The MusicNOW Festival and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra have announced additional events surrounding the CSO’s performances at the Taft Theatre Friday and Saturday, January 13-14. Both performances (Friday and Saturday) will include moderated discussions with musicologist William Robin, MusicNOW Artistic Director Bryce Dessner and composers Andrew Norman and Timo Andres. The Friday discussion, which will take place in the Taft Theatre Ballroom during intermission, will focus on Andrew Norman’s Play (which was recently awarded the prestigious 2017 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition), and the Saturday discussion, which takes place prior to the concert also in the Taft Theatre Ballroom, will focus on that evening’s program works. In addition, prior to the Friday concert, violinist Pekka Kuusisto (who will be a featured soloist during Saturday’s CSO concert) will perform a solo electronics set in the Taft Theatre Ballroom. Following the concert on Saturday, Lanzendorf (composed of members of The National) will perform a set in the Taft Theatre Ballroom. All additional events are free and open to all concert ticketholders.
On Friday, January 13 (8 p.m.) at the Taft Theatre, the CSO will present a rare performance of Andrew Norman’s 21st century masterwork for orchestra, Play, followed by Matthias Pintscher’s idyll for orchestra, a work originally commissioned for the Cleveland Orchestra in 2014. After intermission, acclaimed Irish singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan, accompanied by Aaron Dessner, will join the CSO to perform works from her new recording, which Dessner produced. They will perform new orchestral arrangements by Bryce Dessner and Timo Andres.
The Festival continues at the Taft Theatre on Saturday, January 14 (8 p.m.) as the CSO performs an ambitious program of contemporary music. The evening opens with Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Reflections, a string trio that will feature CSO musicians Kathryn Woolley (violin), Christian Colberg (viola) and Ilya Finkelshteyn (cello). Ligeti’s Violin Concerto follows with soloist Pekka Kuusisto, making his CSO debut. Composer Timo Andres will perform his work for piano and orchestra The Blind Banister, which was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize.
The evening concludes as Bryce Dessner performs the U.S. premiere of his chamber concerto for electric guitar, Wires. Guest conductor Matthias Pintscher, known for his work as a conductor and composer for contemporary music ensembles around the world, will lead both performances.
The MusicNOW Festival also includes a concert with Bob Weir and The Campfire Band on Thursday, January 12 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts.
Tickets for the Thursday Bob Weir concert start at $58.50 and are available by contacting the Aronoff Center Box Office at (513) 621-2787 [ARTS] or visiting HERE. Tickets for the CSO concerts at the Taft Theatre start at $12 and are available now by calling the CSO Box Office at (513) 381-3300 or visiting HERE. Two-day Friday/Saturday passes are also available through the CSO Box Office. Ticket purchasers to the Thursday Bob Weir performance are able to purchase discounted tickets for both remaining shows with the CSO. Visit HERE for details.
