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March 19 | 7:30 p.m.
University Recital Series
Hector Landa, piano
Webb Recital Hall
April 16 | 7:30 p.m.
University Recital Series
Erin Aldridge, violin
Alexander Sandor, piano
Webb Recital Hall
April 6 | 7:30 p.m
St. John’s Passion: UWS & CSS Choruses and Orchestras
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, Duluth
April 7 | 3:00 p.m
St. John’s Passion: UWS & CSS Choruses and Orchestras
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Superior
Time flies, if you’re having fun. Looking back at 10 years with the DSSO, it seems that I just started working here yesterday! It has been an incredible honor and privilege to lead this wonderful orchestra over the past decade. Together we have performed over 200 works – on our Masterworks Series alone. We made lots of memories along the way and I can’t wait to embark on our next decade together. One thing is for certain: More great music will find its way to us and enrich our lives, beginning with our 2023/24 Season.
As we continue our efforts to make underrepresented voices heard, we focus our attention on works written by female composers. From composers with a romantic voice, like Clara Schumann and Amy Beach, to more modern voices, like Anna Clyne and Joan Tower: This season we explore rich and powerful compositions, written by strong women around the globe. We are thrilled to even include a world premiere, a new work written for the DSSO by Duluth composer Wendy Durrwachter.
Our second focus this season is to celebrate our past 10 years together. What better way to do so than with audiences’ and musicians’ favorites. Last season we asked all of you to submit your favorites from the past decade. For the audience the clear winner was Carmina Burana, while the musicians voted Gustav Mahler as their favorite. With these blockbusters bookending the season, we complete our Masterworks Series with beloved composers like Mozart, Sibelius and Brahms while, at the same time, presenting amazing works by lesser known masters, like Wieniawski, Walton and Weill.
In our Pops Series we bring back our Holiday tradition and take a stroll back through the Pops classics. This promises to be one of our most exciting and fun seasons ever. A great way to ring in the next decade!
Dirk Meyer, Music Director Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra
Mark Monson, Board President
John Berchild, Past Chair
Robert T. Bennett, Treasurer
Tammy Ostrander, Secretary
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
William Alexander
Sandra Barkley
Robert T. Bennett
John Berchild
Linda Boben
Mark Danielson
Rhonda Degelau
Beth Gilbert
Jeremy Hoglund
Jill Kaiser
Tina Koecher
James McLeod
Mark Monson
Emily Nygren
Tammy Ostrander
William “Buzz” Palmer
Branden Robinson
Kathleen Sanders
James Sebastian
Nairi Stack
Rajiv Vaidyanathan
Roberta Vose
Christabel Grant
Elaine Killen
Dexter Larsen
Nancy Melander
James Zastrow
ADMINISTRATION
Brandon VanWaeyenberghe, Executive Director
Kelly Katzmarek, Marketing Director
Audrey Beyer, Development Manager
Ginger Dallin, Sales and Promotion Specialist
ARTISTIC STAFF
Dirk Meyer, The Charles A. & Carolyn M. Russell Music Director
David Arnott, Manager of Orchestra Operations
Kristin Sande, Music Librarian
CHORUS
Aine Miller, Chorus Administrator
Beth Sobczak, Rehearsal Accompanist
CONCERT BOX OFFICE
Hannah Wohlers, Front of House Assistant
Cas Bordner, Front of House Assistant
Dirk Meyer (2013 – present)
Markand Thakar (2001 – 2012)
Yong-yan Hu (1995 – 2000)
Taavo Virkhaus (1977-1994)
Joseph Hawthorne (1967-1977)
Hermann Herz (1950-1967)
Joseph Wagner (1947-1950)
Tauno Hannikainen (1942 – 1947)
Paul Lemay (1932 – 1942)
YOUTH ORCHESTRAS
Melanie Sever, Administrative Director and Concert Orchestra Conductor
Kristin Sande, DSSYO Administrative Assistant
Ronald Kari, Youth Orchestras Coordinator
Pedro Oviedo, Youth Symphony Conductor
Kevin Hoeschen, Sinfonia Conductor
Byron Klimek, Sinfonia Conductor
Teresa Aho, Sinfonia Conductor
Jeremy Craycraft, Percussion Ensemble Director
PRINTING OF NORTHERN SOUNDS
Pro Print
NORTHERN SOUNDS PROGRAM NOTES
Vincent Osborn, Program Notes Writer
Ronald Kari, Performance Historian, now in his 62nd Season with DSSO
DULUTH SUPERIOR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Office: 506 W. Michigan St., Duluth, MN 55802
TICKETS
218–623–3776 tickets@dsso.com | www.dsso.com
Sponsors: Harris & Diane Balko; Elisabeth C. Mason; The Charles A. & Carolyn M. Russell Foundation
Erin Aldridge, Concertmaster
Sponsor: Arend J. & Verna Sandbulte in support of the concertmaster chair through the Sandbulte Orchestra Leadership Fund
Mary Alice Hutton, Associate Concertmaster
Angela Waterman-Hanson, Assistant Concertmaster
Nicole Craycraft
Kathleen Sanders
Sponsor: Dr. Vicki & Terry Anderson
Nairi Stack
Sponsor: Bill Stack of Stack Bros. Mechanical
Contractors
Joan Halquist
Amanda Wirta
Sponsors: John & Rhonda Degelau
Lian Ojakangas
Daniel Radosevich
Steve Highland
Sponsor: Thomas & Barbara Elliott
Jenna Mattson
Sponsors: Tom & Jill Kaiser
Kristin Sande
Laurie Bastian, Principal
Sponsor: James & Jacquie Sebastian
Jean Leibfried, Assistant Principal
Sponsor: Sandra Barkley
Amy Eichers
Sponsor: Thomas & Alice McCabe
Michael Husby
Sponsor: Brad Schmugge
Olga Chernyshev
Sponsor: Walt & Kay Gower
Marc Harroo
Michael Zellgert
Sponsor: Vern & May Nordling
Sarah Warner
Sponsor: Kathleen & James Sanders
Kristen Anderson
Sponsor: Diane Kolquist & James Seitz
Lara Hicks
Kevin Hoeschen, Principal
Ronald Kari, Assistant Principal
Sponsor: Steve & Lauri Cushing
Clare Chopp
Sponsor: Martha A. Aas
Jonathan Kresha
Sponsor: Nancy Odden & Doug Britton
Kevin Peterson
Sponsors: Robert & Barbara Bennett and Linda & Mark Boben
Elizabeth Cregan
J. David Arnott
Sponsor: Sylvia Jamar
Judy MacGibbon
Kelli Barker
John Middleton
Betsy Husby, Principal
Sponsor: Christabel & James Grant
Lucia Magney, Assistant Principal
Sponsor: Ann Mars
Julia Morehouse
Sponsor: Nancy Melander
Eric Graf (Leave 23-24)
Rebecca M. Peterson
Sponsor: Robert & Barbara Bennett
Darin Anderson
Byron Klimek
Lindsay Schlemmer
Scott Lykins
Daniel Keeler
Cassidy Morgan, Principal
Vincent Osborn, Assistant Principal
Sponsor: Lane Fryberger Smith
Anthony Lischalk
Sponsor: John Ivey Thomas & Mary Rees Thomas Family Fund
James McLeod
Sponsor: Branden Robinson
Irving G. Steinberg
Sponsor: Lurene Buhrmann
Blake Bonde
Sponsor: Carolyn Sundquist
Gordon Lewis
James DeVoll, Principal
Melanie Sever, Second Flute
Michael Dayton, Principal
Sponsor: Gary & Jacqueline Foley
Darci Griffith Gamerl, Second Oboe (Leave 23-24)
Sarah Boyle Carmack, Third Oboe / English Horn
Jennifer Gerth, Principal
Sponsor: William & Saundra Palmer
Kristine Peterson, Second Clarinet
Theodore Schoen, Third Clarinet / Utility
Sponsor: Karl Diekman
Michael L. Roemhildt, Principal
Jefferson Campbell, Second Bassoon
Sponsor: Timothy Sandor
Karl Kubiak, Third Bassoon / Contra
James Pospisil, Principal
Sponsor: James & Mary Zastrow
Deborah Rausch, Assistant Principal / Utility
Erika Hammerschmidt, Second Horn (Leave 23-24)
Sponsors: Roger & Elaine Engle and Mary Evans
Gwendolyn Hoberg, Third Horn
Nicholas Brown, Fourth Horn
Earl Salemink, Principal
Sponsor: Dr. Robert Wahman
Charles Leibfried, Second Trumpet
Sponsor: Jeffrey & Vickie Cadwell
Thomas Muehlenbeck-Pfotenhauer, Third Trumpet
Sponsor: Mark & Grace Monson
Larry J. Zimmerman, Principal
Sponsor: Roberta Vose
Christian Howard, Second Trombone
James Erickson, Third Trombone
Sponsor: Mark Danielson & Theresa Smith
Steve Grove, Principal
Sponsor: Helena Jackson
Colin O’Day, Principal Percussion
Sponsor: Susan J. Relf
Fred Morgan, Principal Timpani
Janell Kokkonen Lemire, Principal
Sponsor: Elaine B. Killen
Gregory Kehl Moore, Principal
We’re a proud sponsor of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra.
We believe in putting people first and making a difference in the lives of women who are the heart of our hometowns.
With over 900 stores across the U.S. and Canada, we’ve been helping women celebrate style and live life to the fullest for over 90 years.
Marshall School is an accredited independent college preparatory school for students in grades K-12.
For more than a century, Marshall has adapted with Duluth while maintaining a foundation of providing the highest quality educational experience and consistently upholding values of exhibiting strong academic habits, integrity, respect, and compassion.
Students benefit from unique programs and characteristics, including:
• Innovative outdoor-based K-4 Forest School
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FINE ARTS PARTICIPATION
SATURDAY, MARCH 16TH, 2024 7 PM
DECC SYMPHONY HALL, ALLETE STAGE
DIRK MEYER, CONDUCTOR
GENEVA LEWIS, VIOLIN
GABRIEL MARTINS, CELLO
BRAHMS
32’
Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, op. 102
Allegro
Andante
Vivace non troppo
Geneva Lewis, Violin
Gabriel Martins, Cello
INTERMISSION
WALTON
Symphony No.1 in B-flat minor
Allegro assai
Presto con malizia
Andante con malinconia
Maestoso - Allegro brioso ed ardentemente
41’
Cellist Gabriel Martins (b. 1998) has established himself as one of the world’s most compelling young musicians. His artistry has already been recognized through an extensive list of accolades including the Concert Artists Guild/Young Classical Artists Trust Grand Prize, the Sphinx Competition Gold Medal, the David Popper International Cello Competition Gold Medal, the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians Silver Medal, the Schadt String Competition Gold Medal, the Orford Music Award, and the Prague Spring Czech Music Fund Prize. These successes have led to a number of high-profile debuts including Carnegie, Merkin, and Wigmore Halls, 92nd Street Y, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Maison Symphonique in Montréal, and the Arkansas, Greensboro, Houston, Indianapolis, Memphis, New Russian State, Omaha, Pacific, Phoenix and São Paulo Symphony Orchestras. In 2022, The Strad Magazine declared his New York City recital debut to be "flawlessly played...a deeply moving experience”, and Classic FM named him one of their “30 under 30” Rising Stars.
Lauded for his "rich, warm" and "mesmerizing" sound, Martins carries a concerto repertoire spanning every major work. In recital, his performances of the Bach Cello Suites have garnered particular recognition. Martins’ playing has been broadcast on NPR, WQXR, KUSC, WFMT, and more. His festival appearances include Aspen, Bard, Brevard, Chamberfest Cleveland, Four Seasons, La Jolla, Ravinia, and Yellow Barn.
Born of American and Brazilian heritage, Martins grew up in Bloomington, Indiana. He began playing the cello when he was five, studying with Susan Moses at the Indiana University String Academy. He went on to receive his B.M. as a Presidential Scholar at the USC Thornton School of Music with Ralph Kirshbaum. In his freshman year at USC, he won the school’s concerto competition as well as its Bach competition. He received his M.M. at the New England Conservatory of Music with Laurence Lesser. In addition to performing, he also composes, arranges, and teaches. He plays a composite Francesco Ruggieri cello made in Cremona, c. 1690 and a François Nicolas Voirin bow made in Paris, c. 1880.
New Zealand-born violinist Geneva Lewis has forged a reputation as a musician of consummate artistry whose performances speak from and to the heart. Lauded for “remarkable mastery of her instrument” (CVNC) and hailed as “clearly one to watch” (Musical America), Geneva is the recipient of a 2022 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant and Grand Prize winner of the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Competition. Additional accolades include Kronberg Academy’s Prince of Hesse Prize, being named a Performance Today Young Artist in Residence, and Musical America’s New Artist of the Month. Most recently, Geneva was named one of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists.
Since her solo debut at age 11 with the Pasadena POPS, Geneva has gone on to perform with orchestras including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Pensacola Symphony and Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and with conductors including Nicholas McGegan, Edwin Outwater, Michael Feinstein, Sameer Patel, Peter Rubardt, and Dirk Meyer. The 2022-23 season includes performances with the Auckland Philharmonia, North Carolina Symphony, Augusta Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Austin Symphony and Arkansas Symphony. In recital, recent and upcoming highlights include performances at Wigmore Hall, Tippet Rise, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Washington Performing Arts, Merkin Hall, and the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts.
Geneva received her Artist Diploma and Bachelor of Music as the recipient of the Charlotte F. Rabb Presidential Scholarship at the New England Conservatory, studying with Miriam Fried. Prior to that, she studied with Aimée Kreston at the Colburn School of Performing Arts. She is currently studying at Kronberg Academy with Professor Mihaela Martin.
Geneva is currently performing on a composite violin by G.B. Guadagnini, c. 1766, generously on loan from a Charitable Trust.
BORN : May 7, 1833, in Hamburg, Germany
DIED : April 3, 1897, in Vienna, Austria
WORK COMPOSED: 1887
WORLD PREMIERE: October 18, 1887, in Cologne, Germany; Gürzenich Orchestra, Brahms conducting
INSTRUMENTATION: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, timpani, strings, solo violin and solo cello.
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: Two of the three previous performances of Brahms’ Double Concerto featured the Orchestra’s Concertmaster and Principal Cello: in 1955 with Clifford Berge and Lois Miller and in 2006 with Erin Aldridge and Betsy Husby. It was also played in 1978 with sisters Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld.
DURATION: 32 minutes.
The Concerto for Violin and Cello, or as it is commonly referred to as the Double Concerto, is Brahms’ final work for orchestra. Robert Hausmann (1852-1909) asked his friend to compose a cello concerto in 1887. Hausmann was a notable cellist in the 19th century who performed the premieres of, among others, Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei and Brahms’ Cello Sonata No. 2, both of which were dedicated to him. He was also a member of the Joachim Quartet.
Brahms and violinist Joseph Joachim (1831-1907) had been friends since 1853 and were now alienated. In 1884 when Joachim was divorcing his wife, Amalie, convinced that she was having an affair with the publisher Fritz Simrock (1837-1901), Brahms wrote a supportive letter
for Amalie that was introduced at the trial and Joachim felt he had been betrayed by his best friend. Brahms saw Hausmann’s request for a concerto as an opportunity to make a peace offering to Joachim. Brahms even wrote to Joachim, “… I have been unable to resist the ideas that have been occurring to me for a concerto for violin and cello, much as I have tried to talk myself out of it.”
The concerto makes use of the musical motif A-E-F, a permutation of F-A-E, which stood for Joachim’s personal motto Frei aber einsam (free but lonely). In 1853, when Brahms and Joachim collaborated on a violin sonata, he used the F-A-E motif, which became known as the F-A-E Sonata. Brahms was successful in winning back the friendship as Joachim was receptive of Brahms’ offering. After Hausmann, Joachim and Brahms played it for friends, Clara Schumann wrote in her diary, “The Concerto is a work of reconciliation. Joachim and Brahms have spoken to one another again.”
By combining a violin and cello as solo instruments, Brahms created the sonority and range that could not be accomplished by one or the other. Perhaps Brahms is stating that we need each other, we cannot do this alone. The Double Concerto begins with the cello responding to the orchestra’s opening in a solo recitative. The violin joins and their duet leads to the orchestra’s introduction of the main theme. Brahms uses the two soloists as a study in contrast. They are imitative then supportive, playful then argumentative, at times accompanying each other and at times finishing each other’s statements. A melancholic four-note melody in the wind section begins the second movement with the soloists gently completing the melody an octave apart. The finale, a rondo in a gypsy-dance style, is Brahms’ tribute to Joachim’s Hungarian origins.
Although Clara Schumann felt the work a success in regard to Brahms’ intentions, she was not as receptive to the work itself, considering it “not brilliant for the instruments… Nowhere has it the warmth and freshness which are so often to be found in his works.” Richard Specht (1870-1932),well-known for his writings on classical music, described the Double Concerto as “one of Brahms’ most inapproachable and joyless compositions.” Even Brahms’ supportive critic Eduard Hanslick (18251904) called it “a product of a great constructive mind rather than an irresistible inspiration of creative imagination and invention.” Ouch! Regardless, it’s clear that the Double Concerto carried great significance for Brahms. Although he provided no formal dedication, he wrote on the score which he gave to Joachim: “To him for whom it is written.” In the Double Concerto Brahms developed a work that not only shows individual virtuosity, it also is a monument to mutuality and friendship.
BORN: March 29, 1902, in Oldham, Lancashire, England
DIED: March 8, 1983, in Forio, Ischia, Italy
WORK COMPOSED: 1932-35
WORLD PREMIERE: November 6, 1935, London; BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Hamilton Harty conducting
INSTRUMENTATION: Two flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani (two players), percussion (cymbals, field drum, tamtam) and strings.
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: Sir William Walton’s First Symphony receives its first DSSO performance on this concert.
DURATION: 41 minutes.
Sir William Turner Walton, OM (Order of Merit), knighted by King George VI in 1951, was an English composer who is best known for the Viola Concerto, the British coronation anthem Crown Imperial, his First Symphony and the cantata Belshazzar’s Feast. The son of a musician, Walton’s initial musical talent was in singing, although he also took lessons on piano and violin and was a member of the choir at Christ Church Cathedral School, Oxford University for six years. After seeing some manuscripts of his early compositions, Sir Hubert Parry
wrote to the Dean of Christ Church, “There’s a lot in this chap; you must keep your eye on him.” At age sixteen Walton became an undergraduate of Christ Church, among one of Oxford’s youngest undergraduates since Henry VIII. After leaving the university he lived with the literary Sitwell siblings (Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell), where he was provided a cultural education as well as a home. His earliest success was a collaboration with Edith Sitwell, Façade, which at first labeled him as a modernist; it later became a popular ballet score. Walton was a slow worker and a perfectionist who continually revised his music. As he put it, “Without an india-rubber [eraser] I was absolutely sunk.” Attempting to create the appropriate tone colors during the composition of Belshazzar’s Feast, Walton was stuck on the word gold for seven months! Consequently, his sixty-year career as a composer did not result in a large body of work.
In January 1932 Sir Hamilton Harty, conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, asked Walton to compose a symphony; it would take nearly four years before it was completed! Early in the process a friend reported that “Willie” is vacillating between believing it is going well to “feeling sure that all he has done must be torn up.” Walton called it “anemic, sentimental, dull and worthless. …never been inspired in his life and can’t think why he writes.” There’s self- confidence for you! However, persevere he did and by the spring of 1933 he had the first two movements in draft form. A year later three movements were complete and ready, but no finale.
By 1934 Harty had become the conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra’s management, after two consecutive years of including the work in their seasonal announcements, created pressure for Walton to finish the symphony. Harty and others finally persuaded Walton to allow a performance of the three completed movements, which took place at the Queen’s Hall on December 3, 1934, with Harty conducting the London Symphony. Some critics have suggested that Walton’s problem with finishing the symphony was because of his reaction to the break-up of the six-year love affair he had with the Baroness Imma von Doernberg (1901-1947), a young German widow to whom the he dedicated his Symphony No. 1.
From the very first premiere critics remarked on the influence of Sibelius in Walton’s writing. This is quite obvious in the breadth of the first movement: an eruption of sensual passion that has a direct power from the first measures. Indeed, the first movement is unrelenting in its intensity. The second movement, Presto con malizia (with malice), has the atmosphere of a violent argument - perhaps this movement describes the beginnings of the
end of his affair with the Baroness. If the first movement shows an influence from Sibelius, repeated listenings to the second movement had me wondering who it sounded like - I came up with Copland and Bernstein, but I’ll leave that up to you. In the third movement Walton bares his heartbreak and anguish over his lost love. The finale takes the clouds away and is celebratory in its character. Walton said that the finale was a “piece for the mob” and also that “in some ways, I think the last movement to be the best of the lot.” It is worth noting that the finale was composed after he had met and fallen in love with Lady Alice Wimborne (1880-1948). Lady Alice was married to Winston Churchill’s cousin Ivor Guest (1873-1939) but had been living separately since 1930. She is the subject of The Lady in White, Viscountess Wimborne, painted in 1939 by Sir John Lavery (1856-1941), which sold at auction in 2018 for $287,500.
Walton wanted to blow the other composers of his time out of the water with this First Symphony; “I may be able to manage to knock Bax of [sic] the map.” In an article from The Guardian the author states that it is the “most searing and emotional British symphony so far composed.” Walton’s Symphony No. 1 was a sensation at its November 1935 premiere. The News Chronicle reported, “The applause at the close was overwhelming, and when Mr. Walton, a slim, shy, young man, came on to the platform he was cheered continuously for five minutes.” It also aroused interest internationally; the leading conductors in Europe, Wilhelm Fürtwangler and Willem Mengelberg, sent for copies of the score. Harty premiered the symphony in the United States with the Chicago Symphony; Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra for the New York premiere; and George Szell conducted it in Australia. Michael Steinberg wrote: “Walton’s Symphony No 1 is a free, strong, individual utterance, as far beyond mere imitation as, say, the Brahms First is in its relationship to Beethoven. Not many would wish to call Walton one of the great twentieth-century composers, but the claim that his First Symphony is one of the great twentieth-century symphonies is not excessive.” Walton certainly knocked this one out of the park.
MAY 17 AND 18, 2024 | 7 PM
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SATURDAY, APRIL 13TH, 2024, 7PM
DECC SYMPHONY HALL, ALLETE STAGE
DIRK MEYER, CONDUCTOR
ANNA SHELEST, PIANO
SMETANA
C. SCHUMANN
Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 7
Allegro Maestoso
Andante non troppo, con grazia
Allegro non troppo
Anna Shelest, Piano
Romeo
CONCERT SPONSORS:
Hailed by The New York Times as a pianist of “a fiery sensibility and warm touch”, Anna Shelest is an international award-winning pianist who has thrilled the audiences throughout the world.
Champion of esoteric repertoire, Anna is collaborating with the legendary conductor Neeme Järvi on a project of recording complete works for piano and orchestra by Anton Rubinstein. The first CD in the set featuring Rubinstein Concerto no. 4 and Caprice Russe recorded live at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater in New York City has been released in 2018 to great critical acclaim, praised by Gramophone Magazine for “…power and agility… effortless effect… nuanced and incisive all round.” The following release featuring Rubinstein Piano Concertos No. 3 & 5 with Estonian National Symphony Orchestra was released in the Spring of 2019. Her solo release in 2019, ‘Donna Voce’ surveys the music by women composers from the last three centuries.
Together with her husband Dmitri Shelest, Anna recorded Ukrainian Rhapsody, which explores works for solo and four hands piano by the composers of their homeland. A number of radio stations across the US has chosen “Ukrainian Rhapsody” as their Album of the Week.
An “effective collaborator” (The New York Times), Anna made her orchestral debut at the age of twelve with the Kharkiv Symphony Orchestra, playing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Since then she has been a soloist with some of the world-class orchestras such as Montreal Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony under Paavo Järvi, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and Estonian National Symphony, among others.
As a soloist she has appeared at Alice Tully Hall and Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, and Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
Born in Ukraine, Anna received her early music education at Kharkiv Special Music School. Since graduating The Juilliard School with a Masters Degree in the class of Jerome Lowenthal, Anna makes her home in New York City with her husband and two sons.
www.annashelest.com
BORN: March 2, 1824, in Litomyšl, east of Prague near the traditional border between Bohemia and Moravia
DIED: May 12, 1884, in Prague
WORK COMPOSED: 1874
WORLD PREMIERE: Vyšehrad: March 14, 1875, in Prague; Prague Philharmonic; Vltava: April 4, 1875, Prague Provisional Theatre orchestra, Adolf Čech conducting
INSTRUMENTATION: Two flutes and piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (triangle, cymbals, (bass drum on Vltava)), two harps (Vltava only one harp) and strings.
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: Vyšehrad – This first of Smetana’s six My Fatherland tone poems has not previously been performed by the Orchestra.
The Moldau – The second of Smetana’s My Fatherland tone poems has been played on seven previous Masterworks concerts: in 1938, 1944, 1950, November 15, 1963, (and then repeated in Brainerd, MN the next day), 1968, 1990, and on April 18, 2015 (Dirk Meyer conducted).
DURATION: 12 minutes each.
Bedřich Smetana used the form of the symphonic poem and combined it with the sense of nationalism that was current in the late nineteenth century to portray the country and land that he so deeply loved. Because of his use of folk music and for conveying his view of the greatness of his homeland, Smetana is widely regarded as the father of Czech music. However, with the exception of The Bartered Bride Overture and The Moldau, few of his works continue to be performed and it is Antonín Dvořák who is considered the more significant Czech composer.
Smetana began to lose his hearing during the summer of 1874 and Vyšehrad was the last work he composed before he became completely deaf. Like many, myself included, Smetana suffered from tinnitus and although he was totally deaf, there remained a permanent, constant buzzing.
Nevertheless this did not dampen his musical ideas and, like Beethoven, he accomplished a monumental work. Between 1874 and 1879 Smetana composed a set of six symphonic poems that he titled Má vlast (My Fatherland): Vyšehrad, Vltava (Moldau), Sarka, From Bohemia’s Woods and Fields, Tábor and Blánik; each poem depicting some aspect of the history, legends or countryside of Bohemia.
Towering over the east bank of the Vltava River in Prague is the historic fort, Vyšehrad. It was probably built in the 10th century and within its confines are the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul and the Vyšehrad Cemetery, which contains the remains of many famous Czechs, including Dvořák, Smetana and the first King of Bohemia, Vratislav II (c. 1032 - January 14, 1092).
Smetana uses the rich history of Vyšehrad in the first part of Má vlast
Vyšehrad was composed between the end of September and November 18, 1874. It opens with a magical atmosphere set with large arpeggios in the harps, as if the twin towers of the basilica are essentially rising from the ground. Within moments a solo trumpet sounds a fanfare and brings the orchestra to its first climax from the calm and peaceful opening. Smetana depicts the history of the castle with the use of different styles: peaceful, royal, war, defeat. Despite its collapse, the beauty of the castle remains as Smetana quietly brings Vyšehrad to its close as the Vltava River flows below its ruins.
The longest river in the Czech Republic is Vltava, the Moldau, commonly referred to as the ‘Czech national river’. Over its length of 267 miles it runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest, then north across Bohemia through Prague and finally merges with the Elbe at Mělník.
Smetana’s Vltava was composed between November 20 and December 8, 1874.
In describing The Moldau Smetana said:
The composition describes the course of the Vltava, starting from the two small springs, the Cold and Warm Vltava, to the unification of both streams into a single current, the course of the Vltava through the woods and meadows, through landscapes where a farmer’s wedding is celebrated, the round dance of the mermaids in the night’s moonshine: on the nearby rocks loom proud castles, palaces and ruins aloft. The Vltava swirls into the St John’s Rapids; then it widens and flows toward Prague, past the Vyšehrad, and then majestically vanishes into the distance, ending at the Elbe.
The main theme of The Moldau is Smetana’s most famous melody, which is an adaptation of La Mantovana, attributed to the Italian renaissance tenor Giuseppe Cenci (d. 1616). The same melody has been adapted and is the Israeli national anthem Hatikvah. Smetana dedicated the complete work, Má vlast, to the city of Prague and the premiere was conducted by Adolf Čech on November 5, 1882, in Žofín Palace, which is situated on Slavonic Island (Slovanský ostrov) in the Vltava River in New Town, Prague.
The complete set of works, Má vlast, is a musical journey through the beautiful cities and countryside of Smetana’s homeland. I had the extreme pleasure of traveling there in 1991 and walking the streets of Prague, Plzeň, Brno, Karlovy Vary, Bratislava; it was a journey back in time. Beautiful architecture, great food and of course… the beer! Thanks to Smetana, Dvořák and other composers, the culture and beauty of this land lives on.
Smetana’s health deteriorated and by the winter of 1882-83 he had insomnia, was depressed and suffered hallucinations along with a temporary loss of speech. He continued to compose music but only fragments as his mental state declined. Unable to nurse him any longer, his family moved him to the Kateřinky Lunatic Asylum in Prague on April 23, 1884, and he died there on May 12 of that year.
BORN: September 13, 1819, in Leipzig, Germany
DIED: May 20, 1896, in Frankfurt
WORK COMPOSED: 1833-35
WORLD PREMIERE: November 9, 1835, in Leipzig; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, composer as soloist, Felix Mendelssohn conducting
INSTRUMENTATION: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, trombone, timpani, strings and solo piano.
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto was performed once before by the DSSO. On March 15, 1998, Fabio Bidini was the soloist on a concert which also included Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto. Yong-yan Hu conducted.
DURATION: 21 minutes.
Clara Schumann, née Wieck, was the daughter of Mariane and Friedrich Wieck. Her father (1785-1873) was a student of theology but, after settling in Leipzig in 1814, he established a business selling and hiring out pianos, also repairing them, and selling sheet music. He also gave piano lessons and rapidly acquired a reputation as an expert in this field. Clara’s mother Mariane
(née Tromlitz, 1797-1872), was the daughter and granddaughter of musicians. Her grandfather, Johann George Tromlitz (1725-1805), was a well-known flautist, flute maker and composer.
Mariane was the first student in the singing and piano school Friedrich Wieck established in 1815; they married the following year. Mariane was a gifted musician and appeared as a soloist both as a soprano and a pianist in the Leipzig Gewandhaus. She bore five children (two of whom died in infancy), assisted in her husband’s business and taught piano. Her letters reveal that she had a strong-minded personality, which clashed with that of her controlling and ambitious husband. They divorced in 1824. Initially the five-year-old Clara went with her mother to her family’s home in Plauen. However, the children were legally considered their father’s property and Friedrich was granted custody. Despite Mariane’s imploring letters to her husband, Clara was returned to him on September 17, 1824.
Clara began piano lessons with her mother and subsequently with her father. Both parents placed an emphasis on aural harmonic understanding, rather than exclusive notation-based training.
Friedrich eschewed repetitive mechanical practice in favor of ear training and a sensitive cultivation of sound and harmony. She later studied the violin, theory, harmony, orchestration, counterpoint and composition with the best teachers in Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin. She attended every important concert, opera and drama given in Leipzig. Her father also taught her the most valuable lesson of how to manage the complex business arrangements of a musical career. Friedrich sought to capitalize on the public’s fascination with child prodigies and pushed Clara at every opportunity. Shortly after her ninth birthday she made her debut performance in the Leipzig Gewandhaus on October 28, 1828.
That same year Clara (hereafter referred to as Wieck or Clara) met Robert Schumann when she performed at the home of Dr. Ernst Carus. Schumann was nine years older than Wieck and had begun studying with her father that August. To continue his lessons, Schumann moved into the Wieck household in 1830. Wieck began to perform more as her abilities and her father’s ambitions developed. As any parent would do, Friedrich made sure all her needs were met while touring; her concert wardrobe, the pianos, etc. He insisted she wear pure white for her performances to emphasize her youth and girlish purity.
In January 1833 Wieck began composing a concerto for piano, completing it in November of that same
year. It was a single-movement Konzertsatz (concert movement) that she orchestrated herself. Her future husband, Robert Schumann, revised the orchestration and she performed it in several concerts. Wieck expanded the work and added two more movements with the Konzertsatz remaining as the finale. She orchestrated the other two movements herself, and removed Schumann’s revisions of the original Konzertsatz! The complete Piano Concerto was finished twelve days before her sixteenth birthday. Wieck premiered her concerto on November 9, 1835, under the direction of Felix Mendelssohn. Schumann noted in his writings that they had their first kiss in the same month.
The orchestra opens the Piano Concerto with a majestic statement before the piano enters with ascending scales and cadenza-like flourishes. The introduction leads into a piano solo which has a Chopinesque improvisatory lyricism. Wieck’s playing was much admired by Chopin and she was a strong advocate of his music. The second movement, Romanze, follows without a pause and is reminiscent of Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words. Initially for unaccompanied piano, a solo cello joins in for an extended duet. Brahms would later feature a solo cello and Schumann the cello section in the slow movements of their piano concertos. The timpani quietly enters to introduce the trumpet fanfare that opens the Finale. It is in the manner of a grand polonaise in triple meter, another nod to Chopin. A fast coda brings the Concerto to an exciting conclusion.
Friedrich was vehemently opposed to the marriage of Clara and Robert and refused to give his permission; the couple had to go to court and sue him! The judge allowed their marriage, which took place on September 12, 1840 - a day before she turned 21 and would be considered an adult and no longer under the control of her father. She continued to concertize but she was usually pregnant, bearing eight children between 1841 and 1854. Her life was also accompanied with tragedy. Robert was permanently institutionalized after his mental breakdown and their son Ludwig (1848-1899) suffered from mental illness like his father and lived most of his adult life in a mental institution. Four of her children, along with Robert, predeceased her, some leaving children for whom she became caretaker. In later life she became deaf and often needed a wheelchair.
Wieck’s life is a fascinating study. She was revered as one of the greatest pianists of her time. Moreover, she was the central figure in the lives of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, with whom she had a lasting, deep friendship. She made a strong impression on many: Goethe wrote “the girl has more power than six boys put together.” She had a deep friendship with Mendelssohn, performing his piano pieces and together playing piano duo repertoire at sight, and he conducting her in concerts. Clara (née Wieck) Schumann represents one of the best examples of the life of a prodigy guided by an ambitious parent and the challenges women musicians in 19th century Europe faced.
Romeo and Juliet
BORN: May 7, 1840, in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Vyatka province, Russia
DIED: November 6, 1893, in Saint Petersburg
WORK COMPOSED: October 7 to November 27, 1869, final revision completed September 10, 1880
WORLD PREMIERE: March 16, 1870, in Moscow, at a concert of the Imperial Russian Musical Society, Nikolai Rubinstein, conductor; final revision on May 1, 1886, in Tbilisi, Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire), Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov conducting
INSTRUMENTATION: Two flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (cymbals, bass drum), harp and strings.
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: There have been fifteen previous Masterworks performances of this Tchaikovsky tone poem. It was played in 1934, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1959, 1967, 1972, 1977 (conducted by DSSO Music Director candidate Stephen Simon), 1986, 2008, and on November 19, 2011 (with Music Director candidate Mariusz Smolij).
DURATION: 19 minutes.
In 1869 Tchaikovsky was a young professor at the Moscow Conservatory. He had written his first symphony and an opera, followed by the symphonic poem, Fatum. Tchaikovsky dedicated it to Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (1836-1910), a member of The Five, which included Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Fatum received a lukewarm reception prompting Balakirev to write Tchaikovsky
some observations. After his criticisms of the work, he encouragingly wrote: “I am writing to you with complete frankness, being fully convinced that you won’t go back on your intention of dedicating Fatum to me. Your dedication is precious to me as a sign of your sympathy towards me—and I feel a great weakness for you.” Tchaikovsky, who was already very self-critical, accepted Balakirev’s criticisms and they continued to correspond. Balakirev suggested Tchaikovsky write a piece based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. He wrote suggestions about the structure, giving details of the type of music needed for each section and offered ideas on which keys to use. Balakirev also suggested his own overture King Lear as a model for Romeo’s theme. Through the initial version, second and final revisions, Balakirev continued to comment, criticize and praise Tchaikovsky’s work.
For a brief period in 1868-69 Tchaikovsky was engaged to the Belgian soprano Désirée Artôt (1835-1907) until she abruptly broke the engagement. Actually Tchaikovsky’s friend Nikolai Rubinstein told her mother, in no uncertain terms, that the composer was not husband material. She took her daughter away to Warsaw where Désirée promptly married the Spanish baritone Mariano Padilla y Ramos (1843-1906). Tchaikovsky later claimed that Désirée was the only woman he ever loved. Some scholars believe the love themes in Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto and Romeo and Juliet were inspired by this early infatuation.
The broad melody evoking the young lovers brought praise from Balakirev: “I imagine you are lying nude in your bath and that Artôt-Padilla herself is washing your tummy with a hot lather of scented soap.” Obviously Balakirev was not as observant of others in Tchaikovsky’s circle. At the time Tchaikovsky was deeply in love with Eduard Zak, a 15-year-old cousin of one of his students. Zak committed suicide four years later in 1873.
Tchaikovsky’s personal life and Shakespeare’s tragedy collided to produce a masterpiece in which Tchaikovsky tells the story of the star-crossed lovers. It is all there: the dramatic conflict between the Montagues and Capulets, the achingly beautiful love theme for Romeo and Juliet, their love being crushed by the two families’ hatred and the extreme tragic ending. Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet showcases his ability to infuse classical music with deep human emotions, making it a timeless and evocative piece. It has not only become a staple in the orchestral repertoire but has also inspired numerous adaptations in ballet, film, and other artistic forms. The enduring popularity of Tchaikovsky’s interpretation of Romeo and Juliet attests to the universal appeal of Shakespeare’s timeless tale and the emotional depth captured by the Russian composer in this iconic work.
SATURDAY, MAY 4TH, 2024, 7PM
DECC SYMPHONY HALL, ALLETE STAGE
DIRK MEYER, CONDUCTOR
RICHARD CARRICK, DSSO GUEST CHORUSMASTER
LAKE SUPERIOR YOUTH CHORUS
ALICE PIERCE, SOPRANO
BRIAN WALLIN, TENOR
MARK BILLY, BARITONE
Sostenuto - Allegro
Carmina Burana
DSSO Chorus
Lake Superior Youth Chorus
Alice Pierce, soprano
Brian Wallin, tenor
Mark Billy, baritone
CONCERT SPONSORS: ANONYMOUS FRIEND OF THE DSSO
The DSSO Symphony Chorus has a rich and storied history, dating all the way back to its establishment in 1959. Made up of dedicated volunteers, this chorus has become an integral part of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra’s performances. They regularly join forces with the orchestra to present breathtaking choral-orchestral masterworks, operas, and pops concerts.
Over the years, the DSSO Symphony Chorus has had the privilege of performing a wide range of beloved choral compositions. They have tackled monumental works such as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, famously known for its triumphant “Ode to Joy.” They have also taken on Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, a powerful and emotionally charged piece often referred to as the “Resurrection Symphony.”
In addition to these monumental works, the chorus has showcased their versatility by performing Orff’s Carmina Burana, a vibrant and rhythmic composition that captivates audiences with its energetic melodies. They have also brought to life Bizet’s Carmen, an operatic masterpiece filled with passion and drama. They’ve performed Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time, an oratorio in support of oppressed people everywhere. More recent works, such as Brahms’ Requiem and Faure Requiem. And of course, no choral repertoire would be complete without Handel’s Messiah, a timeless and beloved oratorio that continues to inspire and uplift listeners.
The DSSO Symphony Chorus’s dedication and commitment to their craft have made them an essential component of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra’s performances. Their contributions have enriched the cultural landscape of the community, bringing the joy and power of choral music to audiences year after year.
BORN: September 6, 1938, in New Rochelle, New York
WORK COMPOSED: 1986
WORLD PREMIERE: January 10, 1987, in Houston, Texas; Houston Symphony, Hans Vonk conducting
INSTRUMENTATION: Four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and percussion
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: This is the first work by Joan Tower to be performed on the Masterworks Series.
DURATION: 3 minutes.
Joan Tower is a Grammy-winning contemporary American composer, concert pianist and conductor. She has been lauded by The New Yorker as “one of the most successful woman composers of all time.” Tower began her musical journey after her family moved to Bolivia when she was nine years old. There she discovered a love for rhythm and over the following decade of her life she learned to play percussion and piano due to her father’s insistence that she have consistent musical training. As a young woman she
returned to the United States to study music, first at Bennington College and then at Columbia University, where she earned a doctorate in composition in 1968.
Tower’s early compositions are rooted in the serialist (12tone) tradition and reflect the influence of her mentors at Columbia University. She later broke away from the strict serialist model and her style gravitated towards the works of Olivier Messiaen and George Crumb, becoming more colorful and impressionistic. She often composes for specific ensembles and exploits the strengths of their performers.
Along with violinist Joel Lester and flautist Patricia Spencer, pianist Tower founded the New York-based Da Capo Chamber Players in 1969. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s Tower’s compositions for the ensemble became increasingly successful leading to her first orchestral composition, Sequoia (1981). In 1985, a year after she left the Da Capo Players, Tower accepted a position as composer-in-residence at the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, a post she held until 1988.
Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman is the first part of six short compositions that Tower composed over a span of thirty years. She wrote them as a tribute to “women who take risks and are adventurous.” Each part is dedicated to an inspiring woman in music. The most popular of the Fanfares is Part I, which was commissioned by the Houston Symphony as part of its Fanfare Project and dedicated to conductor Marin Alsop. Tower took her inspiration from Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and she uses the same instrumentation as Copland’s Fanfare adding glockenspiel, marimba, chimes and drums.
Inspired to find other orchestral music by Tower, I am listening to her Piano Concerto Homage to Beethoven as I write this. What an amazing and interesting work that deserves to be heard more often in the concert halls! To this day Joan Tower is championed as a trailblazer for female composers in the male-dominated symphonic world. She most certainly can be labeled an uncommon woman.
BORN: March 2, 1900, in Dessau, Saxony, Germany
DIED: April 3, 1950, in New York City, New York
WORK COMPOSED: 1933-34
WORLD PREMIERE: October 11, 1934, in Amsterdam; Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bruno Walter conducting
INSTRUMENTATION: Two flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, timpani, percussion (cymbals, triangle) and strings
PERFORMANCE HISTORY: Surprisingly, no music by Kurt Weill has previously been performed on the DSSO’s Masterworks Series.
DURATION: 28 minutes.
Whether the name Kurt Weill is familiar or not, you most likely are very familiar with some of his music: Speak Low, Pirate Jenny, Alabama Song, My Ship, September Song and his most famous song, Mack the Knife. Kurt Julian Weill was one of the outstanding active composers in Germany after World War I. His exploratory works for stage made him the leading avant-garde theatre composer of the Weimar Republic. His best known collaborations were with
Bertolt Brecht, the most popular being The Threepenny Opera, a reworking of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera
Weill’s father was the chief cantor at the synagogue in Dessau from 1899 to 1919. He also composed, mostly liturgical music and sacred motets. Kurt was the third of four children, all of whom were taught music and taken regularly to the opera. As he entered his early teens, Kurt showed enough of an interest in composing that his father sought the advice of Albert Bing, the assistant conductor at the Hoftheater. Bing was so impressed with Weill’s talents that he decided to teach him himself. For three years, beginning in 1915. Bing and his wife (a sister of Carl Sternheim, a playwright and author who was a major exponent of German expressionism) introduced Kurt to a world of metropolitan sophistication. Weill enrolled at the Berlin Musikhochschule, at Bing’s suggestion, in April 1918. There he studied conducting with Rudolf Krasselt, counterpoint with Friedrich Koch and composition with Englebert Humperdinck (18541921). Within a year Weill found the musical climate at the Hochschule stifling and he applied to study privately with Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) in Vienna. However finances became a challenge and he returned to Dessau in the summer of 1919 where he worked for three months at the Hoftheater as an assistant conductor under Bing and head conductor Hans Knappertsbusch (1888-1965).
Weill joined the group of leftist Berlin artists, known as the Novembergruppe, in 1922. Other members of this group included Stefan Wolpe (1902-1972) and Hanns Eisler (1898-1962), two composers whose lives make for interesting reading. In Berlin Weill met the dramatist Georg Kaiser (1878-1945), with whom a creative partnership resulted in several one-act operas. He first met the singer and actress Lotte Lenya (1898-1981) in the summer of 1924 at Kaiser’s home.
Weill and Lenya married twice: in 1926 and again in 1937 (after their divorce in 1933). She was a great supporter of his works and, after his death, she formed the Kurt Weill Foundation.
Weill was officially denounced for his political views and sympathies, and for being a prominent and popular Jewish composer he became a target of the Nazi authorities. They criticized and interfered with performances of his later stage works: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1930), Die Bürgschaft (1932), and Der Silbersee (1933), which was warmly received at its triple premiere in Leipzig, Magdeburg and Erfurt in February 1933. The Reichstag fire two weeks later made it obvious to Weill that he had no future left in his homeland. On March 14, 1933, he fled to Paris taking only a few belongings and the sketches for his Second Symphony.
Symphony No. 2 was composed on a commission from the Princesse de Polignac (Winnaretta Singer (1865-1943), an heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune and an arts patron). Singer was an avid supporter of the arts and she used her fortune to commission many compositions by the leading composers of her time including, along with Weill, Stravinsky, Satie, Milhaud, Poulenc, Françaix and others.
Weill’s Symphony No. 2 was enthusiastically received by the audience at its premiere, but the critics were not impressed; the composer reported to a friend that although it was a great success with the audience, the press called it a catastrophe - “banal, disjointed, empty, Beethoven in the beer garden, etc. Not one friendly word.” But conductor Bruno Walter believed in the work and after further European performances, premiered it at the end of the year with the New York Philharmonic.
The first movement begins slowly and is reminiscent of the melancholy cabaret ballads. Soon the tempo picks up and as Paul Serotsky wrote, it reminded him of Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture. The second movement has a Mahlerian funeral march resonance, maybe one of Walter’s reasons for his advocacy of the work. The optimistic finale is a rondo that, in the coda, transforms the opening theme of the second movement.
This symphony is the last serious work Weill wrote, devoting the remainder of his life to writing musicals and pop tunes. Reviewer Lynn René Bayley wrote that the Second is “sort of a hybrid symphony… being far more popular than the First Symphony.” I agree; Weill’s First Symphony (1921) is in one movement, a far more complex work and not as accessible to the public. I disagree with the initial negative critique of the Second. It is truly an enjoyable and exciting work that does not diminish by repeated listenings. David Schiff remarked in a 2000 article in the Atlantic Monthly that it “sums up the musical revolution that Weill had begun as an enfant terrible in the mid-twenties.”
Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya moved to New York City on September 10, 1935. He soon became acquainted with many of the leading artists of the time and began studying American popular and stage music, collaborating with Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein II, Langston Hughes and others. On August 27, 1943, Weill and Lenya became United States citizens (the judge overlooked Lenya’s error of naming Lincoln as the first president - she later said with complete seriousness, “I’m lucky he asked me that one, if he’d asked me anything else about the Presidents, I’d have answered wrong.”). Weill suffered a heart attack shortly after his 50th birthday. The text and music on his gravestone come from the song A Bird of Passage with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson (1888-1959): “This is the life of men on earth: Out of darkness we come at birth Into a lamplit room, and then - Go forward into dark again.” In his eulogy for Weill, Anderson said: “I wish, of course, that he had been lucky enough to have had a little more time for his work. I could wish the times in which he lived had been less troubled. But these things were as they were – and Kurt managed to make thousands of beautiful things during the short and troubled time he had …”
Carmina Burana, cantiones profanæ
CARL ORFF
BORN: July 10, 1895, in Munich, Germany
DIED: March 29, 1982, in Munich
WORK COMPOSED: 1935-36
WORLD PREMIERE: June 8, 1937, in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt Opera, Bertil Wetzelsberger conducting
DSSO PERFORMANCES: This ever-popular Carl Orff work has been performed on eight previous DSSO concerts. It is the only piece by Orff to be presented by the Orchestra. In 1959 Herman Herz reformed the Symphony Chorus to perform the work and in 1967 he conducted it on the final concert of his 17 season tenure as Music Director. Carmina Burana was also done in 1979 and 1992 (Taavo Virkhaus conducting), 1998 (Yong-yan Hu), 2003 and 2010 (Markand Thakar), and on May 7, 2016 (Dirk Meyer).
NSTRUMENTATION: Three flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes and English horn, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, two cornets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (triangle, cymbals, castanets, finger cymbals, bass drum), two harps, strings, soprano, tenor, baritone and chorus
DURATION: 65 minutes.
If there is a one-hit-wonder in classical music, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana definitely qualifies. Some might also include Pachelbel’s Canon in D, but let’s not go there. The question we all ask, at one time or another is ‘What is it about that piece that makes it so popular?’ I first heard Carmina Burana and its companion piece Catulli Carmina during my freshman year at Moorhead State University. A friend of mine introduced it to me and this young, inexperienced eighteen year-old who cared only for jazz, was completely blown away! There was something primeval and visceral about Carmina that seemed to attack me at my most basic level.
Orff was born into a music-loving family, but it was also a family of army officers whose expertise was in science and history. At the age of five he began piano, organ and cello studies and although he continued formal studies until he was nineteen, he discovered the music of Schoenberg and Debussy on his own. This does not mean he disregarded the value of musical education. In fact in 1924 Orff founded, along with Dorothee Günther, the Güntherschule in Munich, an educational center for music, dance, rhythmic movement and gymnastics. From this exposure he developed his concept of elementare Musik (elemental music), a joining of poetic language, gestures and music that would later influence his compositions. The concept of elementare Musik is similar to what we know as Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) espoused by Wagner, but with Orff it comes at a more elementary level. Eventually this concept evolved into a new approach to music education that exists to this day, known as Orff-Schulwerk or the Orff Approach. This comes from a belief that just as children learn language without formal instruction, they can also learn music through a friendly and gentle approach. By creating a musical environment that is similar to a child’s world of play, children can feel comfortable experimenting and exploring musical instruments. The idea is to keep them from feeling evaluated by their peers and teachers; all students are treated as equals, so there is less pressure in performing. Children learn by doing and with the Orff Approach teachers follow lesson plans and materials that expose the students to the act of creating and playing music. The benefits in concentration, dexterity and coordination of the Orff Approach have also been effective in working with individuals with special needs.
In 1934 Orff was in a rare bookstore in Würzburg where he found a collection of medieval poems from the 12th and 13th centuries. Most of the texts are in
Latin, with a few in Middle High German and French. The manuscripts for Carmina Burana, or the Burana Codex comes from 1230 and was written by students, travelers and minstrels. For centuries this collection was preserved in the Benediktbeuern Abbey thirty miles south of Munich in the Bavarian Alps. The manuscripts were compiled by Johann Andreas Schmeller (Court Librarian of Munich) in 1847 (there is a complete English translation published in 2014 by Tariq William Marshall) and given the title Carmina Burana, which means “songs of Bavaria” (Carmina is pronounced with the accent on the first syllable). The topics celebrate springtime, love and the pleasures of a full, self- indulgent life although with an underlying dark and bitter tone.
The Wheel of Fortune refers to the capricious nature of Fate in medieval and ancient philosophy. The goddess Fortuna controls the wheel and spins it at random, awarding great gifts to some and terrible misfortunes to others. This motif is a significant part of Schmeller’s collection Carmina Burana. The bitter and dark tone is blatant in these excerpts from Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi (Fortune, Empress of the World) and Fortune Plango Vulnera (I Bemoan the Wounds of Fortune):
Fate – monstrous and empty, you whirling wheel, status is bad, well-being is vain always may melt away, shadowy and veiled you plague me too; now through the game bare backed I bear your villainy.
The wheel of Fortune turns; I go down, demeaned; another is carried to the height; far too high up sits the king at the summit – let him beware ruin! for under the axis we read: Queen Hecuba.
Orff later remembered, “I found the familiar image of Fortune with her wheel, and under it the lines O Fortuna velut Luna statu variabilis… (O fortune, like the moon ever-changing). Picture and words seized hold of me.” That same day he sketched the opening chorus. From the book Orff chose 24 poems and was already imagining a stage piece with chorus and dancers. With the assistance of Michel Hofmann, who transformed the poems into a libretto, Orff was soon composing the music in a huge burst of inspiration. He used the Wheel of Fortune as the pillars that would bookend the three sections. As Fortune spins her wheel the same relentless pattern builds in intensity and volume as the wheel goes round. The first section celebrates springtime in a series of dances and songs, the second section moves into the male-exclusive tavern that is the temple of food and drink. (The tale of the roasted swan, sung by a weeping countertenor, is a highlight of Orff’s use of tonal colors.) In the sensuous music of the third section, set in the court of love, we hear the voices of children projecting an air of innocence. Later the soprano, in a lower voice, vacillates between chastity and physical love in an exquisitely beautiful and too short monologue. The chorus encourages her to make a decision and she suddenly makes her choice, soaring to her highest reaches. A magnificent hymn of praise erupts and then the wheel begins to spin again.
Perhaps because of the atmosphere of Nazi Germany, Orff tried to establish his loyalty to the regime and never made any open or private opposition to Nazi policies. For example, he emphasized his hatred of jazz music and the atonality of Schoenberg and showed a sincere appreciation for folk music. All of this, along with Orff’s fascination with medieval and early music, definitely influenced his composing of Carmina. He rejected the prevailing styles of early 20th century German music, which he had discovered only twenty years before. Instead of all the rich harmonies and complex modalities, Orff used basic harmonies that were easily accessible to the public. Most importantly, the texts he chose celebrated primal human experiences.
Carmina Burana was immensely popular in Nazi Germany after its premiere in 1937. It was so popular that Orff wrote a letter to his publisher, Schott, “Everything I have written to date… can be destroyed. With Carmina Burana, my collected works begin.” Thankfully the people at Schott Music were not very good at following his wish, as his earlier works are still available.
Unfortunately the popularity of Carmina has led to considerable debate and analysis about Orff’s relationship with the Nazi Party. Orff was never a member of the Nazi Party nor did he subscribe to its ideology. Also, none of his closest friends were supporters of the regime. Karl Huber, one of his friends and one of the founders of the resistance movement Weiße Rose (the White Rose), was arrested and executed by the Nazis. By sheer chance Orff went to visit his friend at his house the day after he was arrested. Huber’s wife begged Orff to use his influence to help her husband, but he declined, explaining that he would be “ruined” if his friendship with Huber were revealed. After the war Orff wrote a letter to his deceased friend, published in a memorial for Huber, begging him for forgiveness.
Carmina Burana is almost exclusively performed as a concert piece, but Orff’s original intention and the premiere of the work was as a stage piece with dance and song. In 1953 he grouped Carmina with Catulli Carmina (1941-43) and Trionfo di Afrodite (1949-51) into a triptych he called Trionfi. Unfortunately these other works are rarely performed.
Orff died in Munich in 1982 of cancer. He was buried in the church of the beer-brewing Benedictine priory of Andechs, south of Munich. Orff’s last composition De Temporum Fine Comoedia (Play of the End of Time) summarized his view of the end of time. Fittingly it also provided the inscription on his tombstone: Summus Finis (the ultimate goal).
FRIDAY, MAR. 22, 3:40 P.M. MEETING AT THE CROSSROADS WITH SHARON OBST
THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 7:30 P.M.
FLINT WATER CRISIS & COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
WATER: SUSTAINING LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 12 P.M.
LUNCH WITH FRIENDS
KNOXVILLE: SUMMER OF 1915
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 7 P.M.
ANGELS & DEMONS
A CONVERSATION WITH FR. GREGORY PINE, OP
FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 3:40 P.M. SINGING COMMUNITY AND CREATION
THE JEWISH PRACTICE OF AVODAT LEV WITH ELYSE CARTER VOSEN
TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 6:30 P.M. ART WALK
A SELF-GUIDED MUSIC AND ART TOUR
FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 7:30 P.M. PASSION AND POETS
CSS CHOIRS
SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 10 A.M.
CSS FAMILY MUSIC SERIES
CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS
SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 7:30 P.M.
HOPE AND HEAL
CSS CONCERT BAND AND HANDBELL ENSEMBLE
FRIDAY, MAY 3, 7 P.M.
SALSA WITH THE SAINTS
LATIN DANCE NIGHT
Orchestrating positive change through charitable giving.
DSSO chorus master Richard Robbins is the director of choral activities at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where directs the University Singers and Chamber Singers, in addition to teaching an array of choral conducting and music courses. Robbins travels extensively as a clinician, adjudicator, and director for choral festivals and honor choirs across the country, with recent engagements in Miami, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore, and New York City. He has conducted and lectured internationally on multiple occasions at Warsaw’s Chopin Conservatory of Music, the John Paul II Liturgical Institute, and at Krakow’s Academy of Music. As a conductor, his performances have been featured on numerous nationally syndicated programs, including American Public Media’s Pipedreams. His extensive experience in preparing choral-orchestral performances includes leading choirs for the Houston Ballet and for over 50 performances with the Houston Symphony. He has prepared choruses for several major conductors, including Christoph Eschenbach, Ermanno Florio, Hans Graf, Joan Glover, Bernard Labadie, Klaus Peter Flor, Michael Krajewski, Stephen Cleobury, Robert Franz, and Dirk Meyer
Learn more join the legacy:
dsacommunityfoundation.org
Just as it takes an ensemble to perform the great works of Beethoven, so it takes a collection of individuals to support the work of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. When you give to the DSSO, you are supporting an organization that is a cultural cornerstone of the Twin Ports region, bringing together the best of our local musicians to entertain, educate and enrich the lives of more than 20,000 individuals each year.
Your ticket purchase tonight was important - but it only covers a quarter of our annual operating expenses. Individual donors play an important part in helping the Symphony bridge that gap. Each season, gifts from individuals provide more than 60% of our contributed income. That means donations of any size make a big difference and support our efforts to share great music with everyone in the community.
In Person - Come say hello to us at the tables in the lobby. We want to hear your stories about concerts you have enjoyed over the years.
Call the Office - We are happy to process your donation over the phone and love it when you call!
Donate Online - Give securely by visiting www.DSSO.com/give
Debit Transfer - Join other DSSO patrons and simply authorize your banker to initiate a reoccurring debit transfer from your account directly to the DSSO.
Mail Us a Check - We know it can be old-fashioned, but our office loves getting mail. 506 W. Michigan St. Duluth, MN 55802
IRA Donation - Are you 70½ or older? You can support the music you love with a Qualified Charitable Distribution from your IRA. Please consult your tax or financial advisor for more information.
Charitable Bequest - Write your own story with planned gifts to the people & organizations you value by writing them to your Will and beneficiary designations.
Stock Donations- You can transfer appreciated stock as a gift that is fully tax-deductible.
The Legacy Society recognizes and honors the visionary individuals, couples, and families who have included the DSSO in their estate plans, ensuring that the music you care about continues into the future. To join the Legacy Society, you can make a bequest to the DSSO as part of your Will, name the organization as a beneficiary in a policy or retirement fund or provide a direct cash donation into our endowment.
To begin, contact your attorney and ask for the DSSO to be included in your Will, Trust or policy. Then contact the DSSO office and we can provide you with a membership form so we can begin recognizing your generosity and including your gift in our future planning.
In recognition of their support, Legacy Society members are listed in all concert Program Books and are invited to an exclusive annual benefit event each year.
The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra (DSSO) is proud to be a part of the Twin Ports business community. The Symphony is an employer, a downtown tenant, a consumer, an advertiser, and a member of the Chamber of Commerce. We understand that each company has different needs and motivations, from marketing and brand identification to client and employee entertainment and recognition, and more. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your corporate objectives and identify customized ways we can work together for mutual benefits.
The DSSO Donor Lounge is a space for where our most invested patrons can gather before a concert and during intermission. Access to the Donor Lounge starts with gifts to the annual fund of $500 and includes access to a private bartender on the second floor of the Symphony Hall Lobby Space.
THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS WHO HAVE GIVEN IN SUPPORT OF THE DSSO JANUARY 1, 2023 THROUGH JANUARY 1, 2024.
MAESTRO ($25,000 & up)
The Charles A. & Carolyn M. Russell Family Foundation
The Depot Foundation
Elisabeth C. Mason Revocable Trust
Margaret Ames Memorial Fund
McKnight Foundation
Minnesota State Arts Board
Muriel Whiteside Charitable Trust Pachel Foundation
PRINCIPAL ($10,000 to $24,999)
DSSO Young Composers Fund
Helena Jackson
Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation
Anonymous
Dr. Michael & Sharon Mollerus
PBS North
Arend J. & Verna Sandbulte
Wildey H. Mitchell Family Foundation
GUEST ARTIST
($6,000 to $9,999)
Martha A. Aas
Vern & May Nordling
North Shore Bank of Commerce
Nancy Odden & Doug Britton
FULL CHAIR
($4,500 to $5,999)
Linda & Mark Boben
Karl Diekman
Thomas & Barbara Elliott
Minnesota Power
William (“Buzz”) & Saundra Palmer
St. Luke’s
Stack Bros. Mechanical Contractors
The Teberg Fund
Shirley Tratechaud
HALF CHAIR
($2,500 to $4,499)
Dr. Vicki & Terry Anderson
Robert & Barbara Bennett
John & Kathleen Berchild
Alison Clarke
Adelaide M. Cline
Mark Danielson & Theresa Smith
Ella Dohlin
Gary & Jacqueline Foley
Dr. Beth Gilbert
Christabel & James Grant
Pam & Rich Jacobson
Sylvia Jamar
Jill & Tom Kaiser
Elaine B. Killen
Thomas & Alice McCabe
Mark & Grace Monson
National Bank of Commerce
Northern Mechanical/Plumbing Contractors Association
Tammy Ostrander & Tony Barrett
Kathleen & James Sanders
Timothy Sandor
Brad Schmugge
Jacquie & Jim Sebastian
Nairi Stack
Carolyn Sundquist
Gudrun & Geoffery Witrak
QUARTER CHAIR ($1,200 to $2,499)
Leonore & Robert Baeumler
Sandra Barkley
Bell Bank
The Honorable David & Gloria Bouschor
Lurene Buhrmann
Jeffrey & Vickie Cadwell
Steve & Lauri Cushing
Rhonda & John Degelau
Rose & Lester Drewes
Craft & Ellie Dryer
Ruth Ann Eaton
Roger & Elaine Engle
Rondi Erickson
Mary Evans
Walter & Kay Gower
Karen & Richard Gran
Happy Sleeper Mattress
Thomas & Joan Hedin
Dan & Lois Jaeckel
Otto Johnson & September Mihaly
John & Sharon Kemp
Richard Kivela
Robert Knighton
Paul & Carol Knuti
Tina Koecher
Diane Kolquist & James Seitz
Mary & Jim Krook
Lakeview Arts Fund
Patricia & David Mast
Pam Moore & Dr. Jon Stephenson
Gerald & Mary Ann Ostroski
Jennifer Owen
Lane Fryberger Smith
Tobin Sobaski & Kari Koehler
Ralph Sundberg
Roberta Vose
Dr. Robert Wahman
Cathleen & Kirby Wood
Geiger & David Yount
James & Mary Zastrow
William Alexander
John & Cathy Ameel
Ann Anderson
Allen Anway
Judith & James Bailey
Susanne & Johan Bakken
Diane & Harris Balko
Susan Bathory & Donald Lane
Miranda Behrends
Jayda Bellefeuille
Daniel & Marjorie Bergeland
Linda Bergum
Sergei & Irina Bezroukov
Gary Boelhower & Gary Anderson
Angie Bomier
Day Breitag
Jan Carey
Rev. Craig S. Carlson
Mary & Jeff Charnes
Kathleen Collins & Richard Stewart
John & Judy Dahl
Kathleen DeSanto
Linville Doan & Bernardo Perez
Jonas Drayna
Kari Dresback
Paul Eckhardt
Eve Erickson
Susan Fackler
Martha & Conrad Firling
David Fulda
Gregory & Mary Garmer
Gary Glass
Hilary Godard
Robert & Susan Goodin
Gregory Gunderson
Kay & Ronald Gustafson
Mary K. Hagen
Lois & Robert Heller
Thomas Henning
Susan Hjort
Sister Kathleen Hofer
Paul & Alice Holm
Wayne Holmberg
Oliver & Mary Ann Houx
Kenneth G. Jackson
Dan Jeutter
Donald & Mary John
Dennis & Susan Johnson
Glenn Johnson
Dr. Jason & Megan Johnson
Julie & Clyde Johnson
Barbara Johnson Kim
Linda Jorgenson & Jack Gunderson
Celeste Kawulok
Elsa Keeler
Bob Kelley
Virginia Kovaleski
Katie & Bob Kuettel
Dennis Lamkin & Jon Niemi
Andre & Marilyn LaMourea
Ethan Lavan
Grace Lavan
Louise Levy
Bonnie & Bob Lloyd
John & Michelle Magdsick
Hannah Mason
Rachel & Gregory Mason
Dean & Kate McCall
Cathy McCarty & Dan Wallerstein
Lloyd & Cindy McCormick
Rosanne Mellesmoen
William Miner
Heather Muster
Phil & Lorraine Norrgard
Emily Nygren
Michael Kershaw & Sarah Olson
Vincent & Sharon (Rigby) Osborn
Al & Lynda Parrella
James Pavlek
Ann Pellman
Robert Reichert
Dr. Susan Relf
Paul & Barb Rigstad
Branden Robinson
Joseph & Catherine Roby
Leonard Rouse
Gerald & Karen Ruona
Patty Salo Downs
Nichole & Jeffrey Schaefer
Carrie Scherer
Ernst Schoenfeld
Jane Shull
Kari Smith
Nyasha Spears
Dr. David & Brenda Sproat
David Steininger & Lori Williams
Thom & Cindy Storm
Tim Stratton & Suzanna Wasilczuk
Anita Swanson
Dr. Andrew Thompson
Gloria Toivola
Sharon L. Torrison
Rajiv & Emily Vaidyanathan
Matthew Van Dyke
Therese Vaughn
Renee & Jim Wachter
Mary W. Zbaracki
Julia Williams
Jessica Woodward Lavan
Cammie Young
Ethan Adams
Karen & Mark Aepelbacher
John J. Agacki
Janet Akervik
Barbara Akre
Erin Aldridge
Jim Allen
Campbell Amundson
Claire Anderson
David Anderson
Gwendolyn Anderson
Jeff Anderson
Kristen & Tregg Anderson
Paul & Carol Anderson
Lincoln Angradi
Gayle Ankarlo
George Apostolou
Judith Arnold
Charles R. & Judyth Babst
Dana Bach
Linda Backman
Patricia & Michael Bagley
Theresa Bailen
Brian Barber
Riley Barka
Eileen Barratt
Dr. Niles H. Batdorf
Paul Bates
Jean Beauduy
Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery
David Benson
Barbara Bentz
Seth & Katie Benziger
Roy & Nadine Berg
Margaret Bergen
Gary & Susan Berggren
Vivian & Barry Bergquist
Anonymous
Laurie Berner
Cynthia & Steven Betzler
Anne Bier
Jan Biga
Kay Biga & Patrick Spott
Boyd & Debra Billman
Rosemarie & Philip Birch
David & Karen Bjorkman
John Bjorum
Samuel Black & Kathy Stinnett
Dawn & Robert Boman
Thomas & Mary Boman
Tamara Bottge
Jennifer Boyle
Rick Bradford
Beryl & John Bredeson
Andrea & Brian Brinkert
Greta Brosell
Erik Brown
Gary & Kathy Bubalo
Wendy Buczynski
Maryjane Burdge
Debra Buresh
Lawrence Burkhard
Bill & Renee Burns
Liv Caine
Arthur Calinao
Giulia Calland
Douglas Cameron
Ronald Caple
Jean & Sharon Captain
Nathan & Sanna Carlsgaard
David Carroll
Ellen Chicka
Cheryl Christensen
John & Martha Church
Jessica Cook
Charles Corcoran
Theresa Corey
Timothy & Kathleen Cortes
Henry F. Coyle
Roger & Peny Cragun
Tim & Joanne (Itami) Craig
Dianna Crandall
William & Kathleen Croke
Karen Ruedi Crowell
Kirsten Cruikshank
Bonnie Crum
Jerry & Judy Curnow
Gwyn Curran
Bill & Judy Curtis
Martyn Dahl
Mary Dailey
Lori Dando
Stephen B. Daniel
Coralee J. Danielson
Alan & Cheryl Dartanyan
Hayden David
Jannifer David
Lochlan Davis
Joel Day
Dorothy Dayton
Paul Deaner
Katherine DeVinck
Stephanie DeVlieger
Dorothea Diver
Diane Doda
Michael & Carol Donahue
Mary Dontje
Trevor & Rachel Dupras
Jeff Dzick
Dr. Philip & Julie Eckman
Donna Elsbury
Paul Enenbach
Brian Erickson
Diane Erickson
Gerald & Barbara Erickson
Victoria Everrett
Dennis & Jacqueline Falk
Anya Felts
Paula Fenstad
Peg Ferguson
Robert Feyen
Jason & Rose Fife
Julie A. Ford
Ruth Frederick
Lauren Fuchs
David & Barbara Gaddie
Patricia Gannon
Anna Gavrilova
Debra Gergen
Francesca Germano
Helen Gettle
John Gibbs
Amy Giddings
Jane Gilley
Gail Gilliland
Neil Glazman
Tom Goar
Mary Godfrey
Michelle Gribbon
Terri Griffiths
Debra Grimsrud
Judith Gruwell
Paul Gustad
Judith & Carlton Gustafson
Linda Haagensen
Levearne Hagen
Sherry & Ed Hall
Katheryn Hamm
Kathleen Haney
Milaina Hansen
Debra Harmer
Greta Harrison
Ellen Hedin
Erik Heen
Kathy Heltzer
Christine Hensolt
Linda Herron
Alex Hickok
Jeffrey Hietala
Betsy Hill
Janet Hill
Crystal Hintzman
Anne Hjelle
Jill-Ann Hoag
Matthew Hokanson
Lorelei Holland
Mark & Sharon Holm
Gary Hopp & Michele DeNoble
Megan Hornby
Bobby & Sally Horstman
Timothy Horyza
John Hsieh
Luanne Hunter
Bill & Kate Isles
Isla Jacobson
James Jarocki
John Jaros
Beatrice Javaherian
Lynn Johansen
Ellis Johns
Alexandra Johnson
Ben Johnson
Britt Johnson
James & Janet Johnson
Marian & Donald Johnson
Matilda Johnson
Matthew Johnson
Will Johnson
Sharon Kaner
Sophia Kapsner
Marissa Kari
Ronald Kari
Callia Karr
Cai Karstens
Daniel Keeler
Georgia L. Keeney
John & Beth Kelly
Bettina Keppers
Eugene Kim
Gemma Kim
Melissa King
Isabel Kirkeby
Milka Kleiner
Carl Klubertanz
Holly Kluhsman
Reijer Klyn
Nancy Kohlhaas
Gianna P. Koker
Mark Kolbo
Lydia Kraker
Zinnia Kraker
Thea Kramer
Glen Krenelka
Viktoria Krikorian
Dave & Barb LaMaster
James Lampi
Lynn Landstrom
Nancy & Doug Lane
Carol Larson
Sharon Layon & Neil Nelson
Kenneth Lee
Charles & Jean Leibfried
Kunchen Liang
Michael Lillo
Piper Linn
Joy Loban
Karena Loban
Kiersten Loban
Gary & Nancy Loberg
Paul Lokken
Eric Long
Jean Loushin
Patrice Lovald
Stephanie Love
Susan Lund
Lai La Lunde
Charlie Lydon
Lynn Maas
The Candace Madich Fund
Logan Madsen
Joan Mahle
Lisa & Gary Mandelin
Erin Manley
Mary Manns
Robert & Rachael Martin
Isaiah Mason
Kathleen McDonald
Jennifer McEwen
Tirzah McGill
Susan McNeill
Robert Meese Jr. & Ann E. Small
Gary & Darla Meier
Barbara Melde Olson
Mark & Nancy Melhus
David Mesner & Joyce Piper
Patricia Mester
Elena Metcalf
Rebecca Meyerson
Julie Michels
William Miller & Stephanie Hemphill
Molly Milroy Goldfine
Margaret Mold
Dee & Bernard Moog
Hal & Beth Moore
Wende & James Morrell
Julianne & Matthew Moses
Sacha Mozenter
Susan Mullenix
Sam Mumford
Daniel & Catherine Mundt
Rosalyn Muskovitz
Jennifer Naegele
Ruby Nancy
Diane Nast
Nancy Neilson
Patricia Nelson
Susan & Charles Nelson
Jacob Nephew
Jeannette Nesseth
Judith A. Newman
Sovay Nick
Mark Niedermier
Stacey Nipp
Todd Norwood
Ann M. Novack
Julie O’Leary & Frank Whiteman
Ann Marie Olson
Jacob Olson
Margaret (Peg) Oman
Michael Orth
David J. Ouse
Dylan Paquette
Selah Pavola
Judith Pearson
Patricia Peters
Ryan Petersen
Stephanie & Tyler Petrey
Roger W. Petry
Nathan Pfau
Hannah Pinther
Joe Placek
Mary Kay Plank
Chuck & Della Pleski
Sara Post
Linda Puglisi
Mary H. Pulford
Mary Anne Quackenbush
Don Quest
Kim Quinones
Mya Ramirez
Natalie Rasch
Becky Rathbun
Janalee Reineke-Lyth
Roger Reinert
Mary Pat Renaud
Father Andrew Ricci
Kathleen Risku
Michelle Robbie
Frank Robbins
Ann Robertson
Mardy Rodman
Lyla Ronkainen
David Rossetter
Jo Ann Rossetter
Christopher Roth
Dr. Nancy & Jonathan Rova
Debra Ruby
Nathan Sager
Naomi Sandstrom
Jane M. Saukko
Paul & Eileen Scaringi
Kevin Schanning
Charles & Nancy Schumacher
Dr. Penny Schwarze
Josiah Schwetman
Diane Scott
Judi Scott
Dr. Mark & Nicholas Scott
Jack & Cindy Seiler
Judy Seliga-Punyko
Laurie & Mark Severson
SFM Mutual Insurance
Ariana Shahmammadli
Jenny Shamla
David Shaw
Tracy Shaw
Aleksander Shefchik
Nikolai Shefchik
Tom Sjoberg
Eric Sjoding
Janet R. Sklaris
Richard & Barb Skogg
Sandy Skrien
Judy Smith
Kleighton Smoniewski
Tina Solots
Alice & Lawrence Sommer
Cindy S. Spillers
Christina St. Germaine
Stacey Stark
James R. Starzynski
Mateo Stauffenecker
Marilyn Steele
Sandra & Craig Sterle
Robert Stodola
Thomas Strewler
Lee Stuart
Charles Sundquist & James Sontag
Richard Swenson
Linnea Swenson Tellekson
Joshua Tang
Mary A. Tennis & Stacy Lavres
Raina Thomas
Sophia Thomas
Linus Thompson
Oscar Thompson
Ruth & Dale Thorpe
Steve Tomhave
Helen Tranah
Lucas Trea
Karen Tribby
Shelby Trost
Charlene & Jeremy Uecker
Maeve Ulrick
UMD College of Pharmacy
Christine E. Underdahl
Maeylin Urshan
Joan Varda
Nicholas Vidor
Judy Viken
Marina Vork
Grimaldo Walker
Frank Watsick
Sheldon & Susan Watts
Barbara & James Weinzierl
Claudia Welty
Damian Westermann
Laura Whitney
Ashton Wigg
Ella Wightman
Grace Wightman
Mary Wilson
Kay & David Winek
Kaia Winter
Mandi Wojciehowski
Rhys Woodley
Jay & Helyn Woolf
Erin & Nick Wourms
Annabelle Wu
Shirley Wuchter
Lisa Zummach
Celeste Zuniga Brandt
Rebecca Zunkerr
William & Barbara Abalan
Cigale Ahlquist
Daphne Amundson
Jesse Anderson
Patricia Anderson
Richard & Yvonne Anderson
Sylvia Angradi
Anonymous
Kathleen Antilla
Allan Apter
Joe Barnstorf
Tiffany Beckman
Claire Belisle
Jessica Bellefeuille
Bryan Block
Joseph Boulley
Richard Bradford
Kathleen S. Bray
Holly Brining
Rebecca M. Brookman
Jacob Burski
Nic Caine
Lea Carr
Greta Carroll
Nancy S. Caswell
Eun Joo Choi
Molly Clabots
Natalie Constance
Anthony Croeker
Matthew Daeuber
Tom & Kathy Dahlberg
Dave Dake
Dean Danielson
Julie Demgen
Franklin Doane-Arkulary
Thomas Donahue
Peggy & Steve Downing
Mary Dragich
Anna Dufford
Christine Erickson
Donald Erickson
John & Louise Ann Farrell
Karen Finseth
Anne & William Fleischman
Dewaine Forbragd
Joel Forgacs
Jonathan Forgrave
Louise (Margaret) Foss
Kristin Garey
Geoffrey Gates
Rikki Graskey
Kathy Guitare
Mary & Joe Gummerson
Diane Hagerty
Michon Harju
Lynne Harrington Hall
Alex Heil
Clay Helberg
Sara Henriksen
Jill & Greg Hilliard
Mary & Allen Hoberg
Lisa Hoch
Karen Hoeschen
Karen B. Holden
Sara Hollingsworth
Dr. Glen E. Holt
Gy Houle
Debra Jensen
Mark & Theresa Jobin
Casey Johnson
Evan Johnson
Rachel Johnson
Jason Kearney
Sami Keller
Patricia & Mark Kolquist
Diane Kruger
Pat Kruschke
Karl Kubiak
Serena & Robert (Lamers) McClellan
Sally & Nick Lansing
Paul Lantieri
Abigail Latanich
Sarah Lawrence & Calland Metts
Thomas & Cynthia Ledin
Jonathan Leshnoff
Philip Lundquist
Lucia Magney & Richard Wildberger
Sharon Marcovich
Tiffany Martin
Rachel Mason
James & Cindy McLeod
Carol & Vincent Michealson
Janet & John Murphy
Mary K. Murphy & Family
Elsa Murray
Hannah Nelson
Jeanette Nelson
Dale & Joretta Nikula
Richard & Ruth Nystrom
K.R. Olivera
Avery Overlie
Timothy Panula
Lacey Parr
Kenrea Perell
Louann Petersen-Noltner
Kimberly Pintok
Ericka Pitrago
Mary Planten-Krell
Veronica Poquette
Luther & Angela Qson
Brian & Suzanne Rauvola
Lance G. Reasor
Lela Rikkola
Eric Rodvold
Sheila Runquist
Diane Sauer
Sharon Scheidel
Britta Schielke
Barbara Schlichting
Denise Schreifels
Dr. John Schrock & Mary Berube
Buddy Scroggins
Melanie Sever
Mark & Sandra Signorelli
Julia Sisler
Paige Slemmons
Howard Smith
Phyllis & Vic Smith
Lawrence Spears
Harlan & Anita Stech
Jim & Judy Stewart
Kathy Stinnett
Paul Straka
Rebecca Strand
Scott Sueker
Lynette Swanberg
Sue Swendsen
Julie Takkunen
Adrienne Thureen
Brynn Torgerson
Nicole Turner
Brandon VanWaeyenberghe
Steve Voltzke
Jennifer & Steve Wabrowetz
John Wakefield
Jori & Chuck Walt
Joe Walters
Rachel Warner
Kim Westerham
Hope White
Trevor L. White
Janelle & Josh Wightman
Dietrich Winter
Zach Wood
Jason Young
Nancy & Tom (Young) Caswell
Lyle & Michelle Zappa
Passed away last November (11/16/2023)
Former DSSO musician, played trombone
His daughter, Kristin McMurtry, requested all donations in memory of her father be directed toward the trombone section
Tributes:
Janet Murphy
Sharon Marcovich
Kay Biga & Patrick Spott
Sylvia Jamar
Jan Biga
Katherine DeVinck
Richard Nystrom
Marilyn Streele
Diane Kruger
Passed away last October (10/30/2023)
The family requests memorial donations to the DSSO or donor’s choice. She was heavily involved with the DSSO throughout her life.
Tributes:
Nancy S. Caswell
John Farrell
K.R. Olivera
Bonnie Crum
Diane Hagerty
Nancy & Tom (Young) Caswell
Patricia Kolquist
Lyle Zappa
Walter & Kay Gower
Kim Westerham
Our hearts go out to the families and friends of musicians or patrons who have passed.
*This list represents those we have been made aware of through Memorial Gifts.
In Memory of Victoria Benda Luepke
Harlan Stech
In Memory of Janet Millea Bye
Sheila Runquist
Mary K. Murphy
Lisa Hoch
Craft & Ellie Dryer
Jennifer Naegele
Paul Lantieri
Roberta Vose
In Memory of Mary Donahue
Thomas Donahue
In Memory of Kalervo & Arlyne Kokkonen
Carlton Gustafson
In Memory of David Kortier Dr. Penny Schwarze
In Memory of Marge Kuehn
Kathleen Antilla
In Memory of Joseph Meese
Serena Lamers McClellan
William (“Buzz”) & Saundra Palmer
Linda & Mark Boben
Robert Meese Jr. & Ann E. Small
Anne Fleischman
Patricia Anderson
Jacquie & Jim Sebastian
Julie Demgen
In Memory of Walter & Alta Moe
Shirley Tratechaud
In Memory of Don Niemi
Sharon L. Torrison
In Memory of Kerstin (Meyer) Papcke
Diane Balko
James Zastrow
In Memory of James E. Smith
Ronald Kari
In Memory of Mara Solie
William (“Buzz”) & Saundra Palmer
In Memory of Lorraine Stolee
Roberta Vose
Paula Fenstad
Jacquie & Jim Sebastian
Dr. Glen E. Holt
Jeanette Nelson
William (“Buzz”) & Saundra Palmer
North Shore Bank of Commerce
Dale Nikula
In Memory of David Vose
Sharon L. Torrison
In Memory of Sharon Wahman
Roberta Vose
Lane Fryberger Smith
In Memory of Alberte White
Trevor L. White
pleased to o er a big thank you to our sponsors for the 2021-2022 Season.
We are pleased to o er a big thank you to our sponsors for the 2021-2022 Season. Their generous support makes it possible for the DSSO to bring world-class concerts, educational programs, and community outreach to the Northland. BRAVO!
generous support makes it possible for the DSSO to bring world-class concerts, programs, and community outreach to the Northland. BRAVO!
are pleased to o er a big thank you to our sponsors for the 2021-2022 Season. generous support makes it possible for the DSSO to bring world-class concerts, educational programs, and community outreach to the Northland. BRAVO!
are pleased to o er a big thank you to our sponsors for the 2021-2022 Season. Their generous support makes it possible for the DSSO to bring world-class concerts, educational programs, and community outreach to the Northland. BRAVO!
We are pleased to o er a big thank you to our sponsors for the 2021-2022 Season. Their generous support makes it possible for the DSSO to bring world-class concerts, educational programs, and community outreach to the Northland. BRAVO!
We are pleased to o er a big thank you to our sponsors for the 2021-2022 Season. Their generous support makes it possible for the DSSO to bring world-class concerts, educational programs, and community outreach to the Northland. BRAVO!
We are pleased to o er a big thank you to our sponsors for the 2021-2022 Season. Their generous support makes it possible for the DSSO to bring world-class concerts, educational programs, and community outreach to the Northland. BRAVO!
We are pleased to o er a big thank you to our sponsors for the 2021-2022 Season. Their generous support makes it possible for the DSSO to bring world-class concerts, educational programs, and community outreach to the Northland. BRAVO!
WE ARE PLEASED TO OFFER A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS FOR THE 2023-2024 SEASON. THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR THE DSSO TO BRING WORLD-CLASS CONCERTS, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH TO THE NORTHLAND. BRAVO!
sponsors for the 2021-2022 Season. DSSO to bring world-class concerts, to the Northland. BRAVO!
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
218.623.3776
ONE | MW1 September 16, 2023
TWO | MW2 January 20, 2024
THREE | MW3 November 4, 2023
FOUR | MW4 February 24, 2024
FIVE | MW5 March 16, 2024
SIX | MW6 April 13, 2024
SEVEN | MW7 May 4, 2024
POPS SERIES
EIGHT | POPS1 December 2, 2023
NINE | POPS2 February 10, 2024
CHAMBER
TEN | An intimate chamber performance conducted by Maestro Dirk Meyer to be held at the Depot Theatre. This is a non-subscription event and tickets will go on sale this fall.
WeAreHopeX.org
LEADING 200 OF THE NATION’S TOP PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS
2024 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress Stefan Jackiw plays Dvorak Violin Concerto Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben
JULY 26 - AUGUST 18, 2024 BRAINERD, MINNESOTA Lakesareamusic.org
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