Music Director Osmo Vanska and the Minnesota Orchestra present a program spotlighting “three Hs”—composers Haydn, Higdon and Hanson—with two crowd-pleasing symphonies and a work for the unusual combination of solo violin, chorus and orchestra.
Haydn’s Symphony No. 101, famous for the clock-like ticking in its second movement, opens the program, followed by the Minnesota premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s The Singing Rooms, a work co-commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra, featuring violinist Jennifer Koh and the Orchestra’s principal chorus, the Minnesota Chorale. The concerts conclude with Hanson’s lush Symphony No. 2, Romantic.
The performances are held at Orchestra Hall on Thursday, May 21, at 11 a.m., and Friday, May 22, at 8 p.m., with ticket prices ranging from $21 to $83.
Jennifer Koh, violin
American violinist Jennifer Koh is recognized in the U.S. and abroad for her intense, elegant performances on major concert and recital stages. She has appeared as soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, BBC Symphony and other ensembles, and has presented recitals in New York, Philadelphia and other major cities.
She debuted with the Minnesota Orchestra in 1995, the year after she won the International Tchaikovsky Competition, and last appeared here during the 1999 Sommerfest, playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto.
In recent seasons Koh has premiered several new works commissioned for her, including a chamber composition by Jennifer Higdon and a violin concerto by Charles Wuorinen.
Minnesota Chorale
The Minnesota Chorale, the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal chorus, is now in its 14th season under the leadership of Kathy Saltzman Romey. Founded in 1972, the Chorale is the state’s preeminent symphonic chorus, performing regularly with both this Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
A ticking clock, reflective new work and romantic symphony
Haydn’s Symphony No. 101 is known for the “tick-tock” accompaniment in the second movement—but graceful tunes, often based on a rising scale, abound in all four movements. In the adventurous finale, suspense builds until a virtuosic fugue.
Higdon’s new composition The Singing Rooms employs orchestra, chorus and solo violin in an exploration of seven “rooms” in a house full of life lessons. Episodes include a gentle musical daybreak, an anxious confession and an intimate conversation with God depicted by an English horn-violin duet. Higdon, who lives in Philadelphia, will be present for these performances.
Horns are the central force in Hanson’s Second Symphony, which the composer called “young in spirit” and “warm-blooded.” A slow, haunting opening leads to an Allegro full of urgent, lyric melodies. The gorgeous slow movement evokes church music, while the finale builds to a blaze of jubilant fanfares. -- www.minnesotaorchestra.org
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