Two world premieres highlight St. Louis Symphony Orchestra January concerts

(November 25, 2024, St. Louis, MO) – Today, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra announced details of its January concerts, with seven programs held in five different venues throughout the St. Louis region, including two world premieres, symphonic masterpieces, chamber music, and a free community concert.

Tickets are on sale now and 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).

While the transformational expansion and renovation of Powell Hall continues, the SLSO will perform January concerts at five venues throughout the region, including the Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis (January 10-11, 17, 19), the Missouri History Museum (January 23), Stifel Theatre (January 25-26, 31), the Pulitzer Arts Foundation (January 28), and The Sheldon (January 30). Shuttle service will be available for all classical concerts starting at $15 per seat. 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.  Shuttles for the Stifel Theatre will depart from Plaza Frontenac and St. Louis Community College–Forest Park. 

Dvořák’s New World: American Sounds
Friday, January 10, 10:30am CST*
Saturday, January 11, 7:30pm CST
Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis 
1 Touhill Circle, St. Louis, MO 63121 

Daniela Candillari, conductor
Hanzhi Wang, accordion (SLSO debut)

Samuel Barber The School for Scandal Overture
Nina Shekhar Accordion Concerto (World Premiere, SLSO commission)
Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

Presented by the Whitaker Foundation.
*Coffee Concert series supported by Lutheran Senior Services. Refreshments provided by Kaldi’s Coffee and Eddie’s Southtown Donuts.

The accordion takes center stage in this program of American and American-inspired music, featuring the world premiere of Nina Shekhar’s Accordion Concerto. Shekhar, a first generation Indian American, is noted for her work across media exploring the intersection of identity, vulnerability, love, and laughter. Accordionist Hanzhi Wang, who has made it her goal to spread word of her novel solo instrument across the globe, makes her SLSO debut in this program. One of his earliest works, Samuel Barber’s The School for Scandal Overture brims with alternating energy and tenderness. Antonín Dvořák’s beloved “New World” symphony searches for the musical soul of America and features one of the most recognizable and heartfelt solos for English horn. Daniela Candillari, Principal Conductor of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, leads this program.

Stéphane Conducts Ravel: Sonic Impressions
Friday, January 17, 7:30pm CST
Sunday, January 19, 3:00pm CST
Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis 
1 Touhill Circle, St. Louis, MO 63121 

Stéphane Denève, conductor
Kirill Gerstein, piano

Maurice Ravel  Mother Goose Suite
Maurice Ravel  Piano Concerto in G
Maurice Ravel  Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
Maurice Ravel  Bolero

Maurice Ravel’s music has been with Music Director Stéphane Denève his whole life. For the 150th anniversary of the French composer’s birth, Denève leads the SLSO on an exploration of the Ravel experience. The program opens with childlike wonder in Mother Goose Suite. Kirill Gerstein faces a formidable challenge, playing both Ravel piano concertos in one program. Gerstein, who recorded the piano music of George Gershwin with the SLSO, makes his ninth appearance with the SLSO in this program. The concert concludes with the showstopping virtuosity of Bolero, building from a quiet opening to a full-throated symphonic fanfare.

SLSO Community Concert: Untold Stories | LGBTQ+ Composers Through Time
Thursday, January 23, 6:30pm CST
Missouri History Museum
5700 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63112

Janet Carpenter, violin
Asako Kuboki, violin
Shannon Williams, viola
Bjorn Ranheim, cello
Michael Walk, trumpet
Karma T. Cassidy, narrator
Amy Greenhalgh, creator and arranger

Repertoire announced from the stage.
Presented in partnership with the Missouri History Museum and the Saint Louis LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce.

A thought-provoking, hour-long concert by SLSO musicians tells the stories of composers from the LGBTQ+ community over the last 1,000 years. This performance, narrated by drag queen Karma T. Cassidy, includes recognizable music alongside the lesser-known stories of the composers whose lives remained hidden by prejudice and legal consequences. No tickets are needed for this free event held at the Missouri History Museum.

Beethoven and Mahler: Masterful Storytellers
Saturday, January 25, 7:30pm CST
Sunday, January 26, 3:00pm CST
Stifel Theatre
1400 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63103

Stéphane Denève, conductor
James Ehnes, violin

Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Concerto
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1

Denève leads two life-affirming musical tales narrated by two passionate storytellers. James Ehnes said of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, “It’s an incredibly uplifting, optimistic piece of music, one that makes you feel good about mankind.” Ehnes, a frequent collaborator of Denève’s and recent SLSO recording partner, returns for his eighth appearance with the SLSO. Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony expresses a vast range of human emotion, from innocence to sorrow to triumph.

Live at the Pulitzer: Inside Out
Tuesday, January 28, 7:30pm CST
Pulitzer Arts Foundation
3716 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63108

Andrea Kaplan, flute
Jennifer Nitchman, flute
Kristin Ahlstrom, violin
Yin Xiong, cello
Peter Henderson, piano and harmonium
Alan Stewart, percussion
Kevin Ritenauer, percussion

Anthony Vine Devotions (First SLSO performance)
Elizabeth Ogonek all streams reach the sea at last (First SLSO performance)
Andy Akiho 21 (First SLSO performance)

Chamber music curated by composer Christopher Stark in response to exhibitions on view at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

In the second Live at the Pulitzer chamber music concert of the 24/25 season, an eclectic combination of works progresses from inner serenity and calm to outer joy and exuberance. Anthony Vine enchants and soothes with a unique pairing of strings and harmonium. Elizabeth Ogonek’s water-inspired septet delves into a world filled with dynamism and contrasts, while Andy Akiho reimagines music by Bach for percussion and cello in a rhythmic reconception. Presented in collaboration with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation for 21 years, Live at the Pulitzer explores the intersection of visual art and music, presenting bold and adventurous music of today within the museum’s gallery.

Live at The Sheldon: No Borders
Thursday, January 30, 7:30pm CST
The Sheldon
3648 Washington Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63108

Xiaoxiao Qiang, curator and violin
Tzuying Huang, curator and clarinet
Ann Choomack, flute
Andrew Gott, bassoon
Thomas Jöstlein, horn
Steven Franklin, trumpet
Nathan Lowry, violin
Xi Zhang, viola
Yin Xiong, cello
Aleck Belcher, double bass
Peter Henderson, piano

Sergei Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes
Seda Balci New Work (World premiere)
Paul Schoenfield Trio for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano (First SLSO performance)
Amy Beach Theme and Variations for Flute and String Quartet (First SLSO performance)
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio Espagnol for chamber ensemble (First SLSO performance)
Arranged by Easley Blackwood, Jr.

Chamber music curated by Xiaoxiao Qiang (violin) and Tzuying Huang (clarinet and bass clarinet).
Sponsored by the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. Welcomed by Classic 107.3.

Music needs no passport in the third Live at The Sheldon concert of the 24/25 season. Curated by SLSO violinist Xiaoxiao Qiang and bass clarinetist Tzuying Huang, the program features composers who borrow ideas from a world of musical cultures. Sergei Prokofiev visits the U.S. and encounters a Russian sextet devoted to Jewish folk music for whom he writes an exuberant new work. Contemporary American composer Paul Schoenfield is drawn to Eastern European music, mixing themes from klezmer, Cossack dances, and military marches. In contrast, Amy Beach’s Theme and Variations is a sublime example of late-Romantic grandeur. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol contains both Russian and Spanish melodies and rhythms.  

Beethoven X Beyoncé
Friday, January 31, 7:30pm CST
Stifel Theatre
1400 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri, 63103

Steve Hackman, conductor and creator
Kaylah Sharve, vocals (SLSO debut)
Brayla Cook, vocals (SLSO debut)
Malia Civetz, vocals (SLSO debut)
Jackie Whitmill, drums (SLSO debut)
Dmitry Gorodetsky, bass (SLSO debut)
Andrew Lipke, guitar and keyboard (SLSO debut)

A symphonic fusion of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and the music of Beyoncé.

Conductor and creator Steve Hackman blurs genres in this new blend of pop/R&B’s queen and classical music’s king as Beyoncé’s iconic repertoire is seamlessly interwoven with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. The symphonic world’s most joyful celebration of dance becomes the backdrop to 15 of Beyoncé’s chart-topping hits—including “Girls,” “Crazy in Love,” “Single Ladies,” “Sorry,” “Halo,” “Cuff It,” and “Texas Hold ‘Em”—in this innovative new musical fusion. Three vocalists and an instrumental trio join forces with the SLSO. This concert was originally scheduled for Sunday, June 23, 2024. Tickets for the original date will be honored for this performance.

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