Celebrated as one of today’s most exciting and enduring orchestras, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest orchestra in the country, marking its 140th year with the 2019-2020 season. Widely considered one of the world’s finest, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra maintains its commitment to artistic excellence, educational impact, and community connections—all in service to its mission of enriching lives through the power of music. Acclaimed conductor Stéphane Denève, who has been a frequent guest conductor with the orchestra since 2003, begins his tenure as SLSO music director with this season. The program includes a new work commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra that will premiere in St. Louis just two days before its performance at Krannert Center; Brahms’ final symphony; and Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2, featuring Champaign-Urbana-born master violinist Gil Shaham. Written in the late 1930s, the concerto was given its American premiere in 1943 by Tossy Spivakovsky—who in 1969 was the violin soloist in Krannert Center’s opening festivities.
Aaron Jay Kernis: Venit Illuminatio (Toward the Illumination of Colored Light)
Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
