Chamber Orchestra Series
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra returns for its fifth season in residence at the University of Chicago. Joining them on the new three-concert Chamber Orchestra Series, Europa Galante makes a welcome Mandel Hall debut.(All concerts take place in Mandel Hall)
Friday / November 6 / 7:30 pm
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor
Dawn Upshaw, soprano
Steven Copes, violin
Piazzolla: Fuga y Misterio
Alberto Iglesias: In the Land of the Lemon Trees (World Premiere)
Osvaldo Golijov: Three Songs for Soprano and Orchestra
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, op. 63
The incomparable soprano and SPCO Artistic Partner Dawn Upshaw returns to Mandel Hall for songs written specifically for her, beginning with Osvaldo Golijov's "haunting" Three Songs. Upshaw and the SPCO then present the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias, best known for his film scores for director Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her and Volver. Concertmaster Steven Copes closes the program with Prokofiev's beloved, folk-themed Second Violin Concerto.
Friday / January 22 / 7:30 pm
Europa Galante
Fabio Biondi, conductor/violin
Frank Theuns, flute
Telemann: Ouverture à quatre
Telemann: Concerto per flauto, violino, cello ed archi
Sammartini: Sinfonia JC57
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Based on the orchestras of Baroque Italy, the 15-piece Europa Galante uses period instruments to bring the richness of a 17th-century string ensemble to life. Under the direction of master violinist Fabio Biondi, the orchestra closes its program with one of its specialties--Vivaldi's ageless Four Seasons, never performed during the 28-year history of the Early Music Series.
Friday / April 16 / 7:30 pm
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Thomas Zehetmair, conductor
Pre-concert lecture by Philip Gossett, Robert W. Reneker, Distinguished Service Professor,
Department of Music, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, and the College
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, op. 61
Krenek: Symphonic Elegy
Webern: Symphony, op. 21
Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759, "Unfinished"
Named "one of the most significant violinists of his generation," Thomas Zehetmair makes his Chicago conducting debut with the SPCO, leading the orchestra through Beethoven's Violin Concerto. The program continues in a decidedly Viennese manner with 20th-century works by Krenek and Webern. The SPCO closes out its Chicago season with one of symphonic literature's masterpieces, Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony.
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Residency is made possible by the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, the Arts Midwest Performing Arts Fund, and the National Endowment for the Arts.