Rising mists – The sun is gradually obscured – Elegy –Calm before the storm – Thunderstorm, Descent – Sunset –Fading tones (Epilogue) – Night

The MSO Steinway piano was made possible through a generous gift from MICHAEL AND JEANNE SCHMITZ. This project is supported in part by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

The 2022.23 Classics Series is presented by the UNITED PERFORMING ARTS FUND

The length of this concert is approximately 2 hours.

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra can be heard on Telarc, Koss Classics, Pro Arte, AVIE, and Vox/Turnabout recordings. MSO Classics recordings (digital only) available on iTunes and at mso.org. MSO Binaural

Guest Artist Biographies

CHRISTINA AND MICHELLE NAUGHTON

The first piano duo to receive the Avery Fisher Career Grant presented by Lincoln Center (2019), Christina and Michelle Naughton have been described by The Washington Post as “on a level with some of the greatest piano duos of our time. They have to be heard to be believed.”

The Naughtons have concertized globally; soloing with orchestras such as the Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, Atlanta, St. Louis, New Jersey, Milwaukee, and Houston symphonies, Minnesota Orchestra; as well as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish Philharmonic, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and New Zealand Symphony. Some recital highlights include D.C.’s Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, L.A.’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, Boston’s Gardner Museum, Berlin Philharmonie’s Kammermusiksaal, Zurich’s Tonhalle, Netherlands’ Concertgebouw, France’s La Roque d’Antheron Festival, and Brazil’s Sala Sao Paulo.

The Naughtons’ discography features an exclusive signing with Warner Classics, with two 20th Century albums titled Visions and American Postcard. Born in Princeton, New Jersey, they are graduates of The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, where they were each awarded the Festorazzi Prize.

Program notes by J. Mark Baker

A brand-new fanfare heralds the start of a new MSO season. Strauss’s massive final tone poem affords us a trek up and down an Alpine peak. And twin sister pianists Christina and Michelle Naughton help us honor the 175th anniversary of Mendelssohn’s death.

Wynton Marsalis

Born 18 October 1961; New Orleans, Louisiana

Herald, Holler and Hallelujah!

Composed: 2021

First performance: 23 January 2022; New Brunswick, New Jersey

Last MSO performance: MSO premiere

Instrumentation: 6 horns; 4 trumpets; 3 trombones; bass trombone; tuba; timpani; percussion (3 bass drums, cowbell, crotale, cymbals, finger cymbals, glockenspiel, high hat, low tom tom, marimba, medium cowbell, piccolo snare drum, snare drum, suspended cymbal, tam tam, tambourine, vibraphone, xylophone) Approximate duration: 5 minutes

Proclaimed “potentially the greatest trumpeter of all time” by the famed Maurice André, the career of internationally acclaimed musician Wynton Marsalis is the stuff of legend. A composer, bandleader, educator, author, philanthropist, and a leading advocate for American culture, Marsalis is equally adept as a performer in both the classical and jazz idioms. In the latter, he is the first artist to perform and compose across the full jazz spectrum – from its New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz. In the former, he has performed as a soloist with the world’s leading orchestras and recorded nearly a dozen classical albums.

Marsalis’s rich body of compositions likewise includes both classical and jazz works. He began recording his original pieces in the 1980s with his various jazz ensembles, and since the 1990s has expanded his reach, writing – among many others – a string quartet; ballet scores for choreographers Twyla Tharp, Peter Martins, and Judith Jamison; a violin concerto for Nicola Benedetti; and four symphonies.

His Herald, Holler and Hallelujah! for brass and percussion is a co-commission from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and those of Baltimore, Cincinnati, Detroit, New Jersey, and Pittsburg, along with Germany’s WDR Symphonieorchester, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Colorado Music Festival. As lead commissioner, the New Jersey Symphony gave the premiere in January 2022, under the direction of Xian Zhang.

Felix Mendelssohn

Born 3 February 1809; Hamburg, Germany

Died 4 November 1847; Leipzig, Germany

Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in E major

Composed: 1823

First performance: 14 November 1824; Berlin, Germany

Last MSO performance: MSO premiere

Instrumentation: flute; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; 2 horns; 2 trumpets; timpani; strings

Approximate duration: 27 minutes

Felix Mendelssohn was born into an affluent German Jewish family, growing up in a home saturated with music, art, and literature – one frequently visited by notable guests. His father was a banker and his grandfather was the esteemed philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. His musically and artistically sophisticated mother introduced her multi-lingual children to the piano. When Felix’s musical precocity was recognized, he began study with the well-known composer and teacher Carl Zelter (1758-1832).

Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Two Pianos in E major is the first of two such works by the young composer, written at age 14. (The A-flat major concerto came the following year.) Between 1821 and 1823, Mendelssohn had penned 13 strings symphonies that looked to the Viennese Classical models in their form, structure, and thematic material. In the double piano concertos, however, he is beginning to come of age as a composer, displaying a new maturity.

The Allegro vivace opens with an extensive orchestral introduction, then each of the soloists announces herself with a cadenza-like flourish. Throughout the movement, the principle of musical dialogue holds sway, as phrases are tossed between the two soloists. There are also arresting moments of operatic-like duets, as they play thirds and sixths. This is, stated one writer, “fleet-footed music of quicksilver brilliance.”

Set in C major in an expansive 6/8 meter, the second movement seems an early prototype of Mendelssohn’s well-known Lieder ohne Worte [Songs without Words]. The strings, then the winds, sing their cantabile melodies, which are then decorated by the “first” piano. The “second” piano ushers in the middle section, set in an expressive C minor. It is not until the return of the main theme – back in C major – that the pianists play together. The closing high-speed Allegro, in E major, is a virtuoso showcase that contrasts limpid pianistic passagework, lyrical melodies, and rousing orchestral tutti.

Mendelssohn and his equally talented sister Fanny (1805-1847) premiered the concerto in the Berlin home of Abraham Mendelssohn. Five years later, Ignaz Moscheles – the renowned pianist and conductor – joined the composer for a public performance in London. Oddly, the concerto was set aside and never performed again in his lifetime: the first modern performance was heard in Leipzig in 1959.

Richard Strauss

Born 11 June 1864; Munich, Germany

Died 8 September 1949; Garmisch-Partenkirche, Germany

Eine Alpensinfonie [An Alpine Symphony], Opus 64

Composed: 1911-15

First performance: 28 October 1915; Berlin, Germany

Last MSO Performance: October 1998; Andreas Delfs, conductor

Instrumentation: 4 flutes (3rd and 4th doubling piccolo); 3 oboes (3rd doubling English Horn); bass oboe; 3 clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet); E-flat clarinet; 4 bassoons (4th doubling contrabassoon); 8 horns (5th, 6th, 7th and 8th doubling Wagner tuba); 4 trumpets; 4 trombones; 2 tubas; 2 timpani; percussion (bass drum, cowbell, cymbals, glockenspiel, snare drum, tam tam, thunder machine, triangle, wind machine); 2 harps; celeste; organ; strings; offstage: 8 horns; 2 trumpets; 2 tenor trombones

Approximate duration: 47 minutes

From his earliest years as a composer, Richard Strauss’s music was held in high regard. The orchestral tone poems he penned in his 20s and 30s – Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegel, Don Quixote, et al. – immediately entered the international repertoire, and remain there to this day. After the turn of the century, opera occupied his interest, with Salome (1905) and Elektra (1909) seemingly in the forefront of “modern” music; indeed, the latter gained a certain notoriety for its Incacophony.1911,Strauss

had his life’s greatest musical success with Der Rosenkavalier. Having completed the score, and awaiting its premiere, he was itching to begin work on his next opera, but his librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal was slow to respond. Becoming ever more impatient, Strauss even contacted the Italian poet Gabriele d’Annunzio, hoping for a libretto on “an entirely modern subject.” Nothing came of this exchange, so Strauss began, as he put it, “torturing myself with a symphony – a job, when all’s said and done, that amuses me even less than chasing maybugs.” This disagreeable task turned out to be An Alpine Symphony, which would prove to be his final tone poem. It had a long gestation period, because he set it aside for more pressing projects, finally completing it in February 1915.

From his countryside home in Garmisch, the composer had a clear view of the mountains, but there’s also the story of the 14-year-old Strauss who set off with a group of friends to climb the Heimgarten, a 5,780-foot peak in Bavaria. They started out at 2 a.m. and climbed for five hours. After getting lost, the hikers spent three hours finding their way back down. A thunderstorm arose, they got soaked to the skin and, after 12 hours on their feet, cold and hungry, took refuge in a peasant’s hut. Strauss said the experience was “interesting and made a change. The next day I depicted our excursion on the piano. Naturally with colossal tone painting and clangor, à la Wagner.” Decades later, he mapped it out again in the Alpine Symphony

Set in 22 continuous sections, the work vividly portrays a hike to an Alpine summit, and the subsequent descent. In scoring the work, Strauss throws in everything but the proverbial kitchen sink. In addition to augmented string sections, there’s extensive percussion – including cowbells and wind and thunder machines – organ, eight horns onstage, and 16 brass players for the hunting music heard “from afar” (12 in this evening’s performance).

Rife with melodic, contrapuntal, and harmonic splendor, the work follows an archlike development, with “On the summit” as the central episode. Notice, though, that this is no bombastic climax, and utilizes less than half the orchestra. It is a short-lived victory that melds into a delicate oboe solo above tremolando strings. Throughout the Symphony, Strauss shows himself time again to be a master tone-painter. “I have finally learned to orchestrate!” he declared at rehearsals of the work. Without question, it is a high point (pun intended) of his genius in this regard.

Strauss dedicated the work to the Dresden Court Opera Orchestra and the Dresden Intendant Count Nicolaus Seebach and led the ensemble in the work’s premiere in Berlin. Following that performance, the composer wrote to his friend Hofmannsthal: “You must hear the Alpine Symphony. It is really quite a good piece.”

AARON DIEHL RETURNS: SONG OF A NEW RACE

Friday, October 7, 2022 at 11:15 am

Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, October 9, 2022 at 2:30 pm

ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL

Ken-David Masur, conductor

Aaron Diehl, piano

AARON COPLAND

Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo

I. Buckaroo Holiday

II. Corral Noc turne

III. Saturday Night Waltz

IV. Hoe Down

WILLIAM GRANT STILL

Symphony No. 2 in G minor, “Song of a New Race”

I. Slowly

II. Slowly and deeply expressive

III. Moderately fast

IV. Moderately slow

GEORGEINTERMISSIONGERSHWIN

Concerto in F major for Piano and Orchestra

I. Allegro

II. Adagio – Andante con moto

III. Allegro agitato

Aaron Diehl, piano

The MSO Steinway Piano was made possible through a generous gift from MICHAEL AND JEANNE SCHMITZ. This project is supported in part by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

The 2022.23 Classics Series is presented by the UNITED PERFORMING ARTS FUND

The length of this concert is approximately 2 hours.

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra can be heard on Telarc, Koss Classics, Pro Arte, AVIE, and Vox/Turnabout recordings. MSO Classics recordings (digital only) available on iTunes and at mso.org. MSO Binaural recordings (digital only) available at mso.org.

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DANCE SERIES

THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER

November 26, 2022 | 7:30pm

STEP AFRIKA!

January 19, 2023 | 7:30pm

NRITYAGRAM

April 28, 2023 | 7:30pm

GEOGRAPHICNATIONALLIVESERIES

FILIPE DEANDRADE: UNTAMED

October 20, 2022 | 7:30pm

NIZAR IBRAHIM: SPINOSAURUS

January 21, 2023 | 7:30pm

TERRY VIRTS: VIEW FROM ABOVE

March 16, 2023 | 7:30pm

BAT: A MEAT LOAF CELEBRATION

October 1, 2022 | 8pm

LIFE WITH THE AFTERLIFE: AMY BRUNI

October 22, 2022 | 7:30pm

MY NAME IS NOT MOM October 29, 2022 | 7:30pm

LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL

January 24-26, 2023

THE PEKING ACROBATS

February 18, 2023 | 7:30pm

YEMEN BLUES February 24, 2023 | 7:30pm

THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY

March 29, 2023 | 7:30pm

JAZZ SERIES

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER

February 2, 2023 | 7:30pm

THE AFRO-CUBAN ALL STARS March 2, 2023 | 7:30pm

KANDACE SPRINGS

April 20, 2023 | 7:30pm

CHICAGO IMMIGRANT ORCHESTRA

March 30, 2023 | 7:30pm

RED HOT CHILLI PIPERS March 31, 2023 | 8pm

DIXIE’S TUPPERWARE PARTY

April 13-16, 2023

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA EXPERIENCE

April 29, 2023 | 7:30pm

WINNIE THE POOH May 4-7, 2023

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Guest Artist Biographies

AARON DIEHL

Pianist and composer Aaron Diehl mystifies listeners with his layered artistry. At once temporal and ethereal, his expression transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, and Jelly Roll Morton. Following three critically-acclaimed leader albums on Mack Avenue Records – and live appearances at historic venues from Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Village Vanguard to New York Philharmonic and the Philharmonie de Paris – the American Pianist Association’s 2011 Cole Porter fellow now focuses his attention on what it means to be present within himself. His forthcoming solo record promises an expansion of that exploration in a setting at once unbound and intimate.

Diehl conjures three-dimensional expansion of melody, counterpoint, and movement through time. Rather than choose one sound or another, he invites listeners into the chambered whole of his artistry. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Diehl traveled to New York in 2003, following his success as a finalist in JALC’s Essentially Ellington competition and a subsequent European tour with Wynton Marsalis. His love affair with rub and tension prompted a years-long immersion in distinctive repertoire from Monk and Ravel to Gershwin and William Grant Still. Among other towering figures, Still in particular inspires Diehl’s ongoing curation of Black American composers in his own performance programming, unveiled this past fall at 92nd St. Y.

Diehl has enjoyed artistic associations with Wynton Marsalis, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Buster Williams, Branford Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Philip Glass, and multi-Grammy® award-winning artist Cecile McLorin Salvant. He recently appeared with the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra as featured soloist.

Diehl holds a Bachelor of Music in jazz studies from Juilliard. A licensed pilot, when he’s not at the studio or on the road, he’s likely in the air. Follow both his earthbound and aerial exploits via Instagram @aaronjdiehl.

Program notes by J. Mark Baker

Two distinctly American “deans” appear on today’s program, Aaron Copland and William Grant Still. Aaron Diehl kicks off his second season as the MSO’s artistic partner, performing Gershwin’s tuneful Concerto in F.

Aaron Copland

Born 14 November 1900; Brooklyn, New York

Died 2 December 1990; Tarrytown, New York

Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo

Composed: 1942

First performance: 16 October 1942; New York, New York (complete ballet)

Summer 1943; New York, New York (suite)

Last MSO performance: January 2005; Gregory Vajda, conductor

Instrumentation: 3 flutes (2nd and 3rd doubling piccolo); 2 oboes; English horn; 2 clarinets; bass clarinet; 2 bassoons; 4 horns; 3 trumpets; 3 trombones; tuba; timpani; percussion (bass drum, cymbals, glockenspiel, snare drum, slapstick, triangle, wood block, xylophone); harp; celeste; piano; strings

Approximate duration: 18 minutes

Aaron Copland, the esteemed “Dean of American Composers,” hardly needs introduction. His extensive compositional catalogue includes songs and operas, film scores, choral music, chamber pieces, piano music, orchestra works, and ballets. In the latter genre, between 1938 and 1944, Copland produced three commissioned pieces for three different choreographers: Billy the Kid (1938) for Eugene Loring; Rodeo (1942) for Agnes de Mille; Appalachian Spring (1944) for Martha Graham. All three were cast in his immediately approachable “Americana” idiom, reaching wide audiences and, for at least a decade, wielding considerable influence.

Rodeo was first staged at the old Metropolitan Opera house, by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Having composed Billy the Kid just four years earlier, Copland at first was not eager to take on another Old West topic, but de Mille eventually convinced him, describing the ballet as “The Taming of the Shrew, cowboy style.” The “Four Dance Episodes,” introduced the following year, follow the plot of the ballet and incorporate a great deal of the original score. The story surrounds a tomboyish young Cowgirl who is just beginning to experience the pangs of first love.

Copland sets the scene with the panoramic opening of “Buckaroo Holiday.” The Cowgirl tries her best to attract the attention of the cowboys, especially the Head Wrangler and the Champion Roper. Despite her gamboling, they ignore her and go about their work, eventually riding away without giving her so much as a glance. Left alone in tears, she too gallops away. In this movement, Copland makes use of the cowboy tune “If He’d Be a Buckaroo by His Trade,” treating it with vivid wit.

“Corral Nocturne” – exquisite and delicately scored – quotes the ballad “Sis Joe.” The city girls, in their fashionable dresses, have come to enjoy a Saturday night dance with the Rancher’s Daughter. A melancholy mood permeates the scene as, once again, the Cowgirl is ignored. Darkness falls, and the couples pair up, eager for the dance to begin.

Still wearing her boots and dungarees, the Cowgirl sits idly by, observing the festivities. Feeling sorry for her, both the Roper and the Wrangler invite her to dance, but she shyly refuses. As the

“Saturday Night Waltz” begins – here, Copland quotes “Old Paint” – the Roper convinces the Cowgirl to dance. She soon notices, however, that the Wrangler (her favorite) is dancing with the Rancher’s Daughter. Jealous, dazed, and confused, she soon storms away. Copland based his ever-popular “Hoe Down” on two old fiddle tunes, “Bonyparte” and “MacLeod’s Reel.” Now the Cowgirl reappears, this time decked out in a party dress and with a bright bow in her hair. The Roper again asks her to dance. Though not her first choice, she gladly accepts his invitation. They join the others in a knee-slapping dance as the ballet ends exuberantly.

William Grant Still

Born 11 May 1895; Woodville, Mississippi

Died 3 December 1978; Los Angeles, California

Symphony No. 2 in G minor, “Song of a New Race”

Composed: 1936-37

First performance: 10 December 1937; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Last MSO performance: MSO premiere

Instrumentation: 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo); 2 oboes; English horn; 3 clarinets; bass clarinet; 2 bassoons; 4 horns; 3 trumpets; 3 trombones; tuba; timpani; percussion (bass drum, cymbals; snare drum; suspended cymbals; vibraphone); harp; celeste; strings

Approximate duration: 29 minutes

Known as the “Dean of African-American composers,” William Grant Still penned over 150 works, including eight operas and five symphonies. Until the 1950s, the Afro-American Symphony (1930), one of his best-known works, was the most frequently performed symphony written by an American. Born in Mississippi, he grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and received his college education in Ohio – first at Wilberforce University and later at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra gave the first performance of Still’s Symphony No. 2. Catherine Parsons Smith, the author of two books on Still and his music, opined, “Its characteristically expansive, lyrical string writing seems specifically intended to exploit that orchestra’s famously silky sound.” The composer contrasted the work with his earlier Afro-American Symphony, stating that if Symphony No. 1 “represented the Negro of days not far removed from the Civil War,” No. 2 embodied “the colored man of today, in so many instances a totally new individual produced through the fusion of White, Indian, and Negro bloods.” (Such was Still’s own heritage.)

Set in a traditional four-movement layout, Still chose to use tempo indications in English, rather than the more typical Italian terms. In “Slowly,” blues-inflected lyrical string lines are contrasted by elaborate and colorful woodwind writing. At crucial moments, the brass instruments pepper the texture with passages that bring to mind the call-and-response element of traditional African-American music.

In the affective second movement, Still again shows himself to be a master of orchestration, as musical conversations abound. Following an introduction, the first violin plays a folk-like melody that is developed into music reminiscent of the Romantic era. A new, rhythmically charged – and jazz-infused – section emerges and a brief climax brings us back to the main theme.

A brief, somewhat-agitated coda leads without pause into the rollicking third movement, which – one might posture – corresponds to a Classical-era scherzo. Here, a mix of ragtime, folkloric dance, and distinctly American jazz all combine to create a rip-roaring good time. The somber minor-key melody – underpinned by sumptuous jazzy harmonies – that opens the final movement reminds us of the first movement’s bluesy theme. Later, a light-hearted motif provides a felicitous contrast before the solemn music returns. Listen again for call-and-response

textures, especially between the strings and brass. At the very end, there’s a huge crash, but the “Song” has not ended – and the strings fade softly away.

George Gershwin

Born 26 September 1898; Brooklyn, New York

Died 11 July 1937; Hollywood, California

Concerto in F major for Piano and Orchestra

Composed: 1925

First performance: 3 December 1925; New York, New York

Last MSO performance: September 2017; Jeffrey Kahane, conductor and piano

Instrumentation: 2 flutes; piccolo; 2 oboes; English horn; 2 clarinets; bass clarinet; 2 bassoons; 4 horns; 3 trumpets; 3 trombones; tuba; timpani; percussion (bass drum, cymbals, tam tam, snare drum, wood block); strings

Approximate duration: 31 minutes

George Gershwin, along with his wordsmith brother Ira, gave us some of the most beloved songs in the history of popular music. “I Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” “The Man I Love,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Fascinating Rhythm” – these are just a few of their contributions to the Great American Songbook.

In 1924, the smashing success of Rhapsody in Blue catapulted the 25-year-old into a totally new status as a composer. Gershwin was acknowledged everywhere as a major figure in American music and in asserting American influence in Europe. The following year, he was commissioned by conductor Walter Damrosch to write a full-scale concerto, in the time-honored, threemovement format. The result was the jazz-saturated Concerto in F, which – unlike the Rhapsody – Gershwin orchestrated himself. The composer was at the piano for the premiere, with Damrosch and the New York Symphony Orchestra.

Concert-goers immediately took to the concerto, and in 1928 Gershwin had the pleasure of hearing its first European performance – in Paris. Dimitri Tiomkin, who later became famous for his Hollywood film scores, was the soloist. Critics outdid each other in lavishing praise on the work and its composer, but a few dissenting voices were heard. Serge Diaghilev, the great Ballet Russe impresario, pronounced it “good jazz but bad Liszt;” Prokofiev stated that it was mostly one 32-bar chorus after another. Nevertheless, its audience appeal has never abated.

The opening Allegro, vibrant and fast, makes use of the Charleston rhythm. Set in classic sonata form, the bassoon introduces the principal theme and the piano later announces the second. The music represents, the composer said, “the young, enthusiastic spirit of American life.” The Adagio’s extended, Debussy-tinged introduction features a deliciously sensual muted-trumpet solo, presaging the piano’s long-awaited main tune. Gershwin’s inspired treatment of this theme shows him at his most compelling and original. Essentially, the movement is a blues number cast in a classically defined rondo form.

Gershwin described the final Allegro agitato as “an orgy of rhythms, starting violently and keeping the same pace throughout.” In this rondo, we hear melodies from earlier movements; a Hollywood ending highlights a grandioso restatement of the concerto’s opening theme.

The Concerto in F stands as a high point in the marriage of the Western European musical tradition and the rhythmic, improvisational bravura of jazz. We can only imagine what Gershwin might have achieved in “serious” music had a brain tumor not claimed his life at age 38.

Nevertheless, the work he left us made decisive, influential strides toward creating a distinctly American classical tradition.

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INTERNAL MEDICINE

Amy DeGueme, M.D. Elaine Drobny, M.D. Antoni Gofron, M.D. Usonwanne Ibekwe, M.D. Brent Jones, M.D. Kawaljeet Kaur, M.D.

ENDOCRINOLOGY

Abdullah Fayyad, M.D. Vijay Khiani, M.D.

Gene Kligman, M.D. Venelin Kounev, M.D. Srihari Ramanujam, M.D. Chad Stepke, M.D.

GASTROENTEROLOGY

Dima Adl, M.D. Jay Balachandran, M.D. Burak Gurses, M.D.

PULMONARY

Rachel Oosterbaan, M.D. John Sanidas, M.D. Abraham Varghese, M.D. James Volberding, M.D.

Kathleen Baugrud, M.D. John Betz, M.D. Matthew Connolly, M.D. Kevin DiNapoli, M.D. Deidre Faust, M.D. Scott Jorgensen, M.D. Unchu Ko, M.D. David Lucke, M.D.

Anne Lent, M.D. Kristin Schroederus, M.D. & IMMUNOLOGY

Amanda Cooper, M.D. Tracy Donahue, M.D. Valerie Lyon, M.D. Jack Maloney, M.D. Jason Rosenberg, M.D. Debra Scarlett, M.D. Thorsteinn Skulason, M.D. Heather Wells, M.D.

Lisa Bennett, M.D. Alwin Edakkunnathu, O.D.

James Ivanoski, O.D. Joseph Zilisch, M.D.

Carmen Balding, M.D. Camile Hexsel, M.D.

Daniel Butz, M.D. Richard Cattey, M.D. Jasna Coralic, M.D. Alysandra Lal, M.D. Joseph Regan, M.D. Craig Siverhus, M.D.

Kevin Gee, M.D. Christopher Kearns, M.D. Peter Slocum, M.D.

Jonathan Berkoff, M.D. Katya Frantskevich, M.D. Shireen Jayne, D.O. Jennifer Moralez, M.D.

Nicolette Deveneau, M.D.

TCHAIKOVSKY NO. 5

Friday, October 21, 2022 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, October 22, 2022 at 7:30 pm

ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL

Jader Bignamini, conductor Blake Pouliot, violin

SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR

Ballade in A minor, Opus 33

NICCOLÒ PAGANINI

Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Opus 6

I. Allegro maestoso

II. Adagio

III. Rondo: Allegro spiritoso

Blake Pouliot, violin

PIOTRINTERMISSIONILYICHTCHAIKOVSKY

Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Opus 64

I. Andante – Allegro con anima

II. Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza

III. Valse: Allegro moderato

IV. Finale: Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace

The 2022.23 Classics Series is presented by the UNITED PERFORMING ARTS FUND.

The length of this concert is approximately 2 hours.

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra can be heard on Telarc, Koss Classics, Pro Arte, AVIE, and Vox/Turnabout recordings. MSO Classics recordings (digital only) available on iTunes and at mso.org. MSO Binaural recordings (digital only) available at mso.org.

Guest Artist Biographies

JADER BIGNAMINI Jader Bignamini is the music director of the Detroit Symphony. He led his first full season of concerts in the 2021.22 season, which included a tour to Florida in January 2022. Bignamini continues as resident conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica la Verdi, following his appointment as assistant conductor in 2010 by Riccardo

InChailly.summer

2021, Bignamini led triumphant performances of Turandot at the Arena di Verona with Anna Netrebko and Yusiv Eyvazov, as well as a staged production of Rossini’s Stabat Mater at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro.

Recent highlights include debuts with the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Dutch National Opera conducting Madama Butterfly, Luisa Miller, and La Forza del Destino at Oper Frankfurt, Cavalleria rusticana at Michigan Opera Theatre, La bohème at Santa Fe Opera, and La Traviata in Tokyo directed by Sofia Coppola. On the concert stage, he has lead the Dallas and Milwaukee symphonies, Minnesota Orchestra, Slovenian and Freiburg philharmonic orchestras, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, and Mannheim National Theater Orchestra.

Bignamini has conducted Manon Lescaut at the Bolshoi, La Traviata at Bayerische Staatsoper, Eugene Onegin at Stadttheater Klagenfurt, Turandot at the Teatro Filarmonica, Il Trovatore at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera, the opening concert of the Orchestra Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna conducting Carmina burana;  La bohème at the Municipal de São Paulo and La Fenice; L’Elisir d’Amore in Ancona; Tosca at the Comunale di Bologna; La Forza del Destino at the Verdi Festival in Parma; La bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana, and L’Amor Brujo at Teatro Filarmonico di Verona; Aida at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera; Madama Butterfly at La Fenice. In 2013, Bignamini assisted Riccardo Chailly on concerts of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in Milan. He made his concert debut at La Scala in 2015.

Bignamini was born in Crema and studied at the Piacenza Music Conservatory.

Biographies

BLAKE POULIOT

Described as “immaculate, at once refined and impassioned,” (ArtsAtlanta) violinist Blake Pouliot has anchored himself among the ranks of classical phenoms. A tenacious young artist with a passion that enraptures his audience in every performance, Pouliot has established himself as “one of those special talents that comes along once in a lifetime.” (Toronto Star)

In the 2021.22 season, Pouliot debuted with the Boise Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, Plano Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, and Winnipeg Symphony; returned to the symphony orchestras of Vancouver, Naples, Nova Scotia, and Tallahassee; performed recitals in Philadelphia, Sarasota, and Miami; and toured Europe as artist-in-residence with NPR’s Performance Today.

Pouliot’s debut album, released in 2019, earned a five-star rating from BBC Music Magazine as well as a 2019 Juno Award nomination for Best Classical Album (Analekta Records). Pouliot has been awarded the Career Development Award from the Women’s Club of Toronto, the Virginia Parker Prize Career Grant from the Canada Arts Council, and Grand Prize at the 2016 Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Manulife PouliotCompetition.received his degree from the Colburn School Conservatory of Music. He performs on the 1729 Guarneri del Gesù, on generous loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank as First Laureate of both their 2018 and 2015

Character shows.

Program notes by J. Mark Baker

Coleridge-Taylor’s lush Ballade opens tonight’s concert, after which a virtuoso Paganini concerto puts guest violinist Blake Pouliot through his paces. Following intermission, Tchaikovsky’s soul-stirring symphony showcases the full orchestra.

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Born 15 August 1875; London, England

Died 1 September 1912; Croydon, England

Ballade in A minor, Opus 33

Composed: 1898

First performance: 12 September 1898; Gloucester, England

Last MSO performance: February 2003;

Grant Llewellyn, conductor

Instrumentation: 2 flutes; piccolo; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; 4 horns; 2 trumpets; 2 trombones; bass trombone; tuba; timpani; percussion (cymbals); strings

Approximate duration: 13 minutes

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – his mother was English and his father was a physician from Sierra Leone – studied at London’s Royal College of Music (1890-97). A violinist and singer as well as a composer (his teacher was the revered Charles Villers Stanford) during his time there, he wrote choral anthems, chamber music, and songs. He is best remembered for his 1898 cantata Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, a setting of Longfellow’s poem, once popular for its exotic colorings and its accessibility to amateur choral societies.

The A-minor Ballade dates from the same time as Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast. Coleridge-Taylor had graduated from the Royal College just a year earlier. When Sir Edward Elgar was asked to write a piece for the Three Choirs Festival – it was in Gloucester that year – he begged off, citing his too-full schedule. “I wish, wish, wish,” he wrote the committee, “you would ask ColeridgeTaylor to do it. He still wants recognition, and he is far and away the cleverest fellow going amongst the young men.”

In this work, and numerous others, one senses the influences of Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Grieg – and that of his mentor, Elgar. The warm string melodies are plush and elegant, but Coleridge-Taylor does not shy away from high-spirited passages of brass and timpani. In all, it’s a brief but cogent early harbinger of the luxuriant music that would flow from his pen in the years to come.

Niccolò Paganini

Born 27 October 1782; Genoa, Italy

Died 27 May 1840; Nice, France

Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Opus 6

Composed: c1817

First performance: 31 March 1819; Naples, Italy

Last MSO performance: October 2004; Lu Jia, conductor; Hilary Hahn, violin

Instrumentation: 2 flutes; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; bassoon; contrabassoon; 2 horns; 3 trombones; timpani; percussion (bass drum, cymbals); strings

Approximate duration: 35 minutes

Niccolò Paganini is arguably the most famous violinist of all time. Possessing an impeccable technique and extraordinary personal magnetism, it was Paganini who first drew attention to the notion of virtuosity as an artistic element. His unprecedented technical magic on the instrument – including the use of left-hand pizzicato, double-stop harmonics, “ricochet” bowings, and a generally audacious approach to performance – influenced successive generations of players.

His most significant impact, though, was on the composers – Liszt, Schumann, Chopin, Berlioz – who were inspired to achieve, through technical challenge, greater expression in their own compositions. Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Lutoslawski, et al. were moved to write sets of variations of his Caprice, Opus 1, No. 24 – one of the best-known compositions for solo violin.

Paganini launches his first concerto with a bombastic D-major chord, then there’s protracted orchestral introduction – often circus-like, with laugh-out-loud humor – before the soloist finally makes his entrance. The material presented by the orchestra is then reinterpreted and expanded upon, as virtuoso fireworks alternate with meltingly lyrical passages. As this extended Allegro maestoso nears its end, the orchestra hammers to a dramatic pause, and we hear a cadenza – an opportunity for the soloist to show us his range of technique and musicality. Paganini would have improvised this passage, and never wrote down any version of what he might have played.

The Adagio is set in the relative key of B minor. Following a brief introduction, the soloist enters – like an operatic diva – with an expressive melody that is soon repeated an octave lower. At one point, pizzicato strings imitate the sound of a guitar (another instrument mastered by Paganini), lending the atmosphere of an amorous serenade. Though he was the epitome of technical léger de main, Paganini likewise could spin out a cantabile phrase to melt the heart. Friedrich Wieck, Clara Schumann’s father, once gushed, “Never did I hear a singer who touched me as deeply as an Adagio played by Paganini. Never was there an artist who was equally great and incomparable in so many genres.”

The carnival atmosphere returns in the closing rondo, in which the dancing main tune alternates with contrasting episodes. The movement is a virtual compendium of Paganini’s virtuoso tricks – ricochet bowing, double-stopped harmonics, flashy finger work, and moments of humor, among others. Reputedly, this Allegro spiritoso is one of the most challenging movements in the solo violinist’s repertoire, and brings this engaging work to a delightful close.

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Born 7 May 1840; Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia

Died 6 November 1893; St. Petersburg, Russia

Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Opus 64

Composed: 1888

First performance: 17 November 1888; St. Petersburg, Russia

Last MSO performance: November 2017; Karina Canellakis, conductor

Instrumentation: 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo); 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; 4 horns; 2 trumpets; 3 trombones; tuba; timpani; strings

Approximate duration: 50 minutes

In December 1887, Tchaikovsky set out on his first foreign tour as a conductor – leading concerts in Leipzig, Hamburg, Berlin, and Prague – and meeting Brahms and Grieg along the way. After concerts in Paris and London, he returned to Russia in April 1888, where he began work on the fifth of his six symphonies. He completed his Opus 64 on 26 August 1888, and it was given its first performance three months later, with Tchaikovsky conducting. The composer’s second piano concerto (1880) was on the same program.

The four movements of the Symphony No. 5 are cyclic, unified by a “motto theme” (or motif) that is first stated at the beginning of the work. Most commentators agree that this represents the idea of Fate, referred to by the composer in his early writings about the piece.

The symphony begins quietly and funereally, with the Fate motif played by the clarinets. For the main part of the first movement, the tempo is faster and the themes – taut and energetic, passionate and sighing – are built to a dynamic climax. This highly vigorous movement ends with a barely audible rumble from the low strings, bassoons, and timpani.

The Andante cantabile is vintage Tchaikovsky: well-crafted, colorfully orchestrated, with a languid horn melody that is one of the best-known in the symphonic repertoire. In the middle of the movement, the Fate motif interrupts noisily. In place of a scherzo, the third movement is a waltz; its trio, however, exhibits the playful character of a scherzo. The Fate theme is given a softpedal treatment by clarinets and bassoons near the end of the movement.

The finale begins with the Fate motif, this time transposed from E minor to E major. A vigorous sonata form movement unfolds. “If Beethoven’s Fifth is Fate knocking at the door, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth is Fate trying to get out,” wrote an early commentator. Indeed, the Fate motif marches forward in grand array: fortissimo, broad, majestic, in a major key. That’s not the end, however, for the music then dashes headlong into a presto, broadening again for the symphony’s triumphant final moments.

BEWITCHING BROADWAY

Friday, October 28, 2022 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, October 29, 2022 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 2:30 pm

ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL

Michelle Merrill, conductor

Jessica Hendy, vocalist

Alex Getlin, vocalist

Anthony Murphy, vocalist

John Boswell, piano

PROGRAM TO BE ANNOUNCED FROM STAGE.

This weekend’s media sponsor is WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO. The length of this concert is approximately 2 hours. All programs are subject to change.

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra can be heard on Telarc, Koss Classics, Pro Arte, AVIE, and Vox/Turnabout recordings. MSO Classics recordings (digital only) available on iTunes and at mso.org. MSO Binaural recordings (digital only) available at mso.org.

Guest Artist Biographies

MICHELLE MERRILL

Michelle Merrill has been inspiring audiences throughout the country with her sharply detailed and vibrant performances. A passionate and dynamic artist, she served four years as the assistant and then associate conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where she also carried the title of Phillip and Lauren Fisher Community Ambassador. In addition to her growing guest conducting schedule, Merrill currently serves as the music director of the Coastal Symphony of Georgia.

Merrill’s most recent and upcoming engagements include the National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Opera, National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa), Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, West Virginia Symphony, Symphoria (Syracuse), Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and the Round Top Music Festival Institute.

Merrill is a proud recipient of a 2016 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award as well as the prestigious 2013 Ansbacher Conducting Fellowship as awarded by members of the Vienna Philharmonic and the American Austrian Foundation, which enabled her to be in residence at the world-renowned Salzburg Festival.  Born in Dallas, TX, she studied conducting with Dr. Paul C. Phillips at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts, where she holds a Master of Music degree in conducting and a Bachelor of Music in performance.

JESSICA HENDY

Jessica Hendy is widely recognized as one of Broadway’s best belters. She played the role of Grizabella in Cats in both the original Broadway run and the 2016 revival cast, becoming the only person in history to have appeared in both Broadway incarnations of that smash hit musical. Other Broadway credits include Aida (Amneris) and Amour. She has toured Nationally and in Canada in Cats (Grizabella) and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator). Her one-woman play, Walking With Bubbles, had its world premiere in New York City earlier this year. She received rave reviews for her one-woman cabaret, A Life to Call Your Own, and a Bistro Award for the revue Get Your Tickets Now.  NYC Pre-Broadway workshops include Dance of the Vampires, Aida, and The Molly Maguires. She played Diana Goodman in the regional premier of the Pulitzer Prize winning musical Next to Normal, at The Ensemble Theatre

Guest Artist Biographies

of Cincinnati.  She has had the pleasure to work at many theatres around the country including Pittsburgh CLO and North Shore Music Theatre in Miss Saigon (Ellen), and Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center in Songs for a New World with Jason Robert Brown.  Hendy’s performance as Jeanne in The Great American Trailer Park Musical at The Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati earned her an ACCLAIM Award for Best Actress.  She regularly appears with symphonic orchestras around the world in a variety of concerts including “Music of the Knights,” “Rock ‘N Radio,” and “Blockbuster Broadway!” Hendy is a proud graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

ALEX GETLIN

Alex Getlin is a New York-based singer and actress whose voice can “melt stone” (Ben Brantley, The New York Times). She made her Carnegie Hall debut with Michael Feinstein in “Hooray for Hollywood,” as part of his Standard Time series. A native New Yorker, she performs around the country in concert tributes to Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bette Midler, Barbara Streisand, and Adele (to name a few) with Spot-On Entertainment’s “Bette Babs & Beyond,” “Music of the Knights,” “A Star is Born: The Concert,” and more. She has appeared Off-Broadway in the company of Anything Can Happen in the Theatre –

The Songs of Maury Yeston, after being hand-picked by Yeston to interpret his music, and is featured on the show’s cast album. In June 2017, Getlin made her symphonic debut with the Pasadena Pops under the baton of Michael Feinstein in “Broadway: The Golden Age,” where she starred alongside Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey. In 2016, after graduating from Northwestern University with a degree in theater, Getlin was a featured soloist in Broadway Rising Stars at Town Hall. She made her professional singing debut at 17 in a solo cabaret show at The Regency Hotel in New York, presented by Mr. Feinstein and directed by Scott Coulter. The New York Times called her “a confident, engaging young singer with a big voice,” and Broadway World hailed her as “a new and rare talent on the entertainment scene.” Television credits include CBS’s Shades of Blue and Netflix’s The Break with Michele Wolf.

ANTHONY MURPHY

Anthony Murphy is a singer, actor, director, and choreographer who has graced international stages. Murphy studied directing and choreography at Otterbein University, and while there, he trained vocally under world-renowned opera tenor Brian Cheney.

In 2017, he originated the role of the Genie in the Broadway U.S. National Tour of Disney’s Aladdin: The Musical. Later he moved to the Australian company of Aladdin. While in Australia, he premiered his sold-out solo cabaret Introducing: Anthony Murphy at the historic Doo Bop Jazz Bar in Brisbane, Australia.

Murphy was last seen on Broadway as Paul Burrell in Diana: The Musical. This summer, he was part of the world premiere production of The Devil Wears Prada written by Elton John and Shania Taub.

Murphy continues to captivate audiences around the world with his soulful and dynamic voice, coupled with his electrifying and joyous performing style, leaving audiences feeling at home and overjoyed.

JOHN BOSWELL

Pianist John Boswell has served as musical director for Judy Collins, Andy Williams, Bob Newhart, Scott Coulter, Maude Maggart, Faith Prince, Carmen Cusack, Babbie Green, Jason Graae, and a host of other fine talents. Boswell played the role of Moose in the national tour of Crazy for You and has appeared on The Tonight Show, Today Show, CBS This Morning, Regis and Kathie Lee, General Hospital and was the piano-playing hands of Nancy McKeon on the sit-com The Facts of Life. Recent concerts with orchestras have included “Jerry Herman: The Broadway Legacy Concert,” “Blockbuster Broadway!”, “Sheena Easton and Scott Coulter: The Spy Who Loved Me,” and “Music of the Knights.” Boswell has been heard singing in the shows Three Men and a Baby…Grand, Cinema Toast, Broadway Today, Wiseguys, and the New York cult hit Cashino. Broadway/Off-Broadway credits include Crazy for You, The Secret Garden, LIZA! Steppin’ Out at Radio City Music Hall, Back to Bacharach and David and The Kathy and Mo Show: Parallel Lives. His monthly concerts in 2017 at The Gardenia in Los Angeles were crowd pleasers. Boswell has eight CDs of original piano music and a ninth on the way. While a student at UCLA, he received the Frank Sinatra Award for popular

instrumentalistsGuestArtist Biographies

Sorel

EVERY TREE SPEAKS: HABIBI, BRAHMS, & SCHUMANN

Friday, November 4, 2022 at 7:30 pm

Saturday, November 5, 2022 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 2:30 pm

ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL

Ken-David Masur, conductor Milwaukee Symphony Chorus Cheryl Frazes Hill, director

IMAN HABIBI

Jeder Baum spricht [Every Tree Speaks]

ROBERT SCHUMANN

Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, Opus 38, “Spring ”

I. Andante un poco maestoso – Allegro molto vivace

II. Larghetto

III. Scherzo: Molto vivace

IV. Allegro animato e grazioso

JOHANNESINTERMISSIONBRAHMS

Gesang der Parzen [Song of the Fates], Opus 89 Milwaukee Symphony Chorus

JOHANNES BRAHMS

Schicksalslied [Song of Destiny], Opus 54 Milwaukee Symphony Chorus

JOHANNES BRAHMS / arr. Ken-David Masur

Academic Festival Overture, Opus 80 Milwaukee Symphony Chorus

The 2022.23 Classics Series is presented by the UNITED PERFORMING ARTS FUND The length of this concert is approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra can be heard on Telarc, Koss Classics, Pro Arte, AVIE, and Vox/Turnabout recordings. MSO Classics recordings (digital only) available on iTunes and at mso.org. MSO Binaural recordings (digital only) available at mso.org.

Program notes by J. Mark Baker

In an ode to the wonder of our natural world, this program ponders fate, resolve, and reverence. Iman Habibi’s work is a reflection of the current environmental crisis, while Schumann’s verdant symphony is a feast of spring and renewal. In the second half, the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus takes the spotlight in three works – moving from grim fatalism to hopeful spirit to rollicking celebration.

Iman Habibi

1985; Tehran, Iran

Jeder Baum spricht [Every Tree Speaks]

Composed: 2019-20

First performance: 12 March 2020; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Last MSO performance: MSO premiere

Instrumentation: 2 flutes; piccolo; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; contrabassoon; 2 horns; 2 trumpets; 2 trombones bass trombone; timpani; strings

Approximate duration: 5 minutes

Iranian-Canadian composer and pianist Iman Habibi is the co-founder of the piano duo Piano Pinnacle. The recipient of dozens of international music awards, his commissions include works for the orchestras of Philadelphia, Boston, and Toronto. Jeder Baum spricht [Every Tree Speaks] was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra for Beethoven’s 250th anniversary and premiered at the Kimmel Center there, Yannick Neget-Seguin conducting. The program also included Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. Because the Covid-19 pandemic was just beginning, the concert was live-streamed to an empty concert hall.

The composer has offered the following insights: Jeder Baum spricht is an unsettling rhapsodic reflection on the climate catastrophe and is written in dialogue with Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth symphonies. The piece shifts focus rapidly and attempts to achieve its goal time and time again through different means, only to be faced with similar obstacles. Like much of Beethoven’s music, this piece accompanies an unspecific narrative and imagery and ends with a sense of resolve, one that I hope can drive our collective will towards immediate impactful change. Beethoven perceived nature as an image of the divine, if not divinity itself. Jeder Baum spricht durch dich (every tree speaks through you) is a phrase I encountered in his writings, leading me to wonder how Beethoven, clearly an activist himself, would have responded to today’s environmental crisis. Given that both the Fifth and Sixth symphonies were likely, at least in some capacity, inspired by nature, I am hoping that Jeder Baum spricht can allow us to listen to these monumental works with a renewed perspective: that is, in light of the climate crisis we live in, and the havoc we continue to wreak on the nature that inspired these classic masterpieces.

Robert Schumann

Born 8 June 1810

Died 29 July 1856

Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, Opus 38, “Spring”

Composed: 1841

First performance: 31 March 1841; Leipzig, Germany

Last MSO performance: May 2008; Jun Märkl, conductor

Instrumentation: 2 flutes; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; 4 horns; 2 trumpets; 3 trombones; timpani; percussion (triangle); strings

Approximate duration: 30 minutes

Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck (1819-1896) were married on 12 September 1840. This union resulted in tremendous musical productivity, for anticipating his marriage to Clara had unquestionably put Robert into a lyrical frame of mind. In 1840 – his so-called “year of song” – he gave voice to his pent-up emotions, penning over 125 lieder. The following year, still in a celebratory disposition, he set his sights on the orchestra, producing two symphonies and the Overture, Scherzo, and Finale.

Clara had urged Robert – whose compositions to date were mostly for his own instrument, the piano – to write for the orchestra. He sketched his Opus 38 in just four days, and less than a month later, the full score was completed. He had taken his inspiration from a poem about spring by Adolf Böttger and originally had given each of the movements a descriptive title, which he later withdrew: 1) Spring’s Coming; 2) Evening; 3) Merry Playmates; 4) Spring at Its Height. Felix Mendelssohn led its first performance in Leipzig’s Gewandhaus. Schumann numbered its enthusiastic reception among the most significant events of his musical life.

The composer wanted the introduction’s opening brass fanfare to sound “as if from on high, like a call to awaken.” Its rising three-note figure becomes integral to the first movement, and it will serve as a unifying motivic device to the symphony as a whole. An accelerando leads to the sonata-form Allegro molto vivace, whose relentless dotted rhythms are irresistibly exuberant. Toward the movement’s end, the composer surprises us with a new theme, warm and lyrical.

The songs of the previous year must have been in the front of Schumann’s mind when he penned the gentle 24-bar cantabile melody that opens the Larghetto. Once the violins have sung the tune, the cellos and then the solo oboe restate it, with imaginatively varied orchestration for each iteration. The trombones, hinting at the main theme of the Molto vivace to follow, bring the movement to a solemn conclusion. The D-minor Scherzo is set in a rondolike form (ABACA), with two trios – the first in D major, the second in B-flat major – contrasting with the main refrain.

In the effervescent mood of the Allegro animato, Schumann seems to take a page out of the playbook of his friend Mendelssohn. There is much to admire in this sonata-form movement, but listen especially closely for a touch of magic just before the recapitulation: an affecting oboe solo, horn calls from an enchanted forest, and a birdlike cadenza for the flute. From there to the conclusion, it’s all merriment.

Johannes Brahms

Born 7 May 1833; Hamburg, Germany

Died 3 April 1897; Vienna, Austria

Gesang der Parzen [Song of the Fates], Opus 82

Composed: 1889

First performance: 10 December 1882; Basle, Switzerland

Last MSO performance: MSO premiere

Instrumentation: 2 flutes (1st doubling piccolo); 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; contrabassoon; 4 horns; 2 trumpets; 3 trombones; tuba; timpani; strings

Approximate duration: 14 minutes

Choral music comprises a significant part of Brahms’s oeuvre – from the monumental Ein deutsches Requiem to two sets of Liebeslieder Walzer to unaccompanied folksong arrangements to motets to part-songs, both a cappella and with piano accompaniment. In addition to the Requiem, he created several works for choir and orchestra; composed in the summer of 1882, Gesang der Parzen was the last of these.

Over a decade earlier, Brahms had employed a Hellenic subject for his Schicksalslied. He does so again here, setting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Gesang der Parzen [Song of the Fates] from Iphigenie auf Tauris. In the play, Iphigenie relates a song, sung by the Fates, that tells of the capricious and cruel behavior of the gods. These are the words Brahms uses here. In its overall mood and orchestration, it is dark and foreboding.

A somber orchestral introduction leads to the chorus’s dactylic rhythm (long-short-short) that will recur later, in the middle of the work and at the end, to serve as a unifying device. Brahms casts the text’s seven verses into a rondo-like form (ABACA), with the refrain’s D minor mode twice interrupted by episodes in the major. The choral voices are divided into six parts (SAATBB), with divided altos and basses adding duskier tone colors. States scholar Heinz Becker, “Brahms used an almost ascetic musical language with no florid sound-effects to capture the Mycean gloom of the ancient world.” Indeed. And as the music fades away at the very end, an old man sits in his cave, remembering his children and grandchildren, shaking his head.

Johannes Brahms

Schicksalslied [Song of Destiny], Opus 54

Composed: 1868-71

First performance: 18 October 1871; Karlsruhe, Germany

Last MSO performance: October 2002; Andreas Delfs, conductor

Instrumentation: 2 flutes; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; 2 horns; 2 trumpets; 3 trombones; timpani; strings

Approximate duration: 15 minutes

Encouraged by the immense success of his Ein deutsches Requiem, Opus 45, Brahms soon set to work on other choral compositions, including the cantata Rinaldo, Opus 50. About the same time, a friend showed him Friedrich Hölderlin’s poem, Hyperions Schicksalslied [Hyperion’s Song of Destiny]. The composer was so taken with it that he sketched its first drafts on the spot. The bulk of the work came later, and Brahms completed it in Baden-Baden in May 1871.

Sumptuous and often muted, Schicksalslied comes close to the spirit of Brahms’s Requiem. The text describes the serenity of the Greek deities, contrasted with the despair and suffering of humanity. Set in E-flat major, the orchestral prelude’s broadly flowing melodies give way to a solo line for the altos that is repeated in four-part harmony and, indeed, the choral writing is

largely homophonic. To contrast the lot of the gods with that of mankind, Brahms changes the meter from 4/4 to 3/4 and the tempo from Langsam (slow) to Allegro. Cross-rhythms depict water hurled from one rock to another, and the text finally ends on a note of plaintive surrender. Brahms disliked this sad conclusion and considered repeating the text of the beginning.

Hermann Levi – a Jewish conductor who, ironically, led the premiere of Wagner’s Parsifal at Bayreuth – had been allowed to see the Schicksalslied before it was finished. Levi advised Brahms against this course of action. The composer instead reprises the luminous orchestral prelude, this time in C major, to close on a note of solace.

Johannes Brahms

Academic Festival Overture, Opus 80

Composed: 1880

First performance: 4 January 1881; Breslau, Germany

Last MSO performance: April 2015; Edo de Waart, conductor

Instrumentation: 2 flutes; piccolo; 2 oboes; 2 clarinets; 2 bassoons; contrabassoon; 4 horns; 3 trumpets; 3 trombones; tuba; timpani; percussion (bass drum, cymbals, triangle); strings

Approximate duration: 10 minutes

In March 1879, Brahms received an honorary doctorate from the University of Breslau. “First among contemporary masters of serious music,” read his citation – which angered Richard Wagner immensely. Brahms did not attend the ceremony, but his long-time Breslau friend Bernhard Scholz hinted that the school expected something in return for the honor: “Compose a fine symphony for us! But well-orchestrated, old boy, not too uniformly thick.” The master ignored that request, instead producing the slightly tongue-in-cheek Academic Festival Overture, which he conducted there in January 1881.

Brahms never went to college. At age 20, though, he spent some time visiting his friend Joseph Joachim at the University of Göttingen – probably the closest he ever came to student life in the streets and taverns. Being a robust young man, he took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the rollicking undergraduate life of various student clubs (Sachsen). It was their songs, in his late 40s, that he drew upon for Opus 80.

Biographer Jan Swafford has called the Academic Festival Overture “the most thoroughly unbuttoned of Brahms’s works.” Brahms himself described it as “a cheerful potpourri of student songs à la Suppe.” The Overture begins quietly and earnestly, followed by divergent themes and dynamics. A quiet timpani roll underpins the trumpets’ statement of the first of the Sachsen songs, “Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus” [We have built a stately house]. Brahms toys with the melody, mixing it with the introductory material. Before long, the violins and violas present a sweet-sounding rendition of “Der Landesvater” [The father of our country].

There’s a tempo shift to Animato for “Was komm dort von der Höh’” [What comes from afar]. The master’s tongue surely was planted firmly in his cheek for this passage, as bassoons and oboes, accompanied by off-beat violas and cellos, add a touch of humor. Brahms, the inveterate contrapuntalist, now plays the three student songs off each other in a sometimes-lighthearted, sometimes-rip-roaring development. In its final moments, the work takes up the tune “Gaudeamus igitur” [Therefore, let us be merry]. With the chorus singing, the brass blazing, and the entire orchestra playing Maestoso and fortissimo, it’s a fitting way to conclude a concert. Unbuttoned, indeed!

Visit Saint Kate for a pre-show dinner at ARIA, then come back for drinks and a stroll through our art galleries.

Or, just stay the night. Either way, the fun doesn't have to end after curtain close.

UPAF IS FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS that you are here to enjoy today. We’re for thousands of local artists in the spotlight and behind the scenes. We’re for you — the audience — rediscovering excitement, inspiration and connection. We’re for Milwaukee, Tosa, Waukesha, Racine & beyond. We’re for being together, surrounded by the magic of music, dance, song and theater.

We’re for raising our community up.

You’re for the arts too, so please join us to ensure that our world-class performing arts groups make a full recovery.

Milwaukee Ballet, Marie Collins, Photo by Mark Frohna. Skylight Music Theatre, Raven Dockery, Photo by Mark Frohna.

MSO

VisionariesENDOWMENT

Commitments of $1,000,000 and above

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Commitments of $100,000 and above Two Anonymous Donors Patty and Jay Baker Fund for Guest Artists

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MUSICAL LEGACY SOCIETY

The Musical Legacy Society recognizes and appreciates the individuals who have made a planned gift to the MSO. The MSO invites you to join these generous donors who have remembered the Orchestra in their estate plans.

Nine Anonymous Donors

George R. Affeldt

Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Aring, Jr. Dana and Gail Atkins Robert Balderson

Adam PriscillaBaumanandAnthony Beadell

Mr. F. L. Bidinger

Dr. Philip and Beatrice Blank Mr. Richard Blomquist Judith and Stanton Bluestone

Patrice L. (Patti) Bringe Jean S. AnthonyNeilLauretteBrittBroehmBrooksandVicki

Cecalupo

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Ronald and Vicki Krizek

Cynthia Krueger-Prost Susan

Dr.MaryNinaRogerGayleDr.PatPatMs.CatherineSteveChristineGordanaMs.JulieMr.GeraldJamshedLygereMr.LynnDianaAndyKathleenRobertMs.JoanChristianMrs.NancyNancyPatriciaRitaJoAnneMs.DanaDr.Drs.Mr.Mr.AndreaTomArthurVictorMr.StevenKurtzE.LandfriedBruceR.LaningLarsonandNancyLaskinandLiseLawsonandWoodrowLeungRobertD.LidickerandMrs.JohnB.LiebensteinJohnandTheresaLiuJohnandKristieMaloneandJeffMarksKathleenMarquardtMatchetteT.andJamesC.McDonaldandJamesMcGavockMcGiveranMcKinley-EhlingerChristelU.MildenbergandKateMitchellMoellerMelodiMuehlbauerMulcahyM.MurphyNunemakerandGeraldOgrenandLawrenceOlsenandMrs.PhilipW.OrthPanagopoulosandDeborahPatelT.andCarolK.PetersenandMrs.RonaldR.PoeQuinlanBrameandJasonBrameHarvianRaasch-HootenandMilanRacicRadiskeandHerbertQuigleyandSusanRagatzA.RegnerMonicaD.ReidaandDavidRiersonandAllenRieselbachThomasandMaryRobertsG.RosemannandPaulE.McElweeB.RuggeriandAndreaK.WagonerSarenacB.SchleyinrecognitionofDavidL.SchleyRobertandPattySchmidt

Musical Legacy Society/Annual Fund

Michael J. and Jeanne E. Schmitz

James Schultz and Donna Menzer

Mason Sherwood and Mark Franke

Margles Singleton

Lois Bernard and William Small Dale and Allison Smith

Susan G. Stein

John Stewig and Richard Bradley

Dr. Robert A. and Kathleen Sullo

David Taggart

Lois Tetzlaff

E. Charlotte Theis

David Tolan

Thora Vervoren

Dr. Richard O. and Judith A. Wagner

Veronica Wallace-Kraemer

Michael Walton

Brian A. Warnecke

Earl CarolSallyAliceWassermanWeissWellsandJames Wiensch

Floyd SandraWoldtandRoss Workman

Marion Youngquist

For more information on becoming a Musical Legacy Society member, please contact the Development Office at 414.226.7891.

ANNUAL FUND

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra truly values the music lovers in the concert hall and we thank our contributors to the Annual Fund for investing their time and support to this treasure. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions to the Annual Fund as of August 23, 2022.

Conductor Circle $100,000 and above

Bobbi and Jim Caraway

Mr. and Mrs. George C. Kaiser Donald and JoAnne Krause

Marty Krebs

Nancy SheldonLaskinandMarianne Lubar

Charitable Fund of the Lubar Family Foundation

Michael Schmitz

Julia and David Uihlein

$50,000 and above

Two Anonymous Donors Laura and Mike Arnow

Isabel AnthonyBaderand Vicki Cecalupo

Drs. Alan and Carol Pohl

$25,000 and above

Two Anonymous Donors

Mary and James Connelly

Dr. Deborah and Jeff Costakos Mrs. Alyce Coyne Katayama

Cynthia and Brian Dearing Lee

Dr.RobertaFitzsimondsGordonandMrs.Samuel Hoke

Jewish Community Foundation Eileen & Howard Dubner Donor Advised Fund

Judith A. Keyes

Charles and Barbara Lund William and Marian Nasgovitz Lois and Richard Pauls

Pat AllisonRieselbachM.and Dale R. Smith

Susi and Dick Stoll

Drs. Robert Taylor and Janice McFarland Taylor Haruki CharlesToyamaT.Urban and Joan M. Coufal

$10,000 and above

Two Anonymous Donors

Frances and Lowell Adams Sue and Louie Andrew Lois KeithBernardandKate Brewer

Jennifer ElizabethDirksand Herodotos Ellinas

Bruce T. Faure M.D. Mary Lou M. Findley Mrs. Susan G. Gebhardt

Greater Milwaukee Foundation Bernard J. and Marie E. Weiss Fund Judith J.

HerbertMr.NancySaraJohnLeslieJulieBrianPaulMr.PatrickBobChristianMarkKeithGeraldMr.KarenMr.Ms.KatherineGoetzHauserCharlotteHayslettandMrs.EricE.HobbsHungandBobColettiPeterL.MahlerandElaineMainmanMardakandMaryVandenbergandDonnaMetzendorfandKateMitchellandBarbaraMonnatandMaryMurphyandMs.BruceMyersNausiedaandEvonneWinstonandMauraPackhamPeayandAaronPlamannandMaryRickmeierandJaySchwisterandGregSmithandMrs.ThomasR.TiffanyZienandElizabethLevins

Principal Circle $5,000 and above

Richard and Ellen Glaisner

Drs. Carla and Robert Hay James and Crystal Hegge

Ms. Mary E. Henke

Mark and Judy Hibbard

Mr. and Mrs. Bernard C. Hlavac James and Karen Hyde Lee and Barbara Jacobi Jayne J. Jordan

Mr. and Mrs. Yoshimasa Kadota Lynn and Tom Kassouf Kenneth and Alice Kayser

Dr. and Mrs. Kim Kolaga

Family Charitable Trust Christine Krueger

Peter and Kathleen Lillegren

Michael and Maureen McCabe

Dr. Ann H. and Mr. Michael J. McDonald Genie and David Meissner

Mr. and Mrs. George Meyer

Dr. Mary Ellen Mitchanis William J. Murgas

Mark BarbaraNiehausandLayton Olsen

Elaine Pagedas

Mr. and Mrs. James R. Petrie

Dr. and Mrs. Richard A. Pierce-Ruhland Jim and Fran Proulx

Alice E. Read

Dr. Marcia J.S. Richards Steve and Fran Richman Pat and David Rierson

Dr. Thomas and Mary Roberts Kay DianaJessicaMr.NoraJimTracyMrs.Mrs.JohnKathleenLorettoBrianRichardSchankeEliSchoenM.SchwellingerandDickSteinmetzandFrankThometzandKarenTomashekJamesUrdanGeorgeWalcottS.Wang,MDWardandJudeWerraandMrs.DonaldS.WilsonR.WirthJ.Wood

$3,500 and above

Three Anonymous Donors

Fred and Kay Austermann

Dr. Philip and the spirit of Beatrice Blank

Dr. Bruce and Marsha Camitta

Lynda and Tom Curl Beth and Ted Durant

Dr. Eric Durant and Scott Swickard

Fred and Debby Ganaway

Jean and Thomas Harbeck

Family Foundation

Margarete and David Harvey

Mr.ThomasBurkeE.CaesteckerandMrs.Franklyn Esenberg

Elaine

Gail Groenwoldt and Jeff Yabuki Doug and Jane Hagerman Judy and Gary Jorgensen

Robert and Gail Korb Dr. Brent and Susan Martin

Andy Nunemaker

Lorry Uihlein Charitable Lead Unitrust Thora Vervoren

$15,000 and above

Two Anonymous Donors Richard and JoAnn Beightol Mary and Terry Briscoe

Four Anonymous Donors Mark and Laura Barnard Clair and Mary Baum Donna and Donald Baumgartner Natalie ElizabethGeorgePaulDr.JoanneKarenSandraDonaldJeanGeorgeWilliamRichardBeckwithandKayBiblerandBarbaraBolesS.andSallyAnnBorkowskiBrittandJudyChristlandRussellDagonDobbsandChrisDeNardisDoehlerandMrs.HarryA.EasomandConnieFlaggE.Forish,Jr.andWilliamGenne

Drs. Margie Boyles and Stephen Hinkle

Barbara Hunt

Marilyn W. John David and Mel Johnson

OlofandJonsdottirThorsteinn Skulason

Mary S. Knudten

Calvin and Lynn Kozlowski

Anthony and Susan Krausen

Stanley Kritzik

Norm and Judy Lasca Eugene and Gwen Lavin

Dr. Joseph and Amy Leung

Micaela Levine and Thomas St. John Merle and Sandra McDonald

Judith Fitzgerald Miller, PhD, RN, FAAN

Annual Fund

Rusti and Steve Moffic

Mr. and Mrs. Joel Needlman

Gerald T. and Carol K. Petersen

Roger Ritzow

Dr. and Mrs. R. Nikolaus Schmidt

Elaine Schueler

James Schultz and Donna Menzer

Mr. Thomas P. Schweda Sue and Boo Smith

Richard Bergman Elliott and Karen Berman Mrs. Krsitine Best

Dr. and Mrs. Squat Botley

Walter and Virginia Boyer Cheri and Tom Briscoe Marcia P. Brooks and Edward J. Hammond

Michael Walton Larry and Adrienne Waters

Lynn and Richard Wesolek Rolland and Sharon Wilson

John Winter Lee and Carol Wolcott Jim and Sandy Wrangell Mr. William Zeidler

JamesCarltonSorefStansburyandCatherine

Nita

Jeff and Jody Steren

Gile and Linda Tojek

Startt

Mr. and Mrs. Francis Wasielewski Mr. Wilfred Wollner

Carol and Richard Wythes Leo Zoeller

Orchestra Circle

$2,500 and above

Thomas Bagwell and Michelle Hiebert

Marlene and Bert Bilsky

Scott Bolens and Elizabeth Forman

Mr. David E. Cadle

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen L. Chernof Steven and Buffy Duback Dr. Donald Feinsilver and Jo Ann Corrao

Robert Gardenier and Lori Morse Gardenier Kurt and Rosemary Glaisner

Mr. Kim M. Graff

Virginia Hall Leesley B. and Joan J. Hardy

David Harrison Judith and David Hecker Charles and Jean Holmburg Karen Hung and Bob Coletti Leon and Betsy Janssen

Jewish Community Foundation Dorothy & Merton Rotter Donor Advised Fund

Matthew and Kathryn Kamm Megumi Kanda Hemann and Dietrich Hemann Barbara Karol Benedict and Lee Kordus Mary E. Lacy

Frank Loo and Sally Long Daniel and Constance McCarty Guy and Mary Jo McDonald Mark and Carol Mitchell Raymond and Janice Perry David J. Peterson

Barbara Recht

Ann Rosenthal and Benson Massey Dottie Rotter

Judy and Tom Schmid Rev. Doug and Marilyn Schoen Mrs. George R. Slater Roger and Judy Smith John Stewig and Richard Bradley John and Anne Thomas Ann and Joseph Wenzler Floyd SandraWoldtZingler

$1,500 and above

Six Anonymous Donors Jantina and Donald Adriano Ruth Agrusa Dr. Joan Arvedson

Richard and Sara Aster

Robert PriscillaBaldersonandAnthony Beadell Jacqlynn Behnke

Barbara and Dr. Henry Burko Bobbi and Jim Caraway

Karen and Harry Carlson Teri Carpenter

B. Lauren and Margaret Charous Edith Christian Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Christie Paul Dekker

Art and Rhonda Downey Sigrid Dynek and Barry Axelrood Rosemarie Eierman

Signe and Gerald Emmerich, Jr. Joseph and Joan Fall Robert and Kristin Fewel Jo Ann and Dale Frederickson Jane K. GreaterGertlerMilwaukee Foundation

Donna and Tony Meyer Fund

Alison Graf and Richard Schreiner Robert Hey Terry

MajaMr.RobertHuebnerS.JakubiakGradyCrosbyJurisicandDon

Fraker

Dr. Bruce and Anna Kaufman Dr. Jack and Myrna Kaufman

Mr. and Mrs. F. Michael Kluiber Heidi and Tommy Knudsen Julilly MaritzaKohlerandMario Laguna

Drs. Kaye and Prakash Laud Larry and Mary LeBlanc Mr. and Mrs. Mark Levy Bruce and Elizabeth Loder Wayne and Kristine Lueders Mr. and Mrs. Dean Mehlberg Gregory and Susan Milleville Molly Mulroy Eric Nathan

Dr. Donna Recht and Dr. Robert Newby Laurie Ocepek

Lynn and Lawrence Olsen Susan M. Otto

Dr. and Mrs. James T. Paloucek Dr. David Paris

Jamshed and Deborah Patel Yvonne Petersen Jessica E. and Paul R. Pihart Kathryn Koenen Potos Cathy P. Procton

Jerome Randall & Mary Hauser Susan Riedel

Emily and Mike Robertson Lawrence and Katherine Schnuck

Ms. Betty Jean Schuett Paul and Frances Seifert Dr. and Mrs. Kevin R. Siebenlist Margles Singleton Richard and Sheryl Smith Dr. and Mrs. C. John Snyder Kathy and Salvatore Spicuzza Jim R.JoanStreyThompsonJamesandJean Tobin Sara MikeToenesandPeg Uihlein

Mr. and Mrs. Lynn F. Unkefer Lauren Vollrath Nancy Vrabec and Alastair Boake

$1,000 and above Six Anonymous Donors

Mary Allmon and Michael Allen

Steven MargaretBarneyandBruce Barr

James and Nora Barry

Mr. James M. Baumgartner

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Beckman

Fiesha Lynn Bell

Eric RobertRogerBergBialcikBorch and Linda Wickstrom

Karen and Russell Brooker

Ms. Dori ProfessorBrownDavid and Diane Buck

Tom Buthod

Ms. Carol A. Carpenter Nicole and Jack Cook Ellen JenniferDebbinkandPaul Deslongchamps Julie JackMadisonDisselerDohmenDouthittand Michelle Zimmer Gloria and Peter Drenzek Don and Nora Dreske

Jacquelyn and Dalibor Drummer

Mary Ann Dude

Thomas Durkin and Joan Robotham

Mr. Donald Elliott Shirley Erwin

Mr. and Mrs. A. William Finke

Anne and Dean Fitzgerald Stan and Janet Fox Gordon and Christine Freese Deborah Elam

Kimberly Gerber

Ralph and Cherie Gorenstein Stephen and Bernadine Graff

Greater Milwaukee Foundation

Dresselhuys Family Fund

Jay Kay Foundation Fund

Mr. and Mrs. James Grigg

Claire and Glen Hackmann

Mr. Randall Hake Joseph and Leila Hanson Jean and John Henderson

Dr. Sidney and Suzanne Herszenson Ms. Judy Hessel

Jenny and Bob Hillis Eric and Susan Hillstrom

Mr. Jeffrey L. Hosler

John and Kathryn Housiaux

Barbara Hunteman

Mary and Charles Kamps

James and Peggy Karpowicz

Robert and Sandra Kattman

Robert Keefe Robert and Dorothy King

Eileen Kehoe and Bud Reinhold

Patrick and Jane Keily

Robert and Dorothy King

Jane Kivlin and Thomas Kelly

Jonathan Koenig and Melissa Love Koenig

Julie and Michael Koss

Dr. Michael J. Krco

Sandra and Thomas Kuber

Greg and Marybeth Shuppe

Annual Fund/Bravo/Corporate and Foundation

Chris and Emilia Layden

Dale and Barbara Lenz

John and Janice Liebenstein

Matt and Patty Linn

Richard and Roberta London

Stephen and Jane Lukowicz

Joan StephenMaasand Judy Maersch

Mike and Jamy Malatesta

Dr. John and Kristie Malone

Mr. Peter Mamerow

Sara and Nathan Manning

Deidre Martin

Greg and Denise McCarthy

Joan McCracken

Joni and Joe McDevitt

Debra and Jeffrey Metz

Christel TheodoreMildenbergandKelsey Perlick Molinari

William and Laverne Mueller

David and Gail Nelson

Monica Rynders

Russell and Emily Sagmoen Michael Schaner

Allison Schnier

Brian MeganSchwellingerSorenson

CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra truly values the generosity of musicloving patrons in the concert hall and throughout the community. We especially thank our Corporate and Foundation contributors for investing their time and support to this treasure. We gratefully acknowledge contributions from:

Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation

Northwestern Mutual Ralph Evinrude Foundation

Rite Hite Holding Corporation

William and Janice Godfrey Family Foundation

Yabuki Family Foundation

$5,000 and above

ANON Charitable Trust CornerStone One Ernst & Young, LLC

FIS GeneGlobaland Ruth Posner Foundation, Inc. General Mills Foundation

GreaterGRAEF Milwaukee Foundation

Roxy and Bud Heyse Fund/Journal JulianFundFamily Foundation

MGIC Investment Corporation

PhilDonaldLoisAllenRussellDrs.DanDrs.KarenRobertaPhilipDr.DavidDouglasNovyE.PetersonandCarolRaaschFrancisJ.RandallReifenbergandDavidRemstadandPaulRiceWalterandLisaRichandAnnaRobbinsLarryandPollyRyanandEmilySagmoenandMillieSalomonandStephenSchreiterandJudithSchultzSchumacherandPauline

Jean A.

Beck

$1,000,000 and above United Performing Arts Fund $250,000 and above Argosy Foundation

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation $100,000 and above Herzfeld RockwellFoundationAutomation

$50,000 and above

Greater Milwaukee Foundation Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra MelittaJohnsonFundControlsS.andJoan M. Pick

Charitable Trust

Bob and Sally Schwarz

Martin Schreiber

Fred and Ruth Schwertfeger

Lt. Cmdr. Ronald D. and Carol R. Scott

Susan BarbaraSkudlarczykandEverett Smith

Milwaukee County Arts Fund U.S.(CAMPAC)Department of Homeland Security $25,000 and above

Milwaukee Arts Board

Milwaukee Development Corporation Northern Trust Quarles & Brady, LLP

Schwartz Foundation Silver Rock Consulting Staff Electric

$2,500 and above

Brico CharlesFundD.Ortgiesen Foundation

Dean Family Foundation Enterprise Holdings

Greater Milwaukee Foundation

David Wells Household

ELM II MargaretFundHeminway Wells Fund

Green Bay Packers Foundation

Hamparian Family Foundation

Richard G. Jacobus Family Foundation

Theodore W. Batterman

GertrudeDarylPratiRonMr.RobertA.RobertHenryRuthJamesConstanceDrs.Mr.RebeccaDavidIanBonnieSpectorL.SteindorfandEllenSzczygielskiTaggartandTerryBurkoandRobertTengesandMrs.JamesS.TideyStevenandDeniseTrinklU’RenVanEssA.WayJ.WellnerandJamesCookandBarbaraWhealonJamesWhiteandLanaWieseandMrs.JamesWigdaleandAliceWinklerandNormWojtalandBonnieWunrowandRichardZauner

Joan

BRAVO

Britt EsteéTJMollyJacobKaleighTinaDanVictoriaAshleyBlackwelderBrinkmanHaasandKristaHettingerItsonKozakMagnussonMingeyandKelseyMolinariTanelO’Connorand

Leah JessicaOlsonand Paul Pihart

Monica D. Reida

Sarah E. Rieger

Walter Zoller

BaderAnonymousPhilanthropies, Inc.

Chase Family Foundation Greater Milwaukee Foundation Gertrude Elser and John Edward Schroeder Fund Helen and Jeanette Oberndorfer NormanFund and Lucy Cohn Family Fund Guardian Fine Art Services Krause Family Foundation Old National Bank R.D. and Linda Peters Foundation Schoenleber Foundation, Inc. U.S. WisconsinBank Department of Tourism

$15,000 and above A.O. Smith Foundation, Inc. Bert L. & Patricia S. Steigleder

Charitable Trust Gladys E. Gores Charitable Foundation Kahler KomatsuSlaterMining Corp Foundation

Marietta Investment Partners WEC Energy Group Wisconsin Arts Board

$10,000 and above BMO Harris Bank CD Smith Construction Services The Cudahy Foundation

Greater Milwaukee Foundation David C. Scott Foundation William A. and Mary M Bonfield, Jr. EllsworFundth Corporation

Family Foundation

$1,000 and above

Anthony Petullo Foundation, Inc. Camille A. Lonstorf Trust

Clare M. Peters Charitable Trust Ellis Family Charitable Fund

Foley & Lardner LLP

Greater Milwaukee Foundation

Bechthold Family Fund

Cottrell Balding Fund

Del Chambers Fund Eleanor N. Wilson Fund

George and Christine Sosnovsky Fund

Henry C., Eva M., Robert H. and Jack J. Gillo Charitable Fund

Irene Edelstein Memorial Fund

Mildred L. Roehr & Herbert W. Roehr

JoanFundandFred Brengel Family Foundation, Inc.

Usinger Foundation

$500 and above

AlbertAnonymousJ.&Flora H. Ellinger Foundation

AmazonSmile Foundation

Delta GreaterDentalMilwaukee Foundation

Carrie Taylor & Nettie Taylor

Robinson Memorial Fund

Nancy E. Hack Fund

Robert C. Archer Designated Fund

Matching

MATCHING GIFTS

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the following corporations and foundations who match their employees’ contributions to the Annual Fund.

Abbott Laboratories Aurora Health Care BMO Harris Bank Bucyrus Foundation, Inc. Dominion Foundation Eaton

WisconsinUnitedUnitedU.S.ThriventRexnordReader’sNorthwesternKohl’sJohnsonIntelGoogleGEFiduciaryCorporationPartnersFoundationFoundationControlsFoundationCorp.MutualDigestFoundationFoundationMatchingGiftProgramFinancialBankWayofGreaterAtlantaWayofMetropolitanChicagoEnergyCorporation

GOLDEN NOTE PARTNERS

The MSO gratefully acknowledges the following organizations for their gifts of product or services:

88Nine Radio Milwaukee Becker Design

Belle Fiori – Official Event Florist of the MSO Burke Chocolates

The Capital Grille Central Standard Craft Distillery Coakley Bros. Co. Colectivo Coffee

Downer Avenue Wine & Spirits Exceptional Events Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. Kohler

MarcusCo.Hotels & Resorts

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Ogletree Deakins

Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel –Official Hotel of the MSO Sojourner Family Peace Center

Steinway Piano Gallery of Milwaukee Studio Gear – Official Event Partner of the WisconsinMSOPublic Radio

WMSE

THE MARQUEE CIRCLE

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra proudly partners with the following members of the 2022.23 Marquee Circle. We thank these generous partners of our annual corporate subscription program for their charitable contributions and for connecting their corporate communities with the MSO.

Bruce J. Loder, Branch Manager & Associates of Stifel of Mequon, WI Ellsworth Corporation Hupy and Abraham, S.C.

Port Washington State Bank

InTRIBUTESmemory Dorothy Aring

Mary and James Connelly

Scott Coonen and Anitamarie Zingale

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Frank Molly Fritz Lff

VeraMichaelDanielLeeFoundationandSusieJenningsPetryandJeanneSchmitzWilson

In memory of David A. Blumberg David and Sherry Blumberg

Lucy NaomiCooperandReuben Eisenstein

Gary Engle Kelsi Gard

Raul RichardMarkGomezLukoffand Mary Lux

Jay and Barbara Miller

Suzanne Millett

Drs. Alan and Carol Pohl Howard and Judy Tolkan David Weissman and Miriam Schechter

Norma MargaretZehnerZickuhr

In memory of Dr. Charles Brindis Calvin Bruce

In memory of Wayne Cook Greg and Julie Bradisse Art and Rena Thomas Bumgardner James Collier and Bette Jean Vanderburg Anne DeLeo Anne DeLeo and Patrick Curley Jim and Marlene Gauger

Mary Ann Goodman

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Hauer Dave and Debbie Holmes Richard Kruse David Kuehn

Tom and Judy Kurtin Ms. Clare Leslie

Ms. Lynn M. Lucius and Mr. Richard Taylor

Patricia Marek

Mr. Ehud Moscovitz and Ms. Shelley London Susan Mrnik

Daniel Petry

Al KathyBerniceSchefskySmaidaStokebrand

Spore & Keith Spore

Winifred and Arthur Thrall Jennifer, Gabe, Susie & Lisa Vulpas

In memory of Russ Dagon Joanne Bauer

Mary MichaelPauletteBellBerkich&Catherine Borschel

Dr. and Mrs. Squat Botley Terry Burko and David Taggart Chris and Katie Callen Donald Chappie Steve JoeHalMs.LeePhillipBethEricStephenCohenColburnandLynnDelzerGiacobassiHarveyandBarbaraJacobiMaryJirovecandJeanKacanekKutchera

Paul KarenGaryRobertDeanRogerMs.BethKyleMichaelHannahMehlenbeckPearsonPoytingerPyneReesHelenReichB.RuggeriandAndreaK.WagonerandMarthaSaylesSchultzandJanSmallP.SmithandDonald Haack

Gwen Tushaus

Mark AnneShawnLindaUlmerUnkeferVerdonideVroome

Kamerling

Gary Wagner Carl LynnMichaelWelleWelshandRoger White

Mr. and Mrs. Steve Whitney

In memory of James DeLeeuw Bob and Barbara Whealon

In honor of Neil Dinesen on his 90th birthday Mr. James M. Green

In memory of Lois Ehlert Patricia and Richard Ehlert

In memory of Anne Fitzgerald Michael and Jeanne Schmitz Mrs. James Urdan Bob and Barbara Whealon

In memory of Matt Flaig Trinidad Torres

In memory of Florence and Glen Fraser Lisa Gilvary

In memory of Charles Gorham Michael Schmitz Bob and Barbara Whealon

In honor of Alyce Katayama Steven and Buffy Duback

In memory of Janie Klug Bob and Barbara Whealon

In memory of Nancy and Arthur Laskin Joan Hardy

In memory of Dr. Keith Austin Larson

Austin Larson

Rev. Curtis A. Larson

Suzanne Zinsel

In memory of Susan Loris

TerryAnonymousBurkoand David Taggart

Mark and Susan Cohen

James and Charmaine LaBelle Kathleen and Charles Marn

Nellie Martens Murphy

Daniel KathrynPetryand ZJ Reinardy

Susi and Dick Stoll The Tomashek Family Mrs. James Urdan

In memory of Susan Loris from the MSO League Past Presidents Mark and Susan Cohen

Mary Connelly

Judy Christl

AnneTributesDeLeo&

Eileen Dubner

Marta Haas

Patrick Curl

Jean KathrynJoAnneBarbaraHolmburgHuntKrauseandZachary-John Reinardy

Maggie Stoeffel

The Tomashek Family Linda Tojek

Linda and Lynn Unkefer

Mrs. James Urdan

In honor and gratitude for the leadership of Peter Mahler, Andy Nunemaker, David Uihlein, Julia A. Uihlein

Mrs. James Urdan

In honor of Robert Meldman

Drs. Alan and Carol Pohl

In memory of Michael McCabe

Sharon Adams

Fred and Kay Austermann

Gary Balcerzak and Thomas Ewing George and Patricia Barger

Carolyn Bellin

James and Helen Benton Joyce and Carl Budde

Elizabeth Ladu Carrier

John CharlesSharonCefaluChudyandStephanie Cruse Anne Dr.BethSandraDavisDegeorgeandTedDurantandMrs.Brenton Field

Bill and Kari Foote

Sharon Gardner James and Jenny Gettel Joseph Grafwallner

Susan Mrs.KathyrnGramlingHallandMrs.Michael Hauer

Betsy DonaldHeadand Marian Heinz

Jeffrey and Susan Heyen Christine CaroleJamesCarlMr.LauriMaryKarolPatrickEllenDavidIldikoJeanMichelleMaryCynthiaCatherineDennisJeffreyEricChuckBethMaryMordecaiLindaDorothyMs.CynthiaDaveMs.JacquelynHillHollandSallyD.HoltandAnneHynekEJensenAnneKebisekKerrKrauseLeeandEarlLillydahlLoganandLindaMaloneMasterMcCabeMcEvoyandPatrickMcGinnMichalakMichalakMurphyPalkertPolinerRadayRedekerandStevenHarveyandNoreenReganRehmJaneReichartRollingsDarrenSchachtandBarbaraSchwartzandMaryJoSebernandKevinShafer

Karen Spinti and James Hempel

John Suchorski

Mike and Barbara Sweeney Gary and Susan Tatsak Bonnie Thomson Taylor RobertMarybethTinmouthTrampeandJoanne Vandenbusch

Elizabeth Vogel

Kathy WilliamWagnerandChristine Walker Diane W. Wirth Barbara Wollermann

In honor of Andy Nunemaker with wishes for many happy years in his new home

Mrs. James Urdan

In memory of Mary G. Peterson David J. Peterson

In honor of Adrienne Pollack-Sender on her milestone birthday Mrs. James Urdan

In memory of Allen Rieselbach Mr. and Mrs. Anthony w. Asmuth, III Richard and Sara Aster Margery Becker Richard and Kay Bibler Dr. Philip and the spirit of Beatrice Blank Bruce and Melissa Block Mark and Sharon Cameli Mary and James Connelly Valeria SusanThomasDowneyFlorsheimFreemanand

Judith Goetz

Richard Kahn

Joan J. BenedictHardyand Lee Kordus Norm and Judy Lasca Jim and Mary LaVelle Mr. and Mrs. Shelby Lozoff Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Mandel Frederick Muth

Michael Schmitz

Michael and Jane Simpson Gile and Linda Tojek Joan and the Spirit of Jim Urdan, Jennifer, Jon, and Jeff Elizabeth Walcott

In honor of Bob Schuppel Sarah Cauwels

In honor of Tom Varney Stanley Kokotiuk

In honor of Peter Wicklund and Ruby Shemanski Ms. Linda Jenewein

In memory of Anne T. White A. James White

MSO Board of Directors

OFFICERS

Susan Martin, Chair

Andy Nunemaker, Immediate Past Chair

David Uihlein, Honorary Co-Chair

Julia Uihlein, Honorary Co-Chair

Alyce Coyne Katayama, Secretary

Patrick Murphy, Treasurer; Chair, Finance Committee

Ken-David Masur, Music Director, Polly and Bill Van Dyke Music Director Chair

Mark Niehaus, President & Executive Director, Michael and Jeanne Schmitz Chair

EXECUTIVE COMMIT TEE

Susan Martin, Chair

Andy Nunemaker, Immediate Past Chair

Douglas M. Hagerman

Eric E. Hobbs

Karen Hung, Chair, Governance Committee

Alyce Coyne Katayama, Secretary

Robert Klieger, Chair, Players’ Council

Mark Metzendorf, Chair, Advancement Committee

Patrick Murphy, Treasurer; Chair, Finance Committee

Mark Niehaus, President & Executive Director, Michael and Jeanne Schmitz Chair

Mike Schmitz, Chair, Chairman’s Council

Dick Stoll, Chair, Marketing & Advocacy Committee

Haruki Toyama, Chair, Artistic Direction Committee

DIRECTORS

Kate Brewer

Jeff Costakos

Jen PeterCharlotteMarionDirksGottschalkHayslettMahler, Chair, Grand Future Committee

Christopher Miller, Immediate Past Chair, Forte

Christian Mitchell

Robert Monnat

Maura Packham, Chair, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (EDI) Task Force

Leslie Plamann, Chair, Audit Committee

Jay E. Schwister, Chair, Retirement Plan Committee

Dale R. HerbGregorySmithA.SmithZien,  Chair, Facilities Management Committee

CITY AND COUNTY DIRECTORS

City Sachin Chheda

Pegge FrancisSytkowskiWasielewski

County

Fiesha Lynn Bell

Chris GarrenLaydenRandolph

MUSICIAN DIRECTORS

Robert Klieger, Chair, Players’ Council

Ilana Setapen

CHAIRMAN’S COUNCIL

Michael J. Schmitz, Chair Chris StephenJamesKeithMartinJoAnneMichaelLeeBeverlyJamesJudyAngelaLeonBarbaraJeanMartaFranklynEileenDonnMaryM.RobertaThomasCharlesRichardAbeleS.BiblerBoyleE.CaesteckerCarawayJudithChristlConnellyDresselhuysG.DubnerEsenbergP.HaasHolmburgHuntP.JanssenG.JohnstonJorgensenA.KaschA.KleinWaltherKordusJ.KossKrauseJ.KrebsMardakG.RascheE.Richman

Thomas L. Smallwood

Joan Steele Stein

Linda Tojek

Joan R. Urdan

Larry KathleenWatersA.Wilson

MSO ENDOWMENT & FOUNDATION TRUSTEES

Bruce Laning, Trustee Chairman, Endowment & Foundation

Amy Croen, Endowment & Foundation

Steven Etzel, Endowment & Foundation

Douglas M. Hagerman, Foundation  Bartholomew Reuter, Endowment Foundation

PAST CHAIRMEN

Andy Nunemaker (2014-2020)

Douglas M. Hagerman (2011-2014)

Chris Abele (2004-2011)

Judy Jorgensen (2002-2004)

Stephen E. Richman (2000-2002)

Stanton J. Bluestone* (1998-2000)

Allen N. Rieselbach* (1995-1998)

Edwin P. Wiley (1993-1995)

Michael J. Schmitz (1990-1993)

Orren J. Bradley (1988-1990)

Russell W. Britt* (1986-1988)

James H. Keyes (1984-1986)

Richard S. Bibler (1982-1984)

John K. MacIver* (1980-1982)

Donn R. Dresselhuys (1978-1980)

Harrold J. McComas* (1976-1978)

Laflin C. Jones* (1974-1976)

Robert S. Zigman* (1972-1974)

Charles A. Krause* (1970-1972)

Donald B. Abert* (1968-1970)

Erhard H. Buettner* (1966-1968)

Clifford Randall* (1964-1966)

John Ogden* (1962-1964)

Stanley Williams* (1959-1962)

* deceased

EXECUTIVE

Mark Niehaus, President & Executive Director, Michael and Jeanne Schmitz Chair

Bret Dorhout, Vice President of Artistic Planning

Kathryn Reinardy, Vice President of Marketing & Communications

Robin Sasman, Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Rick Snow, Vice President of Facilities & Building Operations

Cynthia Moore, Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion Manager

Michele Fitzgerald, Executive Assistant & Board Liaison

Emma Zei, Administrative Assistant

ADVANCEMENT

Tina Itson, Director of Institutional Giving

Heidi Olson, Director of Advancement Operations & Stewardship

Michael Rossetto, Director of Individual Giving Kate Braun, Grant Writer

Krista Hettinger, Individual Giving Manager

Sam Hushek, Events & Volunteer Manager

William Loder, Senior Individual Giving Manager

Tracy Migon, Development Systems Manager

Lindsey Ruenger, Individual Giving Manager

Emily Santeler, Advancement Operations & Stewardship Manager

Maggie Seer, Institutional Giving Manager

EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Rebecca Whitney, Director of Education Hannah Esch, Senior Education & Engagement Manager

Elise McArdle, Education Coordinator

FINANCE

Jenny Beier, Senior Accountant  Alexa Aldridge, Staff Accountant

MARKETING

Erin Kogler, Director of Communications Adam Cohen, Patron Systems Manager

Marcella Morrow, Marketing Manager

Zachary-John Reinardy, Lead Designer Kerry Tomaszewski, Communications Manager

BOX OFFICE

Luther Gray, Director of Ticket Operations & Group Sales

Al Bartosik, Box Office Manager

Marie Holtyn, Box Office Supervisor

David Jensen, Patron Services Assistant

Robin Doyle, Box Office Assistant

John Hallman, Box Office Assistant Sean Schueler, Box Office Assistant

Zoe Waeltz, Box Office Assistant

OPERATIONS

Françoise Moquin, Director of Orchestra Personnel

Terrell Pierce, Director of Operations Kayla Aftahi, Operations Coordinator Paul Beck, Principal Librarian, Anonymous Donor, Principal Librarian Chair

Kelsey Padron, Artistic Coordinator Paolo Scarabel, Stage Technician & Deck Supervisor

Emily Wacker Schultz, Artist Duty Assistant

Jeremy Tusz, Audio & Video Producer

Tristan Wallace, Technical Manager & Live Audio Super visor Christina Williams, Chorus Manager

FACILITIES & EVENT SERVICES

Patrick G. H. Schley, Director of Event Services

Travis Byrd, Facilities Coordinator

Lisa Kilmczak , House Manager

David Kotlewski, House Manager

Zoe Waeltz, Senior House Manager

Celebrating Life One Family at a Time

For over 45 years, families have trusted Jody to take care of the many details involved in pre-need planning, cremation or a traditional funeral service. Jody has the compassion, answers and experience to guide you every step of the way.