St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s March 2026 Concerts Highlight Bold Programming
By Eric Dundon
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s March 2026 concerts showcased striking stylistic breadth, pairing contemporary works with classical staples while highlighting both orchestral and chamber formats. Early in the month, former music director David Robertson and pianist Orli Shaham led programs centered on 21st-century repertoire alongside a Leonard Bernstein symphony, reflecting the orchestra’s continued commitment to modern music. A companion chamber concert blended Mozart and Schubert with newer works, reinforcing the ensemble’s versatility.
Later programs expanded the range further. A late-March concert featured the premiere of Kevin Puts’ triple concerto Contact alongside music by John Adams and John Williams, while another program highlighted Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto. Reviews noted the orchestra’s ability to move fluidly between genres, with one critic praising how “both the classic and contemporary symphonic repertoires are alive and well” in its performances. Composers featured on subscription programs included John Adams, Grażyna Bacewicz, Ludwig van Beethoven, Alban Berg, Leonard Bernstein, Moni (Jasmine) Guo, John Mackey, Kevin Puts, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, David Roberston, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and John Williams.
Critical response was positive, particularly for the performers’ precision and interpretive commitment.
In March, education took a front seat, with concerts that featured international musical traditions designed for families; field trip concerts that welcomed hundreds of students; and an awards ceremony for two long-running education programs: Picture the Music and Express the Music.
March 1 – A dancer from Ballet 314 demonstrates choreography for young attendees of the Family Concert Music Without Boundaries in the Berges Family Lobby of the Jack C. Taylor Music Center. (Photo by Brendan Batchelor)
March 1 – Rulin Olivia Zhang, dressed in traditional Chinese attire, demonstrates the erhu to attendees of Family Concert. She was one of several soloists who performed music from cultures around the world. (Photo by Brendan Batchelor)
March 10 – Assistant Conductor Samuel Hollister led the Link Up concerts, annual events that welcome hundreds of students to perform in Powell Hall. (Photo by Brendan Batchelor)
March 10 – Hundreds of children attended Link Up concerts to perform what they’ve learned throughout the year in their respective music classes on the recorder. (Photo by Brendan Batchelor)
March 14 – Violinist Leila Joseofwicz gives a heart-rending performance of Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto. Josefowicz, whose teacher personally knew Berg, has a special connection to the piece, which she calls one of the finest concertos of the 20th century. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
March 14 – In her SLSO debut, Anna Sułkowska-Migoń led Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a perennial favorite. From Poland, she also led the first SLSO performances of the Overture by Grażyna Bacewicz, a fellow Pole. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
March 19 – Violist Xi Zhang at the Playlist concert. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
March 19 – Music Director Stéphane Denève leads film music by John Williams during the Playlist concert. The series offers an hourlong program in a casual and social atmosphere. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
March 22 – Attendees admire the works of elementary students who participated in the Picture the Music Contest. The long-running program asks students to listen to a piece of music (this year was Kevin Puts’ Contact) and interpret it into visual art. Judges selected the top 100 pieces, which were on display in Powell Hall. (Photo by Phillip Hamer)
March 22 – The trio Time for Three performed Contact by Kevin Puts, the SLSO Composer in Residence this season. (Photo by Phillip Hamer)
March 28 – Kevin Puts, the SLSO’s Composer in Residence, congratulates Denève and the orchestra following performances of his Concerto for Orchestra, which the SLSO commissioned and premiered in January 2023. (Photo by Jon Gitchoff)
March 28 – Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson performed Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, known as the “Emperor.” Ólafsson also performed a solo recital before traveling with the orchestra to the Krannert Center at the University of Illinois for a concert. (Photo by Jon Gitchoff)
March 28 – Moni (Jasmine) Guo introduces her piece, the sound of where i came from, which was co-commissioned by the SLSO as part of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program, an initiative of the League of American Orchestras in partnership with the American Composers Orchestra. (Photo by Jon Gitchoff)
Eric Dundon is the SLSO’s Public Relations Director.
