Enjoy The New Milwaukee Symphony Broadcast Series On WPR

WPR’s Lori Skelton hosts this national series of broadcast concerts by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. The 13-part series will air Sundays starting Jan. 6, 2019, at 2 p.m. on the NPR News and Classical Music Network, and on the Classical HD Network.

Since its founding in 1959, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra has continued to be one of the country’s most artistically vibrant and innovative orchestras. This tradition has been enjoyed by millions nationwide since 1971 with the orchestra’s radio series — the country’s longest-running national classical radio series.

The 2019 series celebrates the centennial of Leonard Bernstein’s birth. Highlights include works by American composers Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber and George Gershwin as well as a focus on contemporary works by living composers such as Jake Heggie, Nico Muhly, John Adams, Augusta Read Thomas, Pierre Jalbert and Joan Tower.

Jan. 6

CONDUCTOR: Cristian Macelaru

BERNSTEIN: Overture to Candide

ANNA CLYNE: Masquerade

JAKE HEGGIE: Suite from Moby Dick

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Opus 92

Jan. 13

CONDUCTOR: Edo de Waart

SOLOISTS: Katherine Young Steele, oboe; Catherine Chen, bassoon; Ilana Setapen, violin; Susan Babini, cello

IVES: The Unanswered Question

HAYDN: Sinfonia concertante in B-flat major

MOZART: Symphony No. 39, K. 543

Jan. 20

CONDUCTOR: Karina Canellakis/Michael Francis

SOLOIST: Joyce Yang, piano

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in E minor

NICO MUHLY: Mixed Messages

BERNSTEIN: The Age of Anxiety, Symphony No. 2

Jan. 27

CONDUCTOR: Edo de Waart

SOLOISTS: Margaret Butler, English horn; Matthew Ernst, trumpet; Philippe Quint, violin

COPLAND: Quiet City

BERNSTEIN: Serenade

JOHN ADAMS: Harmonielehre

Feb. 3

CONDUCTOR: Teddy Abrams

SOLOIST: Susanna Phillips, soprano

BERNSTEIN: Divertimento for Orchestra

PERRY: A Short Piece for Orchestra

BARBER: Knoxville: Summer of 1915

COPLAND: Symphony No. 3

Feb. 10

CONDUCTOR: Fabien Gabel

SOLOIST: Louis Schwizgebel

BEETHOVEN: Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major for Piano and Orchestra, “Emperor”

BERNSTEIN: Fancy Free

SCHMITT: Rêves, Opus 65, No. 1

RAVEL: La Valse

Feb. 17

CONDUCTOR: Stefan Asbury

SOLOIST: Augustin Hadelich, violin

KODALY: Dances of Galánta

LIGETI: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Opus 36

Feb. 24

CONDUCTOR: Andreas Delfs

SOLOISTS: Frank Almond, violin; Wendy Bryn Harmer, soprano; Edward Nelson, baritone; Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, Cheryl Frazes Hill, chorus director

MENDELSSOHN: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Overture, Nocturne, and Scherzo

JALBERT: Concerto for Violin & Orchestra

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1)

March 3

CONDUCTOR: Yaniv Dinur

SOLOIST: Drew Peterson

EMILY COOLEY: Green Go to Me

GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue

PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Opus 100

March 10

CONDUCTOR: Asher Fisch

SOLOISTS: Bella Hristova, violin; Michelle DeYoung, mezzo soprano; Stuart Skelton, tenor

FOSS: Three American Pieces for Violin and Orchestra

BRITTEN: “Four Sea Interludes” from Peter Grimes

MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde

March 17

CONDUCTOR: Hans Graf

SOLOIST: Truls Mørk, cello

BARBER: Medea’s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance

PROKOFIEV: Sinfonia concertante for Cello and Orchestra

DVORAK: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Opus 95, “From the New World”

March 24

CONDUCTOR: Ken-David Masur

SOLOISTS: Todd Levy, clarinet; Robert Levine, viola; Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, Cheryl Frazes Hill, chorus director

COPLAND: Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra, with Harp and Piano

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Flos campi (“Flower of the Field”)

RAVEL: Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloe

BRAHMS: Symphony No. 2 in D Major (from 2018-2019 Opening Night)

March 31

CONDUCTOR: Jun Märkl

SOLOISTS: Evan Bagwell, boy soprano; Heidi Stober, soprano; Kelley O’Connor, mezzo soprano; Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor; Morris Robinson, bass; Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, Cheryl Frazes Hill, chorus director

AGUSTA R. THOMAS: Radiant Circles (Ken-David Masur, conductor)

JOAN TOWER: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, No. 1

BERNSTEIN: Chichester Psalms for Chorus and Orchestra

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125, “Choral”