Welcome to another season of inspirational music! We believe that music is a universal form of human expression that creates a broader frame for teaching us empathy. By broadening the art form, we can be inclusive of different ways of presenting orchestral music; not only to be respectful of established traditions, but also to innovate and reimagine the concert format and eliminate the boundaries that prevent us from bringing our art to everyone in the community. I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to be part of the upward trajectory of the Columbus Symphony, and to be at the helm of our wonderful orchestra. Our musicians play such an important part of the success of our organization — not only with their performances on our stages, but also with their impact on the community through the Symphony’s educational and outreach activities.
This year, we are launching Putting the Star in Columbus, a multi-year initiative that connects our striving for artistic excellence with a deeplyrooted commitment to community service and audience development. We will present internationally acclaimed artists; create programs with breadth and unique vision; form artistic partnerships with performers, composers, and creative artists; and focus on diversity and collaborating with other local arts and cultural organizations. We will follow and artistically reflect the spirit of innovation of our vibrant, dynamically growing city and region.
As part of Putting the Star in Columbus, we will welcome to our stage world-class artists such as Pablo Ferrández, a prize winner of the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow; Cameron Carpenter, internationally acclaimed organist; the cellist and composer Joshua Roman; Cristina Pato, a Galician bagpiper; and the Columbus audience favorite, Natasha Paremski.
We begin the season with Twisted 3, the highlyanticipated collaboration between the Columbus Symphony, Ballet Met, CAPA, and Opera Columbus. The CSO will be presenting a highly original version of Stravinsky’s ballet Pétrouchka, featuring puppets and involving the musicians and myself as actors.
I hope to see you again this season for more unforgettable musical experiences as we Put the Star in Columbus!
Yours,
Rossen Milanov Music Director
As Columbus gains more and more recognition as a fantastic place to live and visit, we are making sure the Columbus Symphony continues to contribute to our city’s growing national and international profile.
We are launching Putting the Star In Columbus, a new initiative that will connect the Columbus Symphony to strategic civic priorities and advance Columbus as a destination and a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
In the pages ahead, you will notice the Putting the Star in Columbus logo which signifies our commitment to:
• Bringing internationally-acclaimed artists to the Columbus stage, including classical superstars and popular artists that appeal to diverse audiences.
• Unique and spectacular programming, which will redefine the Columbus Symphony concert experience.
• Developing a group of nationally-recognized artists, who will make regular appearances with the Orchestra.
• New programs that will develop and celebrate central Ohio artists and musicians.
• An innovative approach to community service through Columbus Symphony Cares, partnering with central Ohio human service organizations to bring the joy and power of great music to the most vulnerable members of our community.
Putting the Star in Columbus will strengthen and transform the Orchestra’s profile and position in the central Ohio community, and will elevate Columbus’ reputation as a great city for arts and culture. We invite you to join us!
The Romantic Cello Russian Winter Festival I
Organ Symphony
Chihuly Festival: Bluebeard’s Castle*
Accompaniments
Throughout the season a variety of events accompany the Masterworks concerts.
Preludes
Each Masterworks performance will include a 30-minute, pre-concert discussion featuring Rossen, Christopher Purdy, and featured guests. Each Prelude takes place in the theatre beginning at 7pm.
Postludes
Patrons are invited to stay after the concert and enjoy a variety of Postlude events. Postludes will feature Columbus Symphony musicians in chamber music miniconcerts, receptions, tastings, and special opportunities to meet the artists up close in our Talk Back sessions.
Mozart to Matisse
The Columbus Symphony and Columbus Museum of Art will collaborate in a series of afternoon lectures that pair chamber music performances by Symphony musicians with works from the CMA art collection. The presentation will explore the connections and aesthetic influences between music and visual art.
Friday Coffee Dress (Friday Dress Rehearsals) Select Masterworks programs in 2019–20 will offer $10 general admission tickets to Friday morning dress rehearsals. Observe a working rehearsal as the musicians and conductor put the finishing touches of the concert program to be performed that evening. Coffee and donuts are included in the ticket price!
Photo: Stephen Pariser
Photos: Stephen Pariser
Photo: Randall L. Schieber
Twisted 3
September 26 | 7:30pm
September 27 & 28 | 8pm, and September 29, 2019 | 3pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
BalletMet
CAPA
Columbus Symphony Orchestra
Opera Columbus
Program
Stravinsky: Petrushka
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi
Riisager: Selections from Études
Stravinsky’s Petrushka is so familiar in the concert hall that it’s easy to forget that it was originally conceived as a breathtaking theatrical spectacle—a tale of love and death at a Russian Shrovetide Fair. We place the musicians of the Columbus Symphony inside the fairground, turn conductor Rossen Milanov into a magician, and with puppets, performers, and live filmmaking, make Petrushka and his fellow marionettes come startlingly alive.
American Festival
October 11–12, 2019 | 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Laquita Mitchell, soprano
Melody Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Noah Stewart, tenor
Malcolm Marriweather, baritone
Dashon Burton, bass
Columbus Symphony Chorus
Ronald J. Jenkins, chorus director
Program
Moravec/Campbell: Sanctuary Road
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess: A Concert of Songs (arr. Russell Bennett)
The American Festival is inspired by two scores that address deeply moving and important moments in this country’s history. Sanctuary Road is an oratorio with text by Mark Campbell based on the writings of Underground Railroad conductor William Still, who helped nearly 800 slaves escape to freedom and meticulously and compassionately documented their lives. Gershwin embodies the love story of Porgy and Bess with unforgettable tunes and captivating rhythms.
Accompaniments
Prelude: Join Rossen, Paul Moravec, and Mark Campbell for a pre-concert discussion.
Malcolm Marriweather
Laquita Mitchell
Noah Stewart
Melody Wilson
Dashon Burton
Photo: Matthew Placek
Photo: Sekou Luke
Photo: Tatiana Daubek
Photo:
Photo:
S. Richards Photography
The Romantic Cello
November 1–2, 2019 | 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Pablo Ferrández, cello
Program
Torres: Tres Pinturas Velazqueñas
Elgar: Cello Concerto
Brahms: Symphony No. 3
The intimate voice of the cello finds one of its most glorious and moving embodiments in Elgar’s Cello Concerto. The sparkling orchestration of Torres’ Tres Pinturas Velazqueñas is an aural reflection of three of the most famous paintings by Diego Velázquez. Brahms’ music is timeless and universal, and hearing this rarely-performed masterwork will transport you to a world of passion and beauty.
Accompaniments
Prelude: Join Christopher Purdy from Classical 101 for a pre-concert discussion.
Photo:
Chopin Piano Concerto and Enigma Variations
November 15–16, 2019 | 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Fei-Fei, piano
Program
Mendelssohn: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1
Elgar: Enigma Variations
A musical mystery that has not been solved for more than a century is the theme that opens the celebrated Enigma Variations by the British composer known for his grand, yet intimate, style. Each one of the 13 variations paints a portrait of his closest friends. Perhaps one of the solutions of Elgar’s enigmas could be heard in Mendelssohn’s sea-inspired overture that opens the program. Chopin’s Piano Concerto offers great quantities of beautiful writing for the piano.
Accompaniments
Mozart to Matisse: Nov. 6 | 2pm at CMA — Whistler and Arts & Crafts in England
Friday Coffee Dress: Nov. 15 | 10am
Prelude: Join Rossen for a pre-concert discussion.
Postlude: Stay for a chamber music performance by Columbus Symphony musicians.
Photo: Stephen Pariser
Russian Winter Festival I: Natasha Returns
January 10–11 | 7:30pm, and January 12 | 2pm, 2020 • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Natasha Paremski, piano
Program
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky: Manfred
Natasha Paremski returns to perform Rachmaninoff’s first piano concerto with guaranteed passion and brilliant technique. The rarely performed and powerful Manfred symphony will reveal the dramatic genius of Tchaikovsky through a dramatic and deeply moving interpretation of Byron’s poem.
Accompaniments
Mozart to Matisse: Nov. 29 | 2pm at CMA — Brancusi and the Golden Bird
Prelude: Join Rossen for a pre-concert discussion.
Postlude: Join us Saturday night in the pavilion for an OYO vodka tasting.
Photo: Clarence Chan
Russian Winter Festival II: Masterpieces
January 24–25, 2020 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Program
Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kije
Borodin: Polovtsian Dances
Rimski-Korsakov: Suite from The Golden Cockerel
Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture
Russia spans multiple time zones and cultures, and Russian composers have always had a special interest in portraying the exoticism of distant lands and delivering an unsurpassed melodic beauty, combined with orchestral splendor and virtuosity. The unabridged version of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture will bring the evening to an apotheosis.
Accompaniments
Friday Coffee Dress: Jan. 24 | 10am
Prelude: Join Christopher Purdy from Classical 101 for a pre-concert discussion.
Postlude: Join us Saturday night in the pavilion for an OYO vodka tasting.
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Photo: Stephen Pariser
Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony with Cameron Carpenter
February 21–22, 2020 | 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor Cameron Carpenter, organ
Program
Jongen: Sinfonia Concertante
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, “Organ”
Iconic organ soloist Cameron Carpenter will star in Jongen’s impressionist masterpiece. Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 will showcase the Ohio Theatre’s powerful “Mighty Morton” pipe organ — one of the best instruments of its kind in the country.
Accompaniments
Prelude: Join Rossen for a pre-concert discussion.
Postlude: Stay for a post-concert talkback and demonstration on the “Mighty Morton” organ by Cameron Carpenter.
Photo:
Chihuly Festival: Bluebeard’s Castle
February 28–29, 2020 | 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Nancy Maultsby, soprano
Mark Schnaible, bass-baritone
Program
Strauss: Death and Transfiguration
Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle
Inspired by the legend of Bluebeard, Bartók’s iconic opera thriller fuses with celebrated glass artist Dale Chihuly to reveal seven new glass sculptures on stage that represent each character as they open the secret doors of their past.
Accompaniments
Mozart to Matisse: Feb. 19 | 2pm at CMA — Dale Chihuly and Bluebeard’s Castle
Prelude: Join Christopher Purdy from Classical 101 for a pre-concert discussion.
The music of the Austrian Romantic composer Anton Bruckner is a powerful, spiritual experience encompassing majestic brass chorales, lyrical beauty, and shining climaxes. The mercurial American artist Joshua Roman performs his own evocative Cello Concerto.
Accompaniments
Friday Coffee Dress: March 6 | 10am
Prelude: Join Christopher Purdy from Classical 101 for a pre-concert discussion.
Photo: Haley Young
Beethoven at 250: An Apotheosis of Energy
March 20–21, 2020 | 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Larry Rachleff, conductor
Yoo Jin Jang, violin
Program
Brahms: Violin Concerto
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
“Beethoven at 250” is a celebration of the genius of Ludwig van Beethoven and his long-reaching influence on the way we hear music. The Seventh Symphony is a unique work that explores the hypnotic interplay between rhythm and energy, delivering an unmatched effect of musical exuberance. Brahms’ music continues Beethoven’s traditions. His Violin Concerto is a work of extraordinary beauty, intensity, and technical demands on the soloist.
Accompaniments
Mozart to Matisse: Mar. 11 | 2pm at CMA — Romantic Art of Germany
Friday Coffee Dress: March 20 | 10am
Prelude: Join Christopher Purdy from Classical 101 for a pre-concert discussion.
Postlude: Stay as we celebrate Beethoven at 250 with a chamber music performance by Columbus Symphony musicians.
The Rite of Spring
March 27–28, 2020 | 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor Cristina Pato, bagpipes
Program
Mazzoli: Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
Vasquez: Widows of the Living and the Dead
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (McPhee)
The revolutionary ballet The Rite of Spring never fails to inspire with its pagan melodies and earthy rhythms. Missy Mazzoli, composer in residence with Chicago Symphony, is one of the classical music world’s fastest-rising composing talents. Cristina Pato’s magnetic stage presence and virtuosity showcases the bagpipes as a concert instrument in its own right.
Accompaniments
Prelude: Join Rossen Milanov for a pre-concert discussion.
Postlude: Stay for a chamber music performance by Columbus Symphony musicians.
Photo: Zan Padron
Beethoven at 250: The Ninth Symphony
April 17–18, 2020 | 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Meroë Khalia Adeeb, soprano
Quinn Middleman, mezzo-soprano
Dennis Shuman, tenor
Brent Michael Smith, bass
Columbus Symphony Chorus
Ronald J. Jenkins, chorus director
Program
Verdi: Stabat Mater
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
The crowning achievement of Beethoven’s symphonic output— a work like no other in scale, spiritual message, and ability to unite people—the Ninth Symphony will combine the forces of the Columbus Symphony and Columbus Symphony Chorus for a grand season finale.
Accompaniments
Prelude: Join Christopher Purdy from Classical 101 for a pre-concert discussion.
Postlude: Saturday night, celebrate the season finale with Rossen and the musicians in the pavilion.
2019–20 Special Events
Handel: Messiah
November 23, 2019 | 7:30pm
November 24, 2019 | 2pm
Southern Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Columbus Symphony Chorus
Ronald J. Jenkins, chorus director
Program
Handel: Messiah
CSO Music Director Rossen Milanov, the Columbus Symphony, the Columbus Symphony Chorus, and a host of guest vocalists come together to perform Handel’s deeply spiritual oratorio, Messiah, in its entirety for an unforgettable concert experience at the intimate Southern Theatre.
The Columbus Symphony Benefit Concert
February 8, 2020 | 7:30pm
Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
For the second year, the Columbus Symphony will perform an extraordinary, one-night-only concert to support its education programs. Proceeds directly support the CSO’s education initiatives that share the joy, wonder, and power of classical music with more than 23,000 children, teachers, and their families each year.
Photos: Stephen Pariser
Subscription Prices, Packages, and Benefits!
Benefits of subscribing:
The Star Package
Snowbird 4
• Invitations to special events
• Free parking (for Star Package subscribers only)
• Discounts on Columbus Symphony merchandise
Four easy ways to subscribe!
1. Mail your order form to the CAPA Ticket Center
39 East State Street Columbus, OH 43215
Attn: CSO
2. Subscribe online at www.columbussymphony.com
3. Visit the CAPA Ticket Center Monday–Friday 9am–5pm Saturday 10am–2pm
4. Call the Ticket Center Phone: 614.469.0939
For more information visit our website at columbussymphony.com
Includes all 12 Masterworks programs in the Ohio Theatre, free parking for one vehicle to each concert, and four free tickets for friends or family to attend any Masterworks performance. Subscription packages range from $353–$839.
Rossen’s Choice
Includes eight must-see Masterworks programs chosen by our Music Director and two free tickets for friends or family to attend any Masterworks performance. Package includes: The American Festival, The Romantic Cello, Chopin Piano Concerto, Russian Winter Festival II, Chihuly Festival, Peaks of Beauty and Devotion, The Rite of Spring and Beethoven at 250: The Ninth Symphony. Subscription packages range from $225–$553.
Festival 6
Includes the six Masterworks festivals—American Festival, Russian Winter Festival I, Russian Winter Festival II, Chihuly Festival, Beethoven Festival I, and Beethoven Festival II. Festival subscription packages range from $169–$419.
For those who winter elsewhere, we have the perfect package for you to enjoy our fall and spring performances. Concerts include Twisted 3 The American Festival, The Romantic Cello, and Beethoven at 250: The Ninth Symphony. Subscription packages range from $127–$286.
Build Your Own Choose four (or more) of the 12 Masterworks program. Subscription packages start at $113.
Flex Tickets
Choose your own concerts—any night, any series. Must purchase a minimum of six Flex Tickets.
Subscription packages start at $314.
College Club
Students that purchase a $25 College Club membership will receive admission for one to all Masterworks concerts in the season. Membership also includes all post-concert events, special membership emails, and the ability to purchase up to four additional student tickets for $8 each.
in BYO column are per ticket. All prices include a 5% ticket fee.
