Welcome to the 23/24 Masterworks season, a journey of discovery, beauty, and exploration into unique and inclusive experiences reflecting the evolving role of the Columbus Symphony in our community!
With breathtaking concerts and specially curated events to complement repertoire themes, we present music showcasing the depth and diversity of our orchestra to highlight the talent and creativity of our musicians, conductors, and composers.
The season includes well-known masterpieces from the greatest composers and works of all time, such as Holst’s celestial The Planets set to a backdrop of NASA HD projections on stage, Beethoven’s nature-inspired “Pastoral” Symphony No. 6, and Rachmaninoff’s mighty Symphony No. 1.
Music old and new represents a globally connected sensibility of our time through music by diverse composers, including our performance of Gabriela
Lena Frank’s Conquest Requiem, depicting a poignant reflection on Spain’s conquest of the Aztec Empire, William Dawson’s spiritually-driven Negro Folk Symphony, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte, and Anna This Moment, made possible by the League of American Orchestras’ Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions to promote new works by women composers.
Concerts accent guest artists of meteoric rise, like saxophonist Steven Banks, the ever-popular Time for Three string trio, and Cuban-American cellist Thomas Mesa. The return of Natasha Paremski, Claire Huangci, and our concertmaster Joanna Frankel demonstrates the virtuosity of these beloved artists. Finally, the power of voice lifts up the season through towering choral masterworks, The Worship and Praise Chorale, and a special co-collaboration with Opera Columbus for Eugene Onegin
Join us for transformative musical experiences all season long!
Yours in music,
Rossen Milanov Music Director
Rossen Milanov at the pre-concert talks.
Accompaniments
Throughout the season a variety of events accompany the Masterworks concerts.
Preludes
Select Masterworks performances will include a 30-minute, pre-concert discussion featuring Rossen, WOSU Classical 101's Christopher Purdy, or featured special guests.
Postludes
Patrons are invited to stay after the concert and enjoy a variety of post-concert events following select performances, including meet and greets, beer and spirit tastings, and more.
Friday Coffee Dress (Friday Dress Rehearsals)
Select Masterworks programs in 2023–24 will offer $14 general admission tickets to Friday morning dress rehearsals. Observe a working rehearsal as the musicians and conductor put the finishing touches on the concert program to be performed that evening. Coffee and donuts are included in the ticket price!
Masterclass
Select guest artists hold a masterclass in Room 1 of the Ohio Theatre. Classes begin at 6pm and are open to the public.
March 21, 2024 I Elina Vähälä
May 2, 2024 I Natasha Paremski
May 16, 2024 I Thomas Mesa
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.
November 8, 2023
The Natural World: 19th-Century British Art & Design
January 20, 2024
Alternative Aesthetics: American Folk Art
March 16, 2024
The Nordic Dawn: Modernism in the Golden Age of Finnish Art
May 8, 2024
The Flourishing Line: 18th-Century Rococo Art
The Planets
September 22, 2023 ǀ 7:30pm September 24, 2023 | 2pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor Columbus Symphony Women's Chorus Program
Holst: The Planets
The 2023–24 Masterworks series opens with Holst’s celestial masterpiece The Planets, featuring stunning HD imagery and the female voices of the Columbus Symphony Chorus. This monumental work takes the listener on a musical journey across the solar system, dedicating a movement to each planet.
Prelude: Join Rossen and Frederic Bertley, Ph.D., President & CEO, COSI, in a space-themed musical discussion at 6:30pm.
• The Planets — An HD Odyssey was created by acclaimed producer and director Duncan Copp, who is best known for his work on the prizewinning 2006 documentary In the Shadow of the Moon
• The film was created in collaboration with NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
• Holst’s inspiration for each planetary movement was drawn from a combination of astrology, astronomy, and Greek mythology, and he created his own descriptive names for each planet.
Photo: Duncan Copp & NASA
The Beauty of Spain
October 13–14, 2023 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Jason Vieaux, guitar
Program
Ravel: Alborada del gracioso
Avner Dorman: How to Love (for guitar and string orchestra)
Turina: Danzas fantásticas
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol
Chapí: Prelude to La Revoltosa
Experience the beauty and energy of Spain in a program featuring works by Spanish composers Turina and Chapí, as well as classic works by Ravel and Rimsky-Korsakov that pay tribute to Spanish culture. Guitarist Jason Vieaux returns with Avner Dorman’s How to Love, titled after a book by Vietnamese Buddhist Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Prelude: Join Rossen and Jason for a pre-concert discussion at 6:30pm.
• Grammy-winning guitarist
Jason Vieaux has performed as soloist with over 100 orchestras.
• Avner Dorman’s How to Love’s four movements are titled after mantras listed by Thich Nhat Hanh at the end of his book of the same name, and the music explores repetition in various forms, a reference to the repetitive nature of the traditional mantra.
• Capriccio espagnol is one of Rimsky-Korsakov’s bestknown works and features highlighted solos for many of the orchestra’s principal musicians.
Photo: Tyler Boye
Beethoven Pastoral Symphony
November 17–18, 2023 | 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Jessica Rivera, soprano
Andrew Garland, baritone
Columbus Symphony Chorus Program
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”
Gabriela Lena Frank: Conquest Requiem
Originally titled by the composer as "Recollections of Country Life,” Beethoven’s beloved “Pastoral” symphony musically depicts an idyllic landscape. Gabriela Lena Frank’s Conquest Requiem is inspired by the true story of Malinche, a Nahua woman from the Gulf Coast of Mexico who was given to the Spaniards as a young slave, with text by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Nilo Cruz.
Prelude: Join WOSU Classical 101's Christopher Purdy for a preconcert discussion at 6:30pm.
This Columbus Symphony premiere of Conquest Requiem is made possible by Jack and Zoe Johnstone and the Committee for the Johnstone Fund for New Music of The Columbus Foundation.
• Celebrated composer
Gabriela Lena Frank’s music draws inspiration from identity and her own multicultural heritage. Her music is widely performed and incorporates aspects of Latin American culture including mythology, poetry, and native musical styles.
• Conquest Requiem includes text in three languages: Spanish, Latin, and Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs.
• Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony is one of his most beloved works. Composer Hector Berlioz said of the symphony, “it is a matter of nature in her simple truth.”
Time for Three
January 19–20, 2024 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Time for Three
Nick Kendall, violin
Charles Yang, violin
Ranaan Meyer, bass Program
Kevin Puts: Contact
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
Join us for an exhilarating program featuring genre-defying string trio Time for Three. The group performs Kevin Puts’ Contact, which was written for them and draws inspiration from themes of reaching out and connection. Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz’ programmatic fever dream, depicts a young artist’s journey through obsession and delirium.
Prelude: Rossen and Time for Three host a pre-concert discussion at 6:30pm.
• Time for Three won the 2023 Grammy award for Best Instrumental Performance for their recording of Contact.
• Composer Kevin Puts won the 2023 Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Contact
• Symphonie fantastique is a classic example of programmatic music following a clear narrative written by Berlioz in his own program notes.
Photo: Chris Lee
Stravinsky Firebird Suite
February 3, 2024 ǀ 7:30pm
February 4, 2024 | 2pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Steven Banks, saxophone
The Worship and Praise Chorale Program
Stravinsky: The Firebird, Suite (1919)
Tomasi: Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra
Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony
Selection of Spirituals for Choir and Orchestra
Igor Stravinsky was commissioned to write The Firebird early in his career by Sergei Diaghilev, famed director of the Ballets Russes in Paris. Inspired by folklore, this suite from the ballet takes the listener through a dramatic and fantastical journey.
Classical saxophonist Steven Banks, winner of the prestigious 2022
Avery Fisher Career Grant, performs Henri Tomasi’s lyrical Concerto pour saxophone alto et orchestra. Tomasi’s expressive style reflects the influences of Impressionism.
William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony was premiered to great acclaim in 1934 by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra, but was the only symphony that Dawson would write. Based on spirituals, this sophisticated work has been recorded several times and has experienced a recent resurgence befitting Dawson’s talent and skill.
Prelude: WOSU Classical 101’s Christopher Purdy hosts a pre-concert discussion at 6:30pm
• It is relatively rare to hear the classical saxophone highlighted as solo instrument in concerto performances, and Steven Banks is one of today’s leading artists.
• William Dawson was well known in his lifetime for his work as a choir director and for his choral arrangements of African American spirituals.
• The Firebird, a piece of Russian folklore, tells the story of a magical creature who offers her help to the story’s protagonist.
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
February 23–24, 2024 ǀ 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Carl St. Clair, conductor
Claire Huangci, piano Program
Wineglass: Alone Together
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Brahms: Symphony No. 4
Guest conductor Carl St. Clair leads the Columbus Symphony in a program featuring a recent work by John Wineglass that addresses the social issues faced during the pandemic. Pianist Claire Huangci returns with Tchaikovsky’s monumental first piano concerto. Brahms’ final symphony, the magnificent Symphony No. 4, completes the program.
Friday Coffee Dress: February 23, 2024 I 10am
Prelude: WOSU Classical 101’s Christopher Purdy hosts a preconcert discussion at 6:30pm.
• Guest conductor Carl St. Clair has been music director of the Pacific Symphony in California for more than 30 years and has commissioned many new works, including John Wineglass’ Alone Together, heard on this program.
• American pianist Claire Huangci has been praised for her “radiant virtuosity, artistic sensitivity, keen interactive sense and subtle auditory dramaturgy” (Salzburger Nachrichten)
• Brahms’ fourth symphony, his last, is considered by many to be his finest. A serious and complicated work, its beauty is undeniable.
Photo: Elina Simonen
Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 1
March 22–23, 2024 ǀ 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Elina Vähälä, violin
Program
Mozart: Overture to Don Giovanni
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No.1
Described by the Chicago Tribune as "a fluent, stylish and gifted musician whose brilliant technique is matched by an abundant spirit, sensitivity and imagination," Finnish-American violinist Elina Vähälä makes her Columbus Symphony debut with one of her favorite works: Jean Sibelius’ celebrated violin concerto.
The brilliant Mozart hastily wrote the overture to his masterful opera Don Giovanni the night before its premiere, which he conducted himself and which was a resounding success.
The premiere of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1 was by all accounts a disaster due to a sub-par performance and harsh public criticism, and the symphony was not performed again in the composer’s lifetime. This powerful and expressive work endured and now occupies its rightful place in the orchestral canon.
Prelude: Join Rossen and Elina for a pre-concert discussion at 6:30pm.
• Violinist Elina Vähälä made her orchestral solo debut at age twelve with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in Finland. She frequently appears as soloist with orchestras worldwide.
• The Sibelius Violin Concerto is one of the most treasured works in the violin repertoire and is also considered one of the most virtuosic and difficult.
• Sibelius had a deep love for the violin, though he began his studies too late to fulfill his dream of performing professionally, saying, “When I play, I am filled with a strange feeling; it is as though the insides of the music opened up to me.”
Beethoven, Mozart, & Haydn
April 5–6, 2024 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Sara Davis Buechner, piano Program
Haydn: Symphony No. 82 “The Bear”
Mozart: Symphony No. 31 “Paris”
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1
Haydn’s Symphony No. 82 and Mozart’s Symphony No. 31 share a connection to Paris. Haydn’s is the first of the composer’s six “Paris Symphonies,” commissioned by a popular Parisian concert presenter. Mozart’s symphony was written while the 22-year-old composer spent time in the City of Light, and is nicknamed “Paris Symphony.”
Pianist Sara Davis Buechner, “a formidable soloist” (San Francisco Chronicle), appears for the first time with the Columbus Symphony in concerts featuring Beethoven’s delightful and virtuosic first piano concerto.
Friday Coffee Dress: April 5, 2024 I 10am
Prelude: Join Rossen and Sara for a pre-concert discussion at 6:30pm.
• Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven: three of classical music’s titans, all connected during their lifetimes. Mozart and Haydn were close friends, Haydn was a teacher to Beethoven, and Mozart was a strong influence on Beethoven’s early career.
• Pianist Sara Davis Buechner has a vast repertoire: she has performed over 100 different works for piano and orchestra in concert.
• Beethoven, an accomplished pianist, was soloist at the premiere of his first piano concerto in 1795 in Vienna.
Tchaikovsky & Prokofiev
April 19–20, 2024 ǀ 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Joanna Frankel, violin Program
Caroline Shaw: Entr'acte
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
Hear Columbus Symphony concertmaster Joanna Frankel perform Prokofiev’s hauntingly beautiful second violin concerto, a staple of the solo violin repertoire.
Also on the program, Rossen Milanov leads the orchestra’s string section in Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte, originally written as a string quartet and later expanded for string orchestra.
Tchaikovsky privately wrote notes about his fourth symphony, describing its opening as “Fate, the fatal power which hinders one in the pursuit of happiness,” with the work’s concluding message “Rejoice in the happiness of others and you can still live.”
Friday Coffee Dress: April 19, 2024 I 10am
Prelude: WOSU Classical 101’s Christopher Purdy hosts a preconcert discussion at 6:30pm.
• Concertmaster Joanna Frankel joined the Columbus Symphony in 2016 and has appeared with the orchestra several times as soloist, most recently in April 2022 with performances of Britten’s stunning violin concerto.
• Tchaikovsky’s fourth symphony was written during a turbulent time in the composer’s life, during which a short-lived marriage failed. The central idea in this work is fate and its unmovable power in determining the course of one’s life. The fourth symphony is dramatic, personal, and demonstrates the best of Tchaikovsky’s stunning artistry.
• Caroline Shaw won a Pulitzer Prize in 2013 for her a cappella vocal work Partita for 8 Voices.
The Return of Natasha Paremski
May 3–4, 2024 ǀ 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Natasha Paremski, piano Program
Lutosławski: Symphony No. 1
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Anna Clyne: This Moment
Strauss: Rosenkavalier Suite
Audience favorite pianist Natasha Paremski returns to the Ohio Theatre with Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a dazzling work inspired by Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 for violin.
Witold Lutosławski began work on his first symphony while living in occupied Warsaw in the early 1940s. Perhaps reflecting these harsh conditions, this energetic and complex work was banned by the Polish government shortly after its premiere and was not performed again for a decade.
Enjoy a new Columbus Symphony co-commission by Grammynominated composer Anna Clyne, who has been described by the New York Times as a “composer of uncommon gifts and unusual methods.” Richard Strauss’ sparkling Rosenkavalier Suite is drawn from his comic opera, a glamorous love story set in Vienna.
Prelude: Join Rossen for a pre-concert discussion at 6:30pm.
• Pianist Natasha Paremski brings dazzling virtuosity and dynamism to her performances of demanding works, including Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, which she recorded in 2012 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
• Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody consists of 24 variations on Paganini’s theme, demonstrating a variety of techniques and styles.
• The Columbus Symphony co-commissioned Anna Clyne's This Moment was commissioned by the League of American Orchestras with the generous support of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Beethoven Symphony No. 2
May 17–18, 2024 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Kenneth Bean, conductor
Thomas Mesa, cello Program
Mendelssohn: The Hebrides Overture
Jessie Montgomery: Divided for solo cello and string orchestra
Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2
Rising conductor Kenneth Bean joins the CSO for this engaging program. Cellist Thomas Mesa performs two works: a new cello concerto by Jessie Montgomery, current Composer-in-Residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, one of the most beloved works in the cello repertoire. Bookending the program are Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides, inspired by the composer’s travel to Scotland, and Beethoven’s engaging second symphony.
Friday Coffee Dress: May 17, 2024 I 10am
Prelude: WOSU Classical 101’s Christopher Purdy hosts a preconcert discussion at 6:30pm.
• Cuban-American cellist
Thomas Mesa has a rapidly growing performance career. Among his accomplishments, he was awarded the 2023 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization, which recognizes extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians.
• Jessie Montgomery’s music is widely performed, and she is currently serving as Composer-in-Residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Her work Divided for solo cello and orchestra was completed in 2022.
• Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, with its elegant call back to the classical style, is one of the most popular works for cello and orchestra.
Photo: Jiyang Chen
Photo: Lisa Marie Mazzucco
Photo: Stephen Pariser
Mozart’s Mass in C Minor
May 24–25, 2024 7:30pm • Ohio Theatre
Rossen Milanov, conductor
Aubry Ballarò, soprano
Katrina Thurman, soprano
David Walton, tenor
James Eder, bass
Columbus Symphony Chorus Program
Mozart: Mass in C minor
Mozart’s sublime Mass in C minor was, like his Requiem, left unfinished at the time of his death. Numerous scholars have published reconstructions of the work. The edition used for these concerts is a new completion by German musicologist Ulrich Leisinger, premiered in Germany in 2019.
Prelude: WOSU Classical 101’s Christopher Purdy hosts a preconcert discussion at 6:30pm.
• Mozart began writing his “Great” Mass in C minor shortly after his marriage and was soon distracted from completing it by travel and family obligations. He never returned to the work and moved on to other projects.
• Mozart wrote in a letter to his father that he was writing the Mass out of love for his wife Costanze, a soprano. It is believed that a portion of the Mass may have been performed in 1783 in Salzburg with Costanze as soprano soloist.
• Editor Dr. Ulrich Leisinger, Director of the Research Department at the International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, meticulously reconstructed and completed Mozart’s work for this newest edition of the Mass.
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Again this year—Children 6–16 receive free tickets when accompanied by an adult to all Masterworks programs.
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