Many Worlds
ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by UBS

Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 7:30pm
Friday, April 18, 2008 at 8pm

Carlos Kalmar, conductor
Joseph Kalichstein, piano

LUTOSŁAWSKI  Musique funèbre
BEETHOVEN  Piano Concerto No. 2
PROKOFIEV  Symphony No. 5

Lutosławski mourns the death of Bartók, in music that can move the heart of everyone. Beethoven takes us to a brighter world, though sometimes he sounds darker, and more sober. Prokofiev lives in two worlds at once, a dark world, and—with so much sparkle—very much a world of light.

PreConcert Perspective with Peter Henderson one hour prior to each concert.

Community Concert
Free Special Event at First Baptist Church

Sunday, April 20, 2008 at 5pm

Robert Ray, conductor
Rosephanye Dunn Powell, guest conductor
Saint Louis Symphony IN UNISON® Chorus

The relationships between the SLSO and the local community continue to grow and evolve, as with this free concert in one of the city’s historic African-American churches. First Baptist Church is located at 3100 Bell Avenue. Call 314-533-8003 for details.

Flavin Concert Series

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 7:30pm (Doors at 7pm)

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
3716 Washington Blvd

LIGETI             Sonata for solo viola (1991-94)
                        Jonathan Vinocour, viola
BERIO              Sequenza V for trombone (1966)
                        Jonathan Reycraft, trombone
George CRUMB    Sonata for solo cello (1955)
                                Melissa Brooks-Rubright, cello
LIGETI            Poème symphonique for 100 metronomes (1962)

Classical Detours - Austrian Sweets

Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 6:30pm

$30 Reserved, limited availability  |  $20 General Admission

Marin Alsop, conductor
Andrea Kaplan, flute

Over the last few centuries composers have felt the need to go to Vienna: Mozart, Beethoven, even Billy Joel. Austria seems to call out for music, whether made by Strauss or Julie Andrews. Guest conductor Marin Alsop serves up an Austrian confectionary, both alpine and urban.

Presented in partnership with The Boeing Company and 90.7 KWMU-FM.
Doors open at 5:30pm with complimentary beer sampling courtesy of Anheuser-Busch and happy-hour pricing on other drinks and appetizers.

Realizations
PREMIUM ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by Plaza Lexus

Friday, April 25, 2008 at 8pm
Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 8pm
Sunday, April 27, 2008 at 3pm

Marin Alsop, conductor
Leila Josefowicz, electric violin (Whitaker Guest Artist)

Steven STUCKY  Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary, after Purcell
John ADAMS  The Dharma at Big Sur
BEETHOVEN  Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”

Three engrossing—and distinctive—pieces. Stephen Stucky, living now, brings engrossing changes on the music of Purcell, who lived 300 years ago. John Adams catches the light, the air, and the meditative peace of Big Sur, in California. And Beethoven changed the world of music with just two chords in his “Eroica.”

PreConcert Perspective with Amy Kaiser one hour prior to each concert.

Effortless Music
ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by Thompson Coburn LLP

Friday, May 2, 2008 at 10:30am (Coffee Concert*)
Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 8pm
Sunday, May 4, 2008 at 3pm

* Coffee and doughnuts provided at 9:30am by Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Leonidas Kavakos, conductor and violin

STRAVINSKY  Concerto in D
BACH  Violin Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052
MENDELSSOHN  Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”

Effortless music by three master composers that can sweep over you as well as surprise you with subtle intricacies. You’ll find Stravinsky at his most engaging, inspired by Bach. Then Bach himself, an inspiration for anyone. And finally Mendelssohn, always radiant, and always full of life.

PreConcert Perspective with Peter Henderson one hour prior to each concert.

Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra

Friday, May 2, 2008 at 8pm

Scott Parkman, conductor
Andrew George, clarinet

FAURE   Pelléas et Mélisande Suite, Op. 80
MOZART   Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A major, K. 622
R. STRAUSS   Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration)
J. STRAUSS, Jr.   Emperor Waltzes

Advance Price - $14, $12 & $8 
Day Of Concert Price - $18, $16 & $12

Exploding Colors
PREMIUM ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by MasterCard

Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 7:30pm
Friday, May 9, 2008 at 8pm
Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 8pm
Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 3pm

Peter Oundjian, conductor
Anna Christy, soprano
Stanford Olsen, tenor
Lucas Meachem, baritone
Saint Louis Symphony Chorus
Amy Kaiser, director
The St. Louis Children’s Choirs
Barbara Berner and Kathleen Pottinger, directors

BACH/Stokowski  Toccata and Fugue in D minor
Christopher THEOFANIDIS  Rainbow Body
ORFF  Carmina Burana

Here’s music that shows off the sheer power of sound. Stokowski’s orchestration makes Bach colorful and grand. Rainbow Body lives up to its name, with soaring orchestral color and light. And then Carmina Burana lifts the roof off, with explosive rhythm and melody.

PreConcert Perspective with Hugh Macdonald one hour prior to each concert.

KFUO Top 99 Concert

Friday, May 16, 2008, 7:30 PM

David Robertson, conductor
Nicolae Bica, Violin

BACH/STOKOWSKI    Toccata and Fugue in D minor
TCHAIKOVSKY           3 Dances from The Nutcracker
                                     Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
                                     Russian Dance (Trepak)
                                     Waltz of the Flowers
DUKAS                         The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
WAGNER                      The Ride of the Valkyries
STEINER                       Tara’s Theme from Gone with the Wind
John WILLIAMS         Remembrances from Schindler’s List
Maurice JARRE          Lawrence of Arabia
arr. Hayman

St. Louis Children's Choirs 30th Anniversary Gala

Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 2:00 pm

Please note this event is a hall rental and is not presented by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. View our Hall Rental Events page for more information about this performance.

Gershwin!

Friday, May 23, 2008 at 7:30pm

Scott Parkman, conductor
Stewart Goodyear, piano

GERSHWIN Overture to Girl Crazy
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
GERSHWIN Promenade (Walking the Dog)
GERSHWIN Porgy and Bess: Selections for Orchestra
GERSHWIN An American in Paris

Summertime and the livin’ is easy. The music of George Gershwin is Rhapsody in Blue’s clarinet moan and keyboard jazz, is An American in Paris and light as éclair, is show-stopping tunes too. ’S awful nice, ’s paradise!

The Four Seasons: Vivaldi and Piazzolla

Friday, May 30, 2008 at 7:30pm

David Halen, director and soloist

VIVALDI The Four Seasons
PACHELBEL  Canon in D
PIAZZOLLA  The Four Seasons

You actually experience eight scintillating seasons in one St. Louis summer. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons matches the moods of Venice, as Astor Piazzolla’s Buenos Aries inspires a tango-driven Four Seasons. When it’s summer north of the equator it’s winter in the south: hear how all the seasons sound.

Flavin Concert Series

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 7:30pm (Doors at 7pm)

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
3716 Washington Blvd

CAGE  Imaginary Landscape No. 4
Philip GLASS  Piece in the Shape of a Square
Steve REICH  Four Organs
CAGE  Imaginary Landscape No. 4

An Afternoon in Vienna

 Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 3pm

Andrew Grams, conductor

J. STRAUSS, Jr.            Die Fledermaus Overture

J. STRAUSS, Jr.            Pizzicato Polka
LEHAR                           Vilja-Lied from The Merry Widow
J. STRAUSS, Jr.           Tritsch-Tratsch Polka

J. STRAUSS, Jr.            Emperor Waltzes
LEHAR                           Gold and Silver Waltz
J. STRAUSS, Jr.            Voices of Spring
J. STRAUSS, Jr.            Thunder and Lightning Polka
J. STRAUSS, Jr.            An der schönen, blauen Donau

May we have this dance? The waltzes of Johann Strauss breathe a fresh, alpine lightness into the summer air. This is music made to entertain, to toss cares away, to start (or continue) a fine romance. Take a trip down the beautiful, blue Danube and sway to the music right along with the musicians.

American Celebration

Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 7:30pm

Delta David Gier, conductor

STAFFORD-SMITH      The Star-Spangled Banner
John WILLIAMS         Olympic Fanfare & Theme
COPLAND                    Appalachian Spring Suite
GERSHWIN                   Strike Up the Band Overture
John WILLIAMS         The Cowboy’s Overture
L. ANDERSON              The Last Rose of Summer
GANZ/arr. Hayman     Saint Louis Symphony March
WARD/Reed                 America the Beautiful Overture  
SOUSA                         Stars and Stripes Forever

An all-American concert to get ready for the Fourth of July. Gershwin lets the drums roll out and the trumpet call to Strike Up the Band. A rousing Sousa march, the music of John Williams and other family favorites make for musical fireworks!

The 2008-2009 Season

View our three easy ways to subscribe at the 2008-2009 Season pages, including Compose Your Own and Classic Choice Coupon options.

Subscribers to the 2008-2009 season can purchase single tickets now (please call 314-533-7888). All concerts below are on sale to the public Monday, August 25, 2008 at 9am, except for the Lord of the Rings concert which is on sale to the public Monday, June 16, 2008 at 9am.

SPECIAL EVENT CONCERT

Friday, September 19, 2008 at 7:30pm
Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 7:30pm

Markus Huber, conductor
Saint Louis Symphony Chorus

Capture the Ring with the SLSO! Since its premiere in 2003, Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings Symphony has received standing ovations on four continents. The musical experience is heightened with projected illustrations and storyboards. “Shore’s musical opus is every bit as impressive as Tolkien’s literary one...even when liberated from the majesty of [Peter] Jackson’s trilogy.”—Seattle Times

2008-2009 Season subscribers can purchase tickets now.  On sale to the public Monday, June 16, 2008 at 9am

ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by MasterCard

Friday, September 26, 2008 at 8pm
Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 8pm

David Robertson, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano

JOHN ADAMS Guide to Strange Places
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra

The passion of art. The passion of life. You find it in Yefim Bronfman playing the ferociously difficult, and exhilarating, Rach 3. You find it in John Adams’ tour of the strange. And you find it in Bartók, who, as mad war ravages his homeland, writes an impassioned concerto of homecoming.

Currie x 3
ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by Plaza Lexus

Friday, October 3, 2008 at 10:30am (Coffee Concert)
Saturday October 4, 2008 at 8pm
Sunday October 5, 2008 at 3pm

David Robertson, conductor
Colin Currie, percussion

MOZART The Abduction from the Seraglio Overture
STEVEN MACKEY Time Release
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7

Colin Currie nimbly crossed back and forth across the stage playing a battery of percussion in spring 2006, and audiences felt the sonic power reverberating long after. This season Currie plays a different percussion concerto for each concert. Mozart and Beethoven, classical purveyors of modern rhythms, complete the adventure.

Classical Detours - English Pomp (& Circumstance)

Friday, October 3, 2008 at 6:30pm

$30 Reserved, limited availability | $20 General Admission

No passport required, no baggage to check. Classical Detours returns to Friday nights, which means you begin your weekend with a pre-concert happy hour followed by the SLSO taking you on an exciting, one-hour musical tour of places far and near. Avoid the rush hour on the most enjoyable detour you’ll ever take.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by American Airlines

Friday, October 10, 2008 at 8pm
Saturday, October 11, 2008 at 8pm
Sunday, October 12, 2008 at 3pm

Hans Graf, conductor
David Halen, violin
Jonathan Vinocour, viola

PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1, “Classical”
MOZART Sinfonia concertante, K. 364
STRAVINSKY Scènes de Ballet
BIZET Symphony in C

The influence of one’s forbearers may produce anxiety, but it also provokes great art. Bizet stands boldly in Mozart’s shadow. Young Prokofiev honors his musical ancestors as Stravinsky reflects on Tchaikovsky’s fiery romanticism. Mozart is purely himself, inventing a refined discourse between violin and viola.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, October 17, 2008 at 8pm
Saturday, October 18, 2008 at 8pm

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, conductor

BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8

Bruckner wanders into mists of uncertainty, emerging toward intimations of profound faith. He makes sound cathedrals: sweeping harmonic structures propelling you both inward and outward. Perhaps not so incongruously, Bruckner has found fans among heavy-metal devotees, especially the last movement: Feierlich, nicht schnell. Could be the name of a band.

Sunday, October 19, 2008 at 3pm

$10 Adult / $6 Child

For an hour on Sunday afternoons you and your family share a live performance by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra that is truly fun for everyone. You’ll join in—clapping or singing or even stomping your feet. Family Concerts are educational too, but you’ll hardly even notice. Come as you are.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, October 24, 2008 at 8pm
Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 8pm
Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 3pm

Ingo Metzmacher, conductor
Peter Serkin, piano

MUSSORGSKY/SHOSTAKOVICH Dawn on the Moskva River from Khovanshchina
MESSIAEN Les offrandes oubliées
STRAVINSKY Capriccio
MESSIAEN Oiseaux exotiques
MUSSORGSKY/RAVEL Pictures at an Exhibition

Mussorgsky was inspired by an exhibition of paintings; Ravel was inspired by Mussorgsky. Create your own pictures from the sound images Mussorgsky draws, and to which Ravel adds color. Plus Messiaen’s bright exotic birds and Stravinsky showing off: syncopated, jazzy, fascinatin’.

Classical Detours - Transylvanian Halloween

Friday, October 31, 2008 at 6:30pm

$30 Reserved, limited availability | $20 General Admission

No passport required, no baggage to check. Classical Detours returns to Friday nights, which means you begin your weekend with a pre-concert happy hour followed by the SLSO taking you on an exciting, one-hour musical tour of places far and near. Avoid the rush hour on the most enjoyable detour you’ll ever take.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 8pm
Sunday, November 2, 2008 at 3pm

Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Barbara Orland, oboe
Andrew Gott, bassoon
Alison Harney, violin
Melissa Brooks, cello
Laura Claycomb, soprano
Thomas Cooley, tenor
Saint Louis Symphony Chorus
Amy Kaiser, director

MENDELSSOHN Fair Melusine Overture
HAYDN Sinfonia concertante
HANDEL Ode for Saint Cecilia’s Day

One for the muses. If you’re called upon to make music for the Queen, you’d better bring your best stuff. Handel knew how to please a royal court, but for Cecilia, the patron saint of music, he writes to satisfy the divine. Mendelssohn and Haydn add to this extraordinary command performance.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by MasterCard

Friday, November 14, 2008 at 8pm
Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 8pm

David Robertson, conductor
Leila Josefowicz, violin
John Patitucci, electric bass and electric bass guitar

MARK-ANTHONY TURNAGE A Prayer Out of Stillness
STEVEN MACKEY Violin Concerto (US Premiere)
STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

The most outrageous work from the beginning of the 20th century, The Rite still beats with a rock & roll heart in the 21st, and so matches a quiet piece for electric bass and electric bass guitar, and a violin concerto by a dynamic composer with an electric guitar in mind.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, November 21, 2008 at 8pm
Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 8pm

David Robertson, conductor
Pinchas Zukerman, viola

BARTÓK Viola Concerto
MAHLER Symphony No. 9

It has been too long since Pinchas Zukerman played at Powell. For his return, he plays a work that sings a dream of return: Bartók, in exile in America, far from his native Hungary. Zukerman’s restless viola imagines a final peasant dance of the heart. With Mahler’s tender symphonic farewell.

Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 2pm

Touhill Performing Arts Center, UM-St. Louis
Contact the Touhill at 314-516-4949 or visit www.touhill.org for on-sale dates.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, November 28, 2008 at 8pm
Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 8pm

Marc Albrecht, conductor
Orli Shaham, piano

RAVEL Mother Goose Suite
BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 3
R. STRAUSS Don Juan
R. STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks

Ravel expresses the fantastic world of Mother Goose. Strauss delves deep into the archetypes of seducer/adventurer and trickster/prankster in two works of mesmerizing invention. Orli Shaham, with magic up her sleeves, reveals a simplicity in Bartók that is both of our time, and timeless—the best trick of all.

Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 3pm

$10 Adult / $6 Child

For an hour on Sunday afternoons you and your family share a live performance by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra that is truly fun for everyone. You’ll join in—clapping or singing or even stomping your feet. Family Concerts are educational too, but you’ll hardly even notice. Come as you are.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by Thompson Coburn LLP

Friday, December 5, 2008 at 10:30am (Coffee Concert)
Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 8pm
Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 3pm

Michael Christie, conductor
Louis Lortie, piano

BARBER Essay No. 1
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 1
TCHAIKOVSKY Suite No. 3

Barber’s Essay lights a bright American candle. Chopin’s piano concertos are all of fire, a dramatic combustion between orchestra and soloist, a battle as riveting as a volatile marriage. Tchaikovsky’s suites are just as incandescent. Being Russian, he knows the darkest nights require heat and light. He brings them.

Classical Detours - Discover America

Friday, December 12, 2008 at 6:30pm

$30 Reserved, limited availability | $20 General Admission

No passport required, no baggage to check. Classical Detours returns to Friday nights, which means you begin your weekend with a pre-concert happy hour followed by the SLSO taking you on an exciting, one-hour musical tour of places far and near. Avoid the rush hour on the most enjoyable detour you’ll ever take.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Saturday, December 13, 2008 at 8pm
Sunday, December 14, 2008 at 3pm

David Robertson, conductor
Jessica Rivera, soprano
Kelley O’Connor, mezzo-soprano
Steven Rickards, Daniel Bubeck
Brian Cummings, countertenors
Jonathan Lemalu, bass-baritone
Saint Louis Symphony Chorus
Amy Kaiser, director
The St. Louis Children’s Choirs
Barbara Berner, director

JOHN ADAMS El Niño

“The piece is my way of trying to understand what is meant by a miracle,” John Adams says of his nativity oratorio. Handel’s Messiah is indeed a model, but the shout of “Hallelujah” is propelled by a convergence of forces, as if orchestra and chorus were caught up in a whirlwind of history and myth, faith and doubt, memory and dream. Prepare to be blown away.

Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 7:30pm
Friday, December 19, 2008 at 7:30pm

Robert Ray, conductor
Saint Louis Symphony IN UNISON® Chorus

Two nights of soul-stirring gospel music to celebrate this most joyous of seasons. The artistic combination of Robert Ray, the Saint Louis Symphony IN UNISON® Chorus, and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra have made A Gospel Christmas a tradition that delivers all of the promises of the holiday. A special guest from the gospel-music world will make these concerts shine even more brightly.

Friday, December 19, 2008 at 2pm
Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 7:30pm
Sunday, December 21, 2008 at 2pm

Popular songs mixed with orchestral favorites that define the spirit of the season, The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra Holiday Celebration is made to gladden the hearts of every girl and boy—whatever their age. With Powell Symphony Hall dressed in its holiday best, you and your family will delight in music made for this time. And everyone warm up your voices for the traditional sing-along with The St. Louis Children’s Choirs!

Saturday, December 27, 2008 at 7:30pm
Sunday, December 28, 2008 at 3pm

David Robertson, conductor

We’re off to see the Wizard! The 1939 classic has been stunningly re-mastered and restored, and now, the wonderful Harold Arlen score will be played live by the SLSO,with David Robertson conducting. The Wizard of Oz will be as enchanting to those who’ve seen it dozens of times as to those who are seeing it for the first time. Judy Garland singing “Over the Rainbow” with the SLSO: We’re off!

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 7:30pm

David Robertson, conductor

The program for the SLSO’s annual New Year’s Eve Surprise Party is one of the best kept—and most-enjoyed—secrets of the year. A special guest artist? A dancer (or dancers)? Will the Saint Louis Symphony Chorus be singing? You won’t know until you’re there. But you’ll know that David Robertson and the SLSO will make this the first (and best) stop on your New Year’s Eve revels.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, January 9, 2009 at 8pm

James Gaffigan, conductor
Kelly Kaduce, soprano

VERDI La forza del destino Overture
VERDI arias from La Traviata
PUCCINI arias from Madama Butterfly and Gianni Schicchi
WAGNER Symphonic Suite from “The Ring of the Nibelungs” including “Ride of the Valkyries”

Rising star Kelly Kaduce has captivated Opera Theatre of St. Louis audiences in the title roles of Anna Karenina, Jane Eyre and Suor Angelica. Spend a riveting night with Kaduce as she sings Verdi and Puccini, including a reprise from Madama Butterfly—her summer ’08 star turn at OTSL.

Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 2pm

Touhill Performing Arts Center, UM-St. Louis
Contact the Touhill at 314-516-4949 or visit www.touhill.org for on-sale dates.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, January 16, 2009 at 8pm
Saturday, January 17, 2009 at 8pm

Philippe Jordan, conductor
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano

WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
BERG Seven Early Songs
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4

Music critics reach for the adjectives to describe her voice: lustrous, creamy, ample, supple, gleaming, beautifully focused, plush, silky, golden, and so forth. After singing as a seductive Scheherazade and a vanquished Cleopatra with the SLSO, you know that few vocalists immediately become as intimate with an audience as Susan Graham. Sexy? That too.

Sunday, January 18, 2009 at 3pm

$10 Adult / $6 Child

For an hour on Sunday afternoons you and your family share a live performance by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra that is truly fun for everyone. You’ll join in—clapping or singing or even stomping your feet. Family Concerts are educational too, but you’ll hardly even notice. Come as you are.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by MasterCard

Friday, January 23, 2009 at 8pm
Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 8pm

Edward Gardner, conductor
Johannes Moser, cello

BRITTEN Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1
RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

Even amidst the harshness of life, the impulse of art is to inspire. Britten writes of living from the sea and living with community, and the pleasure and pain of both. Shostakovich creates beauty with the Gulag looming. Rachmaninoff rises from human strife, with a physical dance to celebrate the divine.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by American Airlines

Friday, January 30, 2009 at 10:30am (Coffee Concert)
Saturday, January 31, 2009 at 8pm

David Robertson, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano

HAYDN Symphony No. 92, “Oxford”
R. STRAUSS Burleske
GEORGE BENJAMIN Dance Figures
SZYMANOWSKI Symphony No. 4 (Symphonie concertante)

One of the most exciting virtuosic displays of last season was Christian Tetzlaff’s sensational performance of Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto. Let Szymanowski become a household name to you when the phenomenal Emanuel Ax plays a late work of the Polish composer to complete a program of raucous sophistication.

Classical Detours - Latin American Carnival

Friday, January 30, 2009 at 6:30pm

$30 Reserved, limited availability | $20 General Admission

No passport required, no baggage to check. Classical Detours returns to Friday nights, which means you begin your weekend with a pre-concert happy hour followed by the SLSO taking you on an exciting, one-hour musical tour of places far and near. Avoid the rush hour on the most enjoyable detour you’ll ever take.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by Thompson Coburn LLP

Friday, February 6, 2009 at 8pm
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 8pm
Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 3pm

Xian Zhang, conductor
Daniel Lee, cello

CHEN YI Si Ji (Four Seasons)
ELGAR Cello Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5

Music of the seasons, from an Asian perspective. Then Elgar’s concerto, written near the close of World War I, makes music from the ashes of a world destroyed, hauntingly played by SLSO Principal Cello Daniel Lee. Out of Tchaikovsky’s struggles of the heart, he makes an eloquent appeal to Fate.

PREMIUM ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, February 13, 2009 at 8pm
Saturday, February 14, 2009 at 8pm

David Robertson, conductor
Christine Brewer, soprano
Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano
Marcus Haddock, tenor
Roberto Scandiuzzi, bass
Saint Louis Symphony Chorus
Amy Kaiser, director

VERDI Requiem

Giuseppe Verdi liked to tell a story about how he walked to the village church three miles, sometimes without shoes, to play the organ each Sunday. A bit of a tall tale, but it conveys the sense of devotion realized in his great Requiem Mass. You might imagine yourself walking miles to hear it.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, February 27, 2009 at 10:30am
Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 8pm
Sunday, March 1, 2009 at 3pm

Jun Märkl, conductor
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Todd Wilson, organ

LISZT Les Préludes
DVORÁK Piano Concerto
SAINT-SAËNS Symphony No. 3, “Organ”

“Chiaroscuro” means the contrasts between lights and darks in a picture or painting. It’s an effective word to describe this concert: Liszt’s tone poem of life and death; Dvorák’s concerto, with an interplay between soloist and orchestra like dappled light; and Saint-Saëns’ symphony of dazzling variations.

Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 2pm

Touhill Performing Arts Center, UM-St. Louis
Contact the Touhill at 314-516-4949 or visit www.touhill.org for on-sale dates.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by American Airlines

Friday, March 6, 2009 at 8pm

David Robertson, conductor
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
(Performing Bach, Stravinsky and Bernstein)

BACH Movements from Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 3 & 1
STRAVINSKY Symphonies of Wind Instruments
BERNSTEIN Prelude, Fugue & Riffs
RAVEL Boléro

Celebrate the exquisite marriage of music and dance as Chicago’s gravity defying Hubbard Street dance company takes the stage, and takes to the air, with the able accompaniment of the SLSO. After the dancers exit, the musicians complete this concert of soaring bodies and ecstatic sounds with the sensual Boléro.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by American Airlines

Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 8pm

David Robertson, conductor
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
(Performing Mozart and Britten)

MOZART Symphony No. 40
BRITTEN Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge
RAVEL Boléro

Celebrate the exquisite marriage of music and dance as Chicago’s gravity defying Hubbard Street dance company takes the stage, and takes to the air, with the able accompaniment of the SLSO. After the dancers exit, the musicians complete this concert of soaring bodies and ecstatic sounds with the sensual Boléro.

Sunday, March 8, 2009 at 3pm

$10 Adult / $6 Child

For an hour on Sunday afternoons you and your family share a live performance by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra that is truly fun for everyone. You’ll join in—clapping or singing or even stomping your feet. Family Concerts are educational too, but you’ll hardly even notice. Come as you are.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, March 13, 2009 at 10:30am
Friday, March 13, 2009 at 8pm
Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 8pm

Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Mark Sparks, flute

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
NIELSEN Flute Concerto
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”

Beethoven treasured the sounds of the woods, even when those sounds were more remembered than heard. His “Pastoral” Symphony contains a storm (of nature and of mind) that inspired many cinematic soundtracks to come. In Vaughan Williams and Nielsen you hear two composers who listened as deeply to nature, and were as inspired.

Classical Detours - Middle East Crossroads

Friday, March 20, 2009 at 6:30pm

$30 Reserved, limited availability | $20 General Admission

No passport required, no baggage to check. Classical Detours returns to Friday nights, which means you begin your weekend with a pre-concert happy hour followed by the SLSO taking you on an exciting, one-hour musical tour of places far and near. Avoid the rush hour on the most enjoyable detour you’ll ever take.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 8pm
Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 3pm

David Robertson, conductor
Richard Goode, piano

BRETT DEAN Carlo
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben

Three musical portraits. Two composers draw portraits of heroic (and antiheroic) musical figures. Beethoven creates a portrait of power. The soloist for these concerts, Richard Goode, is known for music-making of tremendous emotional power. With Beethoven’s ultimate piano concerto, a well-known classic receives the most unique expression. Expect unexpected passions.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, April 17, 2009 at 8pm
Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 8pm

David Zinman, conductor
Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano
Matthew Polenzani, tenor
Kyle Ketelsen, bass-baritone
Joshua Winograde, bass
Saint Louis Symphony Chorus
Amy Kaiser, director
The St. Louis Children’s Choirs
Barbara Berner, director

BERLIOZ La Damnation de Faust

Berlioz’s journey to damnation transitions from mocking to mirthful to dark and shadowy in a few measures. A theatrical setting can hardly accommodate the shifts in mood, from fiery abyss to the purity of heaven, yet sung and played in concert, the music vividly takes you on Faust’s scandalous (and highly entertaining) descent.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES
Presented by Thompson Coburn LLP

Friday, April 24, 2009 at 8pm
Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 8pm
Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 3pm

Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin

ELGAR Cockaigne Overture
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5

With the Bruch concerto, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg is given a melody that never stops from beginning to end. Watch where it takes her. She nearly took the roof off Powell Hall when she played Tchaikovsky two seasons ago. Just as well, Shostakovich is sure to give you a view of the sky.

ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, May 1, 2009 at 10:30am
Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 8pm

Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor
Marc-André Hamelin, piano

RAVEL Le Tombeau de Couperin
SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No. 2
DEBUSSY/RAVEL Sarabande
FRANCK Symphony in D minor

An artist needs to announce “Here I am!” sometimes. Ravel, paying homage to another, at the same time brilliantly proclaims himself. Franck, late in his life, takes on the symphony, which he does exuberantly. Saint-Saëns wrote this mercurial concerto for himself, and for audiences to exclaim, “Wow!”

PREMIUM ORCHESTRAL SERIES

Friday, May 8, 2009 at 8pm
Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 8pm
Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 3pm

David Robertson, conductor
Heidi Grant Murphy, soprano
Jennifer Dudley, mezzo-soprano
Brandon Jovanovich, tenor
Jonathan Lemalu, bass-baritone
Saint Louis Symphony Chorus
Amy Kaiser, director

THOMAS ADÈS Asyla
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9, “Choral”

Beethoven, nearly deaf, must have been composing as if in a dream as he built the rugged grandeur of his final symphony. “All creatures drink joy!” it shouts ecstatically, and ecstasy (the emotion and the drug) is a theme of Thomas Adès’ Asyla. Music starts. Enter dream.