Ravishing Rhapsody

Anticipate another mesmerizing performance from one of the greatest exponents of Russia’s greatest music. The Rachmaninoff Rhapsody may be the most-listened-to piano favorite of all time, while Beethoven’s “Eroica” (Heroic) is an important landmark in the transition between the Classical period and the Romantic era.

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The tune that grew up. When he was in his twenties, Beethoven wrote a set of 12 contradanses. The seventh of them was a little tune in E-flat that Beethoven turned into something increasingly monumental. In 1801 he used it as the basis for the finale of his ballet The Creatures of Prometheus. A year later, he used it as the theme for his massive Eroica Variations. And a year after that, he expanded it into the ten variations that conclude his landmark Eroica Symphony.
– Norman Gilliland

About Olga Kern

Russian-American pianist Olga Kern is now recognized as one of her generation’s great artists. Born into a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, she began studying piano at the age of five, and jumpstarted her U.S. career with her historic Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, TX as the first woman to do so in more than 30 years. In 2016 she served as Jury Chairman of both the Seventh Cliburn International Amateur Piano competition, which she also holds the title of Artistic Director. Ms. Kern frequently gives master classes and since September 2017 has served on the piano faculty of the prestigious Manhattan School of Music. She has performed in famed concert halls throughout the world including Carnegie Hall, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and the Chatelet in Paris. She has previously appeared with the Madison Symphony Orchestra four times in 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2017.

Kern’s performance is charismatic and dazzling, and tender when it ought to be. – Jessica Courtier, The Cap Times

THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS

Major funding provided by

Cyrena and Lee Pondrom

Additional funding provided by

Sponsor Spotlight Message:

The Gialamas Company is proud to be a sponsor of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. We greatly appreciate the MSO’s continued role in Madison’s vibrant performing arts community through magnificent performances and educational programs that inspire us all. We look forward to another fantastic season in Overture Hall!

Hamburg Steinway — a special thanks to Peter Livingston and Sharon Stark

Our magnificent Hamburg Steinway concert grand piano is used for performances in Overture Hall. The instrument was a gift to the Madison Symphony Orchestra from Peter Livingston and Sharon Stark in memory of Peter’s mother, Magdalena Friedman.