Sarasota Concert Association Presents
The Minnesota Orchestra
With Alisa Weilerstein, Cello
January 9 7:30 p.m. Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Fresh off its recent, critically acclaimed return to Carnegie Hall, the Grammy Award-winning orchestra continues to be recognized as one of America’s finest.
“That plush, super-charged Minnesota sound is back with a new edge of tenacity.” —The Guardian
“The Carnegie Hall performance was superb, full of deep feeling and explosive energy.” — The New York Classical Review
“Weilerstein’s cello is her id. She doesn’t give the impression that making music involves will at all. She and the cello seem simply to be one and the same.”
— Los Angeles Times
(Sarasota, Florida) The Sarasota Concert Association (SCA) continues its 72nd Great Performers Series’ season of bringing world-renowned artists to our region with the Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by music director Osmo Vänskä, and featuring cello soloist Alisa Weilerstein, Monday, January 9, 7:30 p.m., at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, in Sarasota. The program includes Kalevi Aho’s “Geija,” Dvořák’s Concerto for Cello in B Minor, Op. 104, and a signature Vänskä interpretation of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 82. Single tickets are $60-$95. Two-concert subscriptions also available. Tickets and information for the Great Performers Series are available by calling 941-225-6500 or online at www.scasarasota.org.
The Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra is recognized as one of America’s leading orchestras. Founded in 1903, it performs nearly 175 concerts each year and is heard internationally through award-winning recordings, radio broadcasts and tours, including a historic 2015 visit to Cuba. Under Osmo Vänskä’s leadership, it has gained particular renown for recordings of all the Beethoven and Sibelius symphonies. In 2014, the ensemble won a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance for one of its Sibelius recordings. This is the orchestra’s first visit to Florida since the musician lockout that lasted 16 months and nearly shuttered the Orchestra’s operations for good. Vänskä and his orchestra have made a highly acclaimed comeback, raising their level of performance to one that the New York Times has described as “white heat, white light.” The Times also named their comeback story as one of the “Best of the Year” for 2016.
Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä, the Minnesota Orchestra’s tenth music director, is renowned internationally for his compelling interpretations of the standard, contemporary and Nordic repertoires. As a guest conductor Vänskä has led all of the major American and European orchestras, most recently concluding an acclaimed Sibelius symphony cycle with the London Philharmonic. In Minnesota, he recently concluded recording sessions featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 6
Alisa Weilerstein last performed with the Minnesota Orchestra in its 2014 season opening concerts, which featured the Barber Cello Concerto. An exclusive recording artist for Decca Classics since 2010, she is the first cellist to be signed by the label in more than 30 years. Weilerstein released her fifth album on Decca in September 2016, playing Shostakovich’s two cello concertos with the Bavarian Radio Symphony. In 2011, she was awarded a MacArthur “genius grant” Fellowship.
The Great Performers Series season continues with the National Symphony of Ukraine with Alexei Grynyuk, piano (January 30 at the Van Wezel); Apollo’s Fire (February 22 at Riverview Performing Arts Center); the Royal Scottish National Orchestra with Nicola Benedetti, violin (March 16 at the Van Wezel); and the piano duo of Sergei Babayan and Daniil Trifonov (March 30 at the Van Wezel). Five of the Great Performers Series concerts are at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. The February 22nd concert (Apollo’s Fire) is at the Riverview Performing Arts Center, 1 Ram Way in Sarasota. For ticket information, call 941-225-6500 or visit www.scasarasota.org.
SCA also presents a series of free daytime concerts that include performances by high-caliber, area-based artists, continuing through April 2017. The Music Matinee Series is designed to offer a variety of musical genres, including classical, folk, and jazz, featuring both vocal and instrumental performers. For more information about the 2016-2017 Music Matinee Series, visit www.scasarasota.org.
About the Sarasota Concert Association
The Sarasota Concert Association (SCA) is a nonprofit organization that fosters greater appreciation for world-class classical music by offering the community two engaging programs from November to April. The Great Performers Series, in its 72nd season, brings world-renowned orchestras and chamber groups to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and the Riverview Performing Arts Center. The Music Matinee Series features outstanding regional artists in free community concerts at Beatrice Friedman Symphony Hall and other venues. For more information about SCA, visit www.scasarasota.org.
