St. Louis Symphony Orchestra November concerts include first Live at the Pulitzer concert of the season, artist debuts, opera masterpieces, and performances throughout the region

(October 9, 2023, St. Louis, MO) – Today, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra announced details of its November 2023 concerts, which include classical favorites by Ludwig van Beethoven, Maurice Ravel, and Antonín Dvořák; monumental performances of an opera in concert; performances of The Four Seasons throughout the community; and the first St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: Live at the Pulitzer, featuring music by composers of today.

Tickets start at $15 for classical concerts and are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased at slso.org or by calling the Box Office at 314-534-1700. A full concert calendar is available at slso.org or on the SLSO’s mobile app available for iOS or Android. Classical concerts will be broadcast on November 4 and 18 on 90.7 FM KWMU St. Louis Public Radio, Classic 107.3, and online. Audiences can attend a Pre-Concert Conversation, an engaging discussion about the music and artists on the program, one hour prior to each classical concert.

While the expansion and renovation of Powell Hall continues, the SLSO will perform November concerts at several venues throughout the region: the Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis (November 3, 5, 17-19), Stifel Theatre in downtown St. Louis (November 11-12), the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in Grand Center (November 14), St. Joseph Catholic Church Cottleville (November 24), Manchester United Methodist Church in Manchester (November 25), and The Sheldon in Grand Center (November 26). Shuttle service will be available for concerts at the Touhill at UMSL and Stifel Theatre starting at $15 per seat. There will be two shuttle pick-up locations for performances at Stifel Theatre: Plaza Frontenac and St. Louis Community College–Forest Park. Shuttles for performances at the Touhill Performing Arts Center at UMSL will depart from Plaza Frontenac and free parking is available on the UMSL campus.

Beethoven’s Piano Cycle: Paul Lewis Plays the Fourth
Friday, November 3, 7:30pm CDT
Sunday, November 5, 3:00pm CST
Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis 
1 Touhill Circle, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121 

Stéphane Denève, conductor
Paul Lewis, piano (SLSO debut)

Christoph Willibald Gluck “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” from Orfeo ed Euridice
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4
Maurice Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin
Sergei Prokofiev Symphony No. 1, “Classical”

Presented by the Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation.

Orpheus was Greek mythology’s superstar musician. Music Director Stéphane Denève brings two responses to the myth, the bewitching beauty of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto. Pianist Paul Lewis is among the world’s great Beethoven pianists, offering what Gramophone Magazine calls “shining musicianship.” The sprightliness of Sergei Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony and Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin refreshes audiences with a splash of colors, vivid lights, and rich tonal variety.  

Opera in Concert: Cavalleria rusticana
Saturday, November 11, 7:30pm CST
Sunday, November 12, 3:00pm CST
Stifel Theatre
400 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri, 63103

James Gaffigan, conductor
Heidi Melton, soprano (Santuzza) (SLSO debut)
Antonio Poli, tenor (Turiddu) (SLSO debut)
Meredith Arwady, contralto (Lucia)
Anthony Clark Evans, baritone (Alfio) (SLSO debut)
Katherine Beck, mezzo-soprano (Lola) (SLSO debut)
St. Louis Symphony Chorus | Andrew Whitfield, guest director

Pietro Mascagni Cavalleria rusticana in Concert

Katherine Beck’s performance is supported by the Sarah Bryan Miller Fund.

Sicily, 1900. A beautiful place with a passionate underbelly. The perfect setting for Pietro Mascagni’s legendary Cavalleria rusticana, a compelling story of love and betrayal. Turiddu and Lola have happily rekindled their old love, but Lola’s husband finds out, and Santuzza feels betrayed, all with dire consequences. Conductor James Gaffigan brings an international reputation as an opera conductor, and he tells this tale with white-hot intensity with a cast of all-star operatic vocalists at the St. Louis Symphony Chorus in its first of four collaborations with the SLSO in the 23/24 season.  

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: Live at the Pulitzer| Line and Light 
Tuesday, November 14, 7:30pm CST  
Pulitzer Arts Foundation
3716 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri, 63108 
   
Sky Macklay Many, Many Cadences (First SLSO performances)  
Leilehua Lanzilotti ko’u inoa (First SLSO performances)  
Molly Joyce Imperfection (First SLSO performances)  
Michael Gordon Light is Calling (First SLSO performances)  
Andy Akiho “LigNEouS” from LIgNEouS Suite in 5 Movements (First SLSO performances)  

Artists announced at a later date.

SLSO musicians summon intense color and bold abstraction in the first of three Live at the Pulitzer concerts, a chamber music series celebrating musical voices of today marking its 20th season. String quartets take us on kaleidoscopic journeys through Sky Macklay’s angular reimagination of the familiar cadence and Molly Joyce’s reflection on perfection. Michael Gordon and Leilehua Lanzilotti revel in the emotive beauty of solo instruments. A lone marimba breaks up the string party in Andy Akiho’s virtuosic and percussive banger—all performed in the striking atmosphere of the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

Korngold and Dvořák
Friday, November 17, 10:30am CST*
Saturday, November 18, 7:30pm CST
Sunday, November 19, 3:00pm CST
Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis 
1 Touhill Circle, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121 

Christian Reif, conductor (SLSO debut)
Randall Goosby, violin (SLSO debut)

Vítězslava Kaprálová   Rustic Suite (First SLSO performances)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold  Violin Concerto
Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 7

Presented by the Whitaker Foundation.
Supported by Wipfli.
*Refreshments courtesy of Kaldi’s Coffee and Eddie’s Southtown Donuts.

Young American violinist Randall Goosby is the talk of the classical music world. His sensitive soul and stage charm are irresistible. He makes his SLSO debut with Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto, a work that sings with the beauty of the master film composer’s scores. Christian Reif, another rising star, makes his SLSO debut conducting two pieces with turbulently rousing folk music at their core: Antonín Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony, and Vítězslava Kaprálová’s Rustic Suite. 

The Eight Seasons of Vivaldi and Piazzolla
Friday, November 24, 7:30pm
St. Joseph Catholic Church Cottleville
1355 Motherhead Road, Cottleville, MO 63304

Saturday, November 25, 7:30pm
Manchester United Methodist Church
129 Woods Mill Road, Manchester, MO 63011

Sunday, November 26, 3:00pm
The Sheldon
3648 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108  

David Halen, violin
Erin Schreiber, violin

Antonio Vivaldi  The Four Seasons
Astor Piazzolla (arr. Desyatnikov) The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires

The SLSO brings the melodies of the changing seasons to life in three performances on Thanksgiving weekend. The timeless charm of Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons transports listeners to the northern Italian countryside, brilliantly contrasting with the passionate soundscape of Argentina in Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Season of Buenos Aires. From Vivaldi’s iconic Spring to Piazzolla’s intense Winter, the SLSO’s own gifted violinists, Concertmaster David Halen and Associate Concertmaster Erin Schreiber, weave a seasonal musical tapestry. 

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