The only full-time, professional chamber orchestra in the country and one of the best in the world, the SPCO begins a 3-year residency at the University of Chicago that will include a 3-concert series, educational activities on campus, a family concert and outreach into the public schools. The 33 musicians of the SPCO are among the best solo and ensemble players on the scene. Sharing creative leadership for the group with a team of 5 Artistic Partners, they offer audiences the intimacy of chamber music combined with the power of orchestral performance, with a repertoire that spans the whole spectrum from early music to the latest compositions.

Friday / 4 November / 8 pm
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Jeffrey Kahane, conductor/piano

William Bolcom Orphée-Sérénade
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488
Haydn Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major

"A fine pianist in a wide range of repertoire, he also has made a splash as a conductor." The Chicago Tribune

In this inaugural concert of the country’s only full-time professional chamber orchestra, pianist-conductor Jeffrey Kahane, newly appointed director of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, will play-conduct an array of works classical to modern. Not the least will be Mozart’s beloved Concerto No. 23, a piece so close to the composer’s heart he never sold it – a fitting beginning to a season-long celebration of Mozart’s 250th birthday.

Schumann Overture to Genoveva
James MacMillan Veni, Veni Emmanuel
Schumann Symphony No. 2 in C Major

"Douglas Boyd...one of the most dinstinctive Scottish imports since kilts and single-malt whiskey." The San Diego Union-Tribune

Phenomenal Scottish oboist and SPCO Artistic Partner Douglas Boyd will conduct two works from Schumann's “dark period,” including the symphony which Clara Schumann considered her husband's “most masterful” orchestral work. Joined by percussionist Colin Currie, 2002 Regents Park Discovery Artist, the SPCO will perform one of the few works written for percussion and orchestra. From Schumann's struggle with darkness to MacMillan's struggle with light, the program offers much to savor and more to ponder.

Symphony No. 39 in E-Flat Major, K. 543
Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550
Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 ("Jupiter")

"Roberto Abbado . . . short on perfume but long on intensity, finely etched details and orchestral virtuosity." Detroit Free Press

Mozart never heard his last three symphonies performed. To make sure that music-lovers escape a similar fate, the SPCO will treat the audience to a banquet of Mozart's greatest achievements in the form. Led by SPCO Artistic Partner, acclaimed Italian conductor Roberto Abbado, the final concert of the SPCO Series crowns Mozart's 250th birthday celebration and brings the residency's first season to a glorious close.