Gabel, Ross and Brahms’ Second
Fri Sep 30 — Sat Oct 1, 2022
Orchestra Hall
Fabien Gabel returns to our stage to lead the Minnesota Orchestra in an idyllic program that begins with Richard Strauss’ passionate and colorful Love Scene from Feuersnot. Principal Cello Anthony Ross steps out into the solo spotlight for a performance of Michael Daugherty’s Tales of Hemingway, each of its four movements inspired by one of American author Ernest Hemingway’s stories. Finally, Brahms’ Second Symphony journeys from gentle to joyful as it closes this creative concert.
A Few Things to Know
- Anthony Ross has been featured as a soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra frequently since he joined the ensemble in 1988. He likes to tell a joke or a story to the cello section right before going onstage for a concert.
- If you love Brahms’ symphonies, make plans now to come back to Orchestra Hall in May for performances of his First Symphony, led by violinist and conductor Leonidas Kavakos.
- “Suffused with the sunshine and the warm winds playing on the water”—these are the words Austrian musicologist Richard Specht used to describe Brahms’ Second Symphony.
Hear Anthony Ross play his favorite passages from Tales of Hemingway
Program
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R. STRAUSS
Love Scene from Feuersnot
1 min noteOne Minute Note
Richard Strauss’ rarely-staged Feuersnot concludes with passionate music that comes at a culminating moment in the plot—involving magic, fire and coercion—and the young Strauss hints at motifs of his idol Richard Wagner.
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DAUGHERTY
Tales of Hemingway for Cello and Orchestra
1 min noteOne Minute Note
Four stories by the novelist Ernest Hemingway come to life in Michael Daugherty’s recent work Tales of Hemingway, which won three 2017 Grammy Awards. The solo cello at the center of the sweeping drama that explores the healing power of the outdoors, the running of the bulls in Spain, the struggle between man and nature—and chimes ringing out in For Whom the Bell Tolls.
- INTERMISSION
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BRAHMS
Symphony No. 2
1 min noteOne Minute Note
Johannes Brahms’ Second Symphony, which the composer described as “cheerful and delightful,” has an expansive feel, yet it is a tightly integrated, concentrated work. A three-note motif leads the way from the work’s opening measures, through a buoyant first movement, a stirring Adagio, a leisurely trio movement and a blazing finale.
Artists
The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra, now in its second century, ranks among America’s top symphonic ensembles, with a distinguished history of acclaimed performances in its home state and around the world; award-winning recordings, broadcasts and educational engagement programs; and a commitment to intentionally build concert programs to feature more works by composers of color, exploring music both contemporary and historic. This fall, Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård begins his tenure as music director.
Fabien Gabel has established an international career of the highest calibre, appearing with orchestras such as London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln Cologne, Tonkünstler-Orchester, Oslo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Praised for his dynamic style and sensitive approach to the score, he is best known for his eclectic choice of repertoire ranging from core symphonic works to new music to championing lesser-known composers of the 19th and the 20th century.
Gabel begins the 2021-22 season giving the season opening concerts of the Tonkünstler-Orchester in Vienna. Other highlights of the season include his debuts with NDR Radiophilharmonie, Stavanger Symphony, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Malmö Symphony and Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, and his return to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra where he appears regularly. With the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia he gives the Spanish premiere of the complete version of Tomasi trumpet concerto with Håkan Hardenberger. In North America, he continues his established relationships with orchestras such as Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Symphony and Detroit Symphony. He is highly in demand in his native France with Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique du Capitole de Toulouse and Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo.
Dynamic leader of the Minnesota Orchestra’s cello section since 1991, prize-winning cellist Anthony Ross has appeared as soloist many times with the Orchestra, performing all the standard cello concertos under Osmo Vänskä, Edo de Waart and Eiji Oue. Equally passionate about new music, he has given powerful performances of Michael Daugherty’s Tales of Hemingway, James MacMillan’s Cello Concerto, Paul Moravec’s Montserrat, and he and his wife, Beth Rapier, have championed David Ott’s Concerto for Two Cellos since 1993. Prior to assuming the principal role in Minnesota, Ross performed for four years as principal cello of the Rochester Philharmonic under David Zinman.
Ross’ compelling interpretations have won wide acclaim from Moscow to Kalamazoo, and Dallas to Duluth. As concerto soloist, he has played with the Moscow State Orchestra, the Louisville Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, the South Dakota Symphony and many other Midwest regional orchestras. Ross’ recordings include Leonard Bernstein’s Three Meditations from the Mass, the George Lloyd Cello Concerto with the Albany Symphony and the Sonatas of Rachmaninoff and Elliott Carter.
Accessibility Services
- Armless & Bariatric Chairs
- Assistive Listening Devices
- Large-Print Programs
- Noise-Cancelling Headphones
- Service Animals
- Wheelchair & Accessible Seating
Additional services are available upon request.