Best Season EVAR

Today the Minnesota Orchestra’s BEST SEASON EVAR was announced.

Since I don’t live in Minneapolis (…or, um, Minnesota…), every concert I attend, I deal with a two hour drive to and a two hour drive fro, and that is not nothing, especially during our eleven-month Siberian winters. So to help me decide which programs I should select, I’m going to muse out loud in a blog entry. To be clear, these are my personal picks: there are actually a lot more concerts beyond what I’m mentioning here, and you really need to check out the full schedule for yourself.

Renee Fleming Gala (September 5). This should be the hottest ticket in town, and I reluctantly admit the MOA would be STUPID to not jack up the prices way beyond what I can afford. But if you have the money, go go go. GOOOOO. Because how often do you get to hear an orchestra play great arias live? With Renee Fleming? That’s right: it happens NEVER.

Lake Harriet Free Concert (September 14). On the highlight list because it’s…well, free! And the repertoire is very fun: Borodin, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss. Great music for outdoor dancing, or dramatic slo-mo running to the love theme from the Romeo and Juliet overture. Seven thousand people attended the last Lake Harriet concert, so join the fun! (And get there early!)

Barber / Mahler (September 26, 27, 28). Alisa Weilerstein’s passion is going to serve the Barber cello concerto fabulously well. And then the Minnesota Chorale in the Mahler “Resurrection”?

Don Quixote (October 9, 10, 11). Cervantes’ Don Quixote is the most beautifully deranged protagonist imaginable, and Strauss’s cello-concerto-ish tribute to his story is totally lovable. Our resident cello powerhouse Tony Ross solos. Plus, the principal viola part represents Sancho Panza. Tom Turner stars as Sancho Panza. That alone is worth the price of admission for a viola section fangirl. And then the sweeping luxury of the suite from Der Rosenkavalier… This is the way you celebrate a great composer’s birthday, wowza.

Tchaikovsky 5, and Bassoons (November 21, 22, 23). Kinda looking forward to this one because I’m studying the viola part of Tchaik 5 for a Young Musicians of Minnesota performance in August. Plus, bassoons are on the program. Bassoons. So if you’re into either Tchaikovsky or bassoons, this would be a great program. And also: Gabrieli. Gabrieli, guys. When was the last time you heard Gabrieli at Orchestra Hall? None of us have enough Gabrieli in our lives. Seriously.

Messiah (December 12, 13). If Christopher Warren-Green’s Messiah is half as good as his recent Mozart interpretations, this will be a must-hear performance.

New Year’s Eve Gershwin (December 31). Party with Osmo and the musicians at Orchestra Hall? With Gershwin? Great New Year’s Eve, or the Greatest New Year’s Eve??? Holy crap. You know what? Let’s have a black and white party like An American In Paris. I want to see all my readers in their best dice and harlequin attire.

I will be disappointed if the lobby doesn’t look like this come New Year’s Eve. Can someone resurrect Oscar Levant? I’d kiss him.

Future Classics (January 16). This is an important show to catch. There’s nothing else like seeing brand new music, seriously. Even if new music is not your thing, think about attending this one anyway. The joy of discovery will be palpable, and it will be a showcase for the orchestra to boot.

Walton! (January 22, 23, 24). I don’t know a lot of Walton, but I’m crazy over what I do know. His first symphony is amazing, and his violin concerto is probably my favorite underrated work for that instrument. (And there are a lot of underrated violin concertos.) So I’d love to catch Henry V. And then…….

Bruckner 4.

Haha. Wow.

Shakespeare Stuff (January 30, 31). A series of Romeo and Juliet themed blockbusters.

And then!

AUGUSTIN FRICKING HADELICH (February 5, 6) comes to town toting what will no doubt be a completely kickass Tchaikovsky concerto. Fun Factoid: I’ve never seen the Tchaikovsky concerto, the piece that inspired me to take the violin seriously, live. (…) If I can’t see Ehnes play the Tchaik, I’m not exaggerating when I say my next choice would be Hadelich. He’s a god, as I observed last time he came to the Twin Cities. Plus!: the New World Symphony. This is overplayed repertoire, maybe, but Who Cares. Sometimes even the most devoted music fans haven’t seen some of these pieces live (cough). And the Minnesota Orchestra excels at bringing new revelations out of overplayed repertoire.

GIL FRICKING SHAHAM (February 12, 13, 14) in the Korngold. Shaham’s sound and style are perfectly suited for Korngold. If I could hear him play one piece, it would be either Korngold or Elgar concerto, no joke. (And yeah, I do often sit around, musing which artists I’d like to hear in what concertos…) And then!: in the same program!: the teenage Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream overture. And the Faure Pelleas et Melisande suite. (Faure, the composer I love the best by far.) And then the second Daphnis et Chloe suite. DAPHNIS ET CHLOE.

DAPHNIS ET CHLOE.

Did the musicians steal my dreams, Inception-style?

I dunno, something like this happened during the season planning, I think

Next big highlight: Erin Keefe Starring In The Piece She Was Born to Play (April 2, 3, 4). Yup, you read it here first: Erin Keefe was born to play Lark Ascending. Every time my mom and I have heard a performance by Keefe we look at each other afterward and sigh, “Oh, wouldn’t she be amazing in Lark Ascending?” I love this piece. And I love Erin. And I have a thing about larks.

There is some other cool repertoire on the program too. And then afterward in the lobby: Quartet for the End of Time, with Osmo on clarinet. And candlelight. Might want to pack some Kleenex in the handbag. Wow.

***Acadia!*** (April 30, May 1, 2). The perfect way to greet spring: a performance of Judd Greenstein’s Acadia, which I wrote about on the blog a lifetime ago (AKA March of 2012). My heart is melded to this piece, now more than ever. My mom – who isn’t even an orchestra musician! – frequently says to me that the premiere of Acadia was the most moving concert she’d ever been to, and we’ve been to some pretty moving concerts over the years. So you all need to come. To see it live is a fabulous journey that will be made all the richer for what we’ve all endured. Look for me: I’ll be the sobbing mess somewhere on the main floor! Yay!! You can listen to the piece here to see what I’m talking about. Need more convincing? Burt Hara is returning for Copland clarinet concerto. Plus, Steve Heitzig and Bernstein.

Beethoven 7 (May 21, 22, 23). Yup, they definitely stole my dreams. Get out of my dreams, musicians!! My dreams should be PERSONAL SPACE, thanks. But if I could have programmed one piece this season, it would be Beethoven 7, for reasons explored here. It’s my favorite Beethoven…maybe even my favorite orchestra music, period. And then the gripping first piano concerto of Brahms, the piece in which he explored his feelings for Clara Schumann… (Those two independent, unconventional spirits are definitely my favorite couple in music history. Go, Team Johannes!) A program simply doesn’t get much better than this. And dear Stan, leading a weekend of Brahms and Beethoven at the age of 92!

Sibelius Cycle Wrap Up Part 1! (May 28, 29, 30) and Sibelius Cycle Wrap Up Part 2!! (June 5, 6). I can only assume Osmo’s thought process went something like this: “You know, defying all odds by finishing a historic Sibelius recording cycle that most people gave up for dead is simply not going to be enough. I think we need to add on a Mahler symphony, and also – why not – Andre Watts in Brahms 2.” And God bless them, the musicians said, “Sure!” Quick etiquette question: do we start writing the 2017 Grammy acceptance speech now, or would it be good manners to wait until the performance is actually put down on disc?

So, um. I wanted to write this to clarify which set of five or so shows I want to go to, but turns out I JUST MADE MY DECISIONS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT ARGH. How am I going to choose? Seriously. How – am – I – going – to – choose? I DON’T KNOW. I should just set up a heated tent in Peavey Plaza over the winter or something. Or figure out the whole teleportation thing.

Anyway. It will be a yearlong musical masterclass like you’ve never seen before, and I urge everyone visiting the blog to take a look at the schedule and budget for as many shows as you can. Sold out houses will help ensure that the 15-16 season will be just as incredible.

If you have any ideas about how SOTL can make your 14-15 season special, let me know. I have some ideas, but I’d love to hear from YOU what you want to see on the blog…and maybe before or after certain concerts. So to that end, let me know which concerts you’re most excited about, and why!

Before I sign off, one quick question: have you stopped to realize what a miracle this season is? Like, a dictionary-definition miracle? As in “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency”? Okay. That’s good. I’m so happy you remember.

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