For Immediate Release
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Contacts:
Katherine Eklund
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Kristin Fischer Rosel
msomediacontact@msomn.org
"The Inspiring Beethoven" Opens MSO's 29th Season on October 10
MSO will reprise works prior to the Minnesota Orchestra concert on October 15
MINNEAPOLIS, October 4, 2010 - The Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce the opening of its 2010-11 season with two exciting concerts featuring Beethoven's Seventh Symphony and American Composer John Corigliano's Fantasia on an Ostinato, a work that deconstructs the haunting slow movement of Beethoven's masterpiece:
Sunday, October 10, 4:00 p.m.*
Trinity Lutheran Church
115 4th Street North, Stillwater, MN 55082
*This is a free concert -- no tickets are required.
Friday, October 15, 6:30 p.m.**
Orchestra Hall
1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55403
MSO plays prior to the 8 p.m. Minnesota Orchestra concert.
**Tickets are required for this performance and allow you to stay for the Minnesota Orchestra concert that follows. Details about ticket purchase and a 50% discount code are available here.
MSO Music Director William Schrickel programmed Corigliano's Fantasia with Beethoven's Seventh Symphony because the beautiful and hypnotic melody of the slow movement of the Beethoven is what inspired Corigliano to write the Fantasia. Corigliano won an Oscar for his film score for The Red Violin. His music embodies a wonderful mix of lyrical and dramatic elements.
"John's piece deconstructs the Beethoven, breaking it apart and reassembling it in a manner that is at turns mysterious, haunting, threatening and elegiac," says Schrickel. "Fantasia is one of the best pieces of symphonic music written in the past 30 years. The orchestra will play the Beethoven melody and then launch directly into the Fantasia without any pause. It will be a powerful and revealing juxtaposition of two musical masterpieces."
The concert at Trinity Lutheran Church will open with Vivaldi's charming and virtuosic piccolo concerto in C major, featuring MSO's principal flute Madalyn Ellingson.
"There are not many concerti that feature the piccolo," says Schrickel. "Vivaldi's is one of the earliest ever written, and even though it was composed 300 years ago, it is one of the best."
"I am always excited to return to Stillwater and Trinity Lutheran Church with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra," continues Schrickel. "The audience is always engaged and enthusiastic, and Trinity's excellent acoustics help us to sound our best."
The Inspiring Beethoven: Season Opener
William Schrickel, conductor
Madalyn Ellingson, piccolo
Antonio Vivaldi - Piccolo Concerto in C major, RV 443
John Corigliano - Fantasia on an Ostinato
Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony #7 in A major, op. 92
Please visit the MSO website at www.msomn.org for the full 2010-11 season program and directions to the performing venues.
William Schrickel and MSO
The Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra celebrates William Schrickel's 11th season as its Music Director. He was an Assistant Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra for the 2005-06 season and was the Music Director of the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra from 2002-2008.
The Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra is in its 29th season. Founded in 1982 by Saint Olaf College graduates, the orchestra has grown from a small chamber ensemble to a full symphony orchestra, a magnet for some of the area's finest professional and amateur instrumentalists. The primary goal of the orchestra is to reach all corners of the metropolitan area with a full spectrum of orchestral music and to encourage audiences to experience the excitement of live symphonic performances. Visit www.msomn.org for more information.
Madalyn Ellingson
Madalyn Ellingson joined the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra as principal flute in 2009. She holds a bachelor's degree in music performance from the University of Minnesota. An avid chamber musician, Madalyn was a founding member of the Kalos Winds Woodwind Quintet, a group that focused on educational outreach to local schools and performing diverse public recitals.