Osmo Vänskä Conducts Sibelius, Higdon, and Prokofiev
Experience a transcendent musical journey with renowned Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä, GRAMMY Award-winning ensemble Time for Three, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.
As we commence the historic centennial season, our program pays homage to the past while embracing the future. JeanSibelius‘s Finlandia, a poignant tone poem featured in the inaugural Curtis Symphony Orchestra concert, sets the stage. Plus, a virtuosic performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3withgenre-defying ensemble Time for Three, that seamlessly blends classical precision with the energy of a garage band. Sergei Prokofiev‘s Symphony No. 5 follows, igniting the stage with optimism, tension, and fervor.
Program
SIBELIUS
Finlandia, Op. 26
HIGDON ('88)
Concerto 4-3, for two violins, double bass, and orchestra
PROKOFIEV
Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100
October 27, 2024
3:00 p.m.
Marian Anderson Hall (formerly Verizon Hall), Kimmel Center
Music Director of Minnesota Orchestra for 18 years and of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra since 2020, Osmo Vänskä is recognised for compelling interpretations of repertoire of all ages and an energetic presence on the podium. His democratic and inclusive style of work has been key in forging long-standing relationships with different orchestras.
Celebrating the last year of his tenure with Minnesota Orchestra this season, Osmo Vänskä presents some of his signature repertoire. He is joined by favourite guest soloists including Joshua Bell and Lisa Batiashvili, and continues with This Is Minnesota Orchestra, an Emmy Award-nominated series of performances for TV, radio and online audiences launched in 2020, developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vänskä has undertaken five major European tours, as well as historic trips to Cuba in 2015 – the first visit by an American orchestra since the two countries re-established diplomatic relations – and South Africa in 2018, as part of worldwide celebrations of Nelson Mandela’s Centenary – the first visit by an American orchestra, drawing together South African and American performers in musical expressions of peace, freedom and reconciliation, on a five-city tour following a successful return to London’s BBC Proms.
After a successful first season with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, including opening and closing the Lotte Concert Hall Festival and recording works by Korean composer Isang Yun, he embarks on his second year with numerous concerts and community outreach projects.
He returns this season to the Symphony and Philharmonic orchestras of Pittsburgh, Antwerp, Helsinki, Netherlands Radio and Tokyo Metropolitan. While past guest conducting invitations include renowned international ensembles such as The Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Chicago symphony orchestras in North America; Orchestre de Paris, Berlin’s Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester in Europe, and London Philharmonic Orchestra in the UK; and the Shanghai Symphony and China, Hangzhou, Hong Kong and Taiwan philharmonic orchestras in Asia.
GRAMMY and Emmy-winning ensemble, Time for Three (TF3), defies conventions with genre-bending excellence. Learn more
Acclaimed for its “otherworldly ensemble and professional level of sophistication” (New York Times), the Curtis Symphony Orchestra offers a dynamic showcase of tomorrow’s exceptional young talent. Each year the 100 extraordinary musicians of the orchestra work with internationally renowned conductors, including Osmo Vänskä, Vladimir Jurowski, Marin Alsop, Simon Rattle, Robert Spano, and Yannick Nézet Séguin, who also mentors the early-career conductors who hold Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellowships. This professional training has enabled Curtis alumni to assume prominent positions in America’s leading orchestras, as well as esteemed orchestral, opera, and chamber ensembles around the world.
2024–25 Season
Great to Groundbreaking
Step into the heart of our centennial celebration as Curtis Institute of Music unveils a season brimming with passion, energy, and greatness. You’ll experience music-making at its highest level—and the energy and excitement of extraordinary young talent. It will be an unforgettable season, where the young artists of Curtis ignite the stage alongside esteemed alums like Yuja Wang, Ray Chen, Teddy Abrams, Time For Three, and many more.
Curtis’ Centennial Season is made possible through the support of Derek and Sissela Bok, the Mary Louise Curtis Bok Foundation, Deborah M. Fretz, Charles C. Freyer and Judith Durkin Freyer, Lisa and Gie Liem, Mark and Robin Rubenstein, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Curtis Institute of Music received funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Guest conductor appearances for each Curtis Symphony Orchestra performance are made possible by the Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser Chair in Conducting Studies. Orchestral concerts are supported by the Jack Wolgin Curtis Orchestral Concerts Endowment Fund and the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.