Toledo Symphony's new season welcomes Bobby McFerrin, Bobby Vinton
65 AND GOING STRONG
What do Bobby McFerrin, Yuja Wang, Gunther Herbig, Peter Cetera, and Bobby Vinton have in common?
All of these stars will be appearing in Toledo during the Toledo Symphony's landmark 65th season, kicked off officially Saturday night with the successful People's Choice concert in the Stranahan Theater.
If selections chosen by popular vote - no super delegates needed - revealed how sophisticated and discerning Toledo audiences have become during the orchestra's long term of service here, the program also served to launch a new effort to further enlighten and inspire listeners with classical music in all its forms.
A busy 10-month season of concerts will be led by principal conductor Stefan Sanderling, resident conductor Chelsea Tipton II, and a galaxy of visiting stars.
Programs will be innovative and sometimes challenging.
"I still believe there are things we have to play," Sanderling said. "It is our role as classical professionals to not just to give the audience what they want to hear but also what they should hear."
That means balancing challenging works with comfort music, beginning a concert with music new - maybe a little bit startling - to most ears, and then performing a favorite work later on in the evening.
Starting in mid-September of this year and continuing through May, 2009, the symphony plans a rich assortment of concerts in four groups.
•The Classics, in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle, is the most ambitious series, bursting with "big" works like Mahler's Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection); Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 performed by guest soloist Kirill Gerstein; Brahms Symphony No. 3, and Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin, and lots of Tchaikovsky.
Seven TSO premieres will highlight these nine concerts. Guest conductors include Herbig, a veteran of the international music scene; Christoph Campestrini, and Larry Rachleff.
McFerrin will be in town to conduct and solo in concerts Jan. 16 and 17, mingling music by Mozart and McFerrin.
Other guest soloists include pianist Cornelia Herrmann and soprano Susan Lorette Dunn. In a special two-part Beethoven Piano Festival April 24 and 25, 2009, Louis Lortie will be soloist with Sanderling conducting.
As a bonus, the symphony will present the 21-year-old Chinese pianist Yuja Wang in an April 17, 2009, concert that's a free bonus for series subscribers.
Orchestra members Nancy Lendrim, harpist, and Kirk Toth, concertmaster, will step into the solo spotlight for concerts in March and February, respectively.
• The Pops, in Stranahan Theater, will be as varied as ever. Vinton will reprise his oldies but goodies, plus there will be a big-band extravaganza led by the irrepressible Tipton. The Peter Nero version of holiday pops; an ABBA tribute group called Arrival, and Cetera, formerly of the group Chicago, populate the beloved series. Pianist Jon Nakamatsu and conductor Carl Topilow will wrap up that season May 9, 2009, with Red, White, and Rhapsody in Blue.
Subscribers to this series will be entitled to attend six concerts for the price of five, according to the symphony.
•Four Mozart & More performances at the Franciscan Center will cover late Baroque, early Classical, and some Romantic periods. Conductor Scott Yoo will open the series Oct. 11 with pianist Frances Renzi as soloist in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17. Sanderling and Tipton will each lead one concert and Stephen Prutsman will do double duty as conductor and piano soloist on Jan. 24.
As a bonus for purchasers of this series, the symphony and Sanderling will perform Bruckner's Symphony No. 5 on Nov. 2 in Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral.
•The ever-popular and increasingly innovative Chamber Series presented Sunday evenings in the Toledo Club will offer four thematic concerts starting Sept. 14. Works by Dohnanyi, Wolf, Martinu, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Faure are on these programs, which offer symphony musicians a chance to shine in an intimate setting. Many local premieres are a plus for this series.
Values shoppers always go for series tickets because the individual price is so much lower. Plus, knowing you have seats for a particular event means escaping the hassle of individual purchase.
And, of course, there's the pot sweetener of special event concerts with major names like Wang, for which series ticket holders pay nothing.
For information about series tickets, contact the Toledo Symphony at 419-246-8000.
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