In his first appearances as 2023 artist-in-residence, the one and only Joshua Bell performs Bruch’s First Violin Concerto. The great 19th century violinist Joseph Joachim, to whom the composer dedicated this masterpiece, considered this concerto to be “the richest, most seductive” of all German violin concertos. Bruch’s Violin Concerto has become one of the most legendary works for the instrument and is an exquisite vehicle for Bell’s showmanship. The second half features Mussorgsky’s instantly recognizable Pictures at an Exhibition, a suite of musical paintings inspired by the sketches of the composer’s close friend Viktor Hartmann. The program opens with Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient Carlos Simon’s Motherboxx Connection, the first movement of his Tales: A Folklore Symphony for orchestra; in Simon’s words the motherboxx is “an all-knowing entity that is aware of the multi-faceted aspects of blackness.”

“Fate, that fatal force” is the driving theme of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, with one of the most brilliant and virtuosic finales in all of music; Music Director Emeritus Michael Christie returns to conduct this mighty symphony. 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient Michelle Cann performs Ravel’s glittering Piano Concerto in G as well as Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement; The Philadelphia Inquirer declared Cann’s recent performance “exquisite in both the Liszt-like technical sparkle and probing humanity of Price’s writing.”

“Fate, that fatal force” is the driving theme of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, with one of the most brilliant and virtuosic finales in all of music; Music Director Emeritus Michael Christie returns to conduct this mighty symphony. 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient Michelle Cann performs Ravel’s glittering Piano Concerto in G as well as Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement; The Philadelphia Inquirer declared Cann’s recent performance “exquisite in both the Liszt-like technical sparkle and probing humanity of Price’s writing.”

Despite the distant threat of rain – “the necessary shadow,” as the composer called it – Brahms’ Second Symphony is a sunny and idyllic work beloved for its rambunctious joy and its balance with that hint of cloud. Eun Sun Kim, a conductor of “assured technical command, subtlety and imagination” (New York Times), leads this program, which opens memorably with the “electro-acoustic soundworld” of Mason Bates’ Rhapsody of Steve Jobs. Gramophone calls Johannes Moser “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists,” and there is no finer showcase of Moser’s musical prowess than Shostakovich’s boisterous and demanding First Cello Concerto.

Despite the distant threat of rain – “the necessary shadow,” as the composer called it – Brahms’ Second Symphony is a sunny and idyllic work beloved for its rambunctious joy and its balance with that hint of cloud. Eun Sun Kim, a conductor of “assured technical command, subtlety and imagination” (New York Times), leads this program, which opens memorably with the “electro-acoustic soundworld” of Mason Bates’ Rhapsody of Steve Jobs. Gramophone calls Johannes Moser “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists,” and there is no finer showcase of Moser’s musical prowess than Shostakovich’s boisterous and demanding First Cello Concerto.