PRESS RELEASE: Emanuel Ax Returns to the Madison Symphony Orchestra March 20, 21, 22

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 10, 2026

Emanuel Ax Returns to the Madison Symphony Orchestra March 20, 21, 22

Also, John DeMain’s new book will be available at concerts

Madison, Wis. – Grammy Award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax will return to the Madison Symphony Orchestra March 20, 21 and 22 in Overture Hall, marking his fifth appearance with the orchestra. The concerts will be conducted by John DeMain, with the program showcasing works by Richard Strauss, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gabriela Ortiz and Ottorino Respighi.

The concert opens with Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, the brilliant and delightful tone poem written when the composer was just 30 years old. The Orchestra’s Principal Horn Emma Potter will play the “character” of the puckish Till, performing the virtuosic horn solos.

Next, Emanuel Ax, who has been acclaimed the world over for his Mozart performances, will play Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, a grand work composed by Mozart in 1786 and his thirtieth year. This was the year, that also saw the composition of the two previous piano concertos, the “Prague” Symphony, and the opera The Marriage of Fiagaro.

After intermission, the program concludes with Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, a symphonic postcard of Rome. The four spectacular Roman settings, in the composer’s vivid orchestration, reaches its climax as Roman legions march along the Appian Way, as the augmented Madison Symphony brass blaze from above the orchestra.

Also featured during the March concert weekend will be Music Director John DeMain’s recently published book, Working with My Heroes, which will officially go on sale at the performances. The hardcover volume, written with the late Greg Hettmansberger, chronicles DeMain’s decades on the podium, reflecting on collaborations with iconic performers, composers and mentors and offers insights into the artistic relationships that influenced his approach to conducting and music-making.

About Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax, an acclaimed American classical pianist, captured international attention by winning the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in 1974 and has enjoyed a distinguished career as a soloist and chamber musician. He has toured with Yo-Yo Ma and others, earning multiple Grammy Awards and honorary degrees.  

Born to Polish parents in what is today Lviv, Ukraine, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. Mr. Ax made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists Series, and in 1974 won the Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed four years later by the Avery Fisher Prize.

Mr. Ax has been a Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987.  He has received GRAMMY® Awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas. He has also made a series of GRAMMY-winning recordings with Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano. In the 2004/05 season Mr. Ax contributed to an International EMMY® Award-Winning BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust that aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In 2013, Mr. Ax’s recording Variations received the Echo Klassik Award for Solo Recording of the Year (19th Century Music/Piano).

Mr. Ax is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates of music from Skidmore College, New England Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and Columbia University.

Single tickets for all concerts and events can be purchased through the Overture Center Box Office or online https://madisonsymphony.org/event/axplaysmozart/.  

 About the Madison Symphony Orchestra
The Madison Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 100th Anniversary season in 2025-2026. The MSO has grown to be one of America’s leading regional orchestras, providing Madison and south-central Wisconsin with cultural and educational opportunities to interact with great masterworks and top-tier guest artists from around the world. 2025-2026 marks John DeMain’s 32nd year and final season as Music Director. Learn more at madisonsymphony.org.

The Presenting Sponsor for these concerts is Myrna Larson, and Major Sponsors include the Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club, Irving and Dorothy Levy Family Foundation, Inc., Stephen D. Morton, David and Kato Perlman and Fred A. Wileman. Additional sponsors include Dr. Thomas and Leslie France, Ronald J. and Janet E. Johnson, von Briesen & Roper, s.c., and the Wisconsin Arts Board.