Many Musical Worlds in First Month of SLSO’s 26/27 Season
By Eric Dundon
From the free Forest Park concert on September 16 through the Concert for Kids: Howl at Powell program on October 11, the opening month of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s 2026/27 season moved easily among symphonic classics, contemporary music, film scores, and family programming. At Art Hill, Beethoven, Gershwin and John Williams shared the program with the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and IN UNISON Chorus; children’s activities and food trucks made the evening a neighborhood gathering as well as a season launch. slso.org
The first classical weekend paired Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with pianist Yefim Bronfman, and Ottorino Respighi’s expansive Pines of Rome with the St. Louis premiere of Andrea Tarrodi’s Liguria. Critic Chris King called the opener “big, brash, brassy” and praised the orchestra’s ferocious ensemble interplay.
The next program leapt from Anna Meredith’s propulsive Nautilus and Luciano Berio’s theatrical Folk Songs—featuring soprano and nyckelharpa player Aphrodite Patoulidou—to Claude Debussy’s La Mer. King heard an orchestra “precise, daring, built to travel.” In between, the orchestra presented the score to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, an exploration of the music of film composer Joe Hisaishi, and a collaboration with acclaimed actor and jazz singer Jeff Goldblum and his Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
Double bassist Sarah Hogan Kaiser warms up prior to the September 26 performance of Opening Weekend: Italian Splendor. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
The sunset is reflected in the entrance to the Jack C. Taylor Music Center prior to the September 18 performance of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the first concerts in the venue of the 2026/27 season. (Photo by Virginia Harold)
Members of the SLSO’s brass and percussion sections perform the National Anthem at the CITY SC match against Minnesota on September 12. (Photo courtesy St. Louis CITY SC)
A crowd swells to fill Art Hill prior to the start of the September 16 concert community concert, an annual tradition for the orchestra. (Photo by Virginia Harold)
Samuel Hollister, SLSO Assistant Conductor, leads the orchestra in music by composer Joe Hisaishi on October 8. Hisaishi is best known as the composer for many Studio Ghibli films. (Photo by Aliyah Blackburn)
Aphrodite Patoulidou sings Jean Sibelius’ Luonnotar in a classical program that carried themes of mythology, folk songs, and nature. (Photo by Jon Gitchoff)
On September 18, the orchestra, led by conductor Justin Freer, performed the second Harry Potter film. (Photo by Virginia Harold)
Patrons gather in the Wightman Foyer ahead of the October 2 Debussy’s La Mer concert. This concert also featured an After Party, the SLSO’s social hour following select performances. (Photo by Jon Gitchoff)
Patrons gather near the Neidorff Family Box Office prior to the September 18 performance of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. (Photo Virginia Harold)
The orchestra gathers for a portrait in the Berges Family Grand Lobby on September 24. It’s the first group portrait of the orchestra in the new lobby since it opened in September 2025. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
Music Director Stéphane Denève gestures to the orchestra during a performance of Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome on September 26. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
Superstar pianist Yefim Bronfman opened the SLSO’s classical concerts with performances of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in an Italian-themed program led by Music Director Stéphane Denève. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
Chewbacca, the lovable character from the Star Wars universe, leads members of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra at the annual Forest Park concert on Art Hill. (Photo by Virginia Harold)
Supporters gather in the Steward Family Education and Learning Center for A Taste of Italy, a special event with Italian food that culminated in the Opening Weekend performance: Italian Splendor. (Photo by Miranda Munguia)
Soprano Aphrodite Patoulidou sings Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs in her SLSO debut alongside conductor Dalia Stasevska, also in her SLSO debut, on October 2. (Photo by Jon Gitchoff)
A patron stops to take a photo of Sheila Hicks’ Gliding Toward Utopia, a collection of fiber discs in the Berges Family Lobby at the Jack C. Taylor Music Center, prior to the October 8 Symphonic Dreamscapes concert. (Photo by Aliyah Blackburn)
