RSS 2.0 FeedJanuary 4, 2012, Classical
Spring 2012 preview: Orchestras
The Kansas City Symphony continues its first season in the Kauffman Center and the numerous local orchestras provide an embarrassment of riches for fans of orchestral sound this spring. Some superb foreign orchestras will also be gracing the stages of the KC metro area.
The 2012 portion of the Kansas City Symphony schedule is littered with world-class soloists and some of the finest repertoire around.Yo-Yo Ma performs the Dvořák Cello Concerto in a concert that also features the amazing Concerto for Orchestra by Lutoslawski. Renowned maestro Christoph von Dohnanyi takes the orchestra through Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel and Tschaikovsky’sPathetique. Joshua Bell is showcased in Lalo’s famed Symphonie Espagnole alongside Saint-Saëns’ masterpiece, the Organ Symphony. As if that weren’t enough, there will be not one but two Haydn symphonies, performances of both Mahler 2 and Beethoven 9, and one of the greatest works of the entire twentieth century, Alan Hovhaness’ breathtaking Mysterious Mountain. I’m actually foaming at the mouth slightly as I type this.
The Harriman-Jewell Series has only one orchestra concert on the back half of its schedule, but it’s a winner: Jeffrey Tate leading hisHamburg Symphony Orchestra with soloist Guy Braunstein in two of music’s all-time masterpieces, Dvořák’s epic Symphony no. 7and Brahms’ massive Violin Concerto.
The Tschaikowski St. Petersburg State Orchestra appears at Yardley Hall as part of the JCCC Performing Arts Series on March 4.Roman Leontiev will lead the musicians through a heavy program with music of Wagner, Mozart, and Mussorgsky.
John Stricker winds down his time with the Topeka Symphony with some interesting aggressive programming; a Spanish-themed program highlighted by Ravel’s famous Bolero and a season finale that culminates in Shostakovich’s hellacious Symphony no. 5.
The smaller orchestras in town are no slouches in the entertainment department this winter and spring. The Kansas City Civic Orchestra will submit their own effort in Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony in a concert also featuring the delightful Trumpet Concerto of Johann Nepomuk Hummel and close the season in a frenzy with the Symphony No. 4 of Tchaikovsky. Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony No. 8 and an all-Brahms concert will keep the Liberty Symphony occupied, while the Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City tackles two of music’s most gargantuan conceptions, Holst’s The Planets and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Up north, theNorthland Symphony will feature hornist Pete Jilka in Strauss’ Horn Concerto no. 1 as well as Vaughan Williams’ stunning Tallis Fantasia. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for concerts from the Overland Park Orchestra, the Lee’s Summit Symphony, the Heritage Philharmonic, and the Youth Symphonies of Kansas City, too.
The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra only has two things to tell you in their final three concerts, and they’re called Bach and Mozart. The season is highlighted by an evening in the Folly Theater featuring the complete Brandenburg Concerti in a co-production with The Friends of Chamber Music. Finally, the students of the KU Symphony Orchestra have a concerto concert in the works, while the UMKC Symphony Orchestra will perform a couple concerts as well. It promises to be a busy and exciting start to 2012 for orchestra fans in the metro.
Top Photo: Kansas City Symphony (Photo by Chris Lee)
Classical Contributor
Erik Klackner loves music enough to try and write about it. After receiving a bachelor's degree in horn from the University of Kentucky and a master's in orchestral conducting from the University of Utah, Erik worked as a freelance musician in the Pacific Northwest before relocating to the Midwest. There is an 85% chance that he is engrossed is some random Varèse piece or Bruckner 9 as you are reading this sentence. His unedited thoughts can be read at klacknermusic.wordpress.com.
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