Symphonies of Iowa

On Iowa Public Radio’s Symphonies of Iowa series encore broadcast scheduled for Monday October 7, 2013 at 7 p.m., internationally acclaimed violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg joins the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra for a brilliant performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

On Iowa Public Radio’s Symphonies of Iowa encore broadcast scheduled for Monday, September 30 at 7 p.m., Orchestra Iowa combines romantic tragedies with exciting new works to create an electric program called Star-Crossed Lovers. Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet and Tchaikovsky’s fantasy-overture of the same title will set the musical stage. You’ll enjoy a modern take on the evening’s theme with Drive By, by Iowa composer and Grinnell College faculty member Eric McIntyre.

Please join Iowa Public Radio on Monday, September 16, at 7 p.m. for an encore broadcast of Orchestra Iowa’s Chamber Player's Third Concert . 

Internationally-renowned pianist Jon Nakamatsu joins the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra for performances of Liszt’s first and second piano concertos in an encore broadcast on Monday, September 9 at 7 p.m. Nakamatsu, a Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist, has performed at the Chopin Institute in Warsaw, the Beijing International Piano Festival and with jazz pianist David Benoit at the prestigious Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, CA. 

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, led by music director Jason Weinberger, joins forces with the Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival to bring audiences an eclectic array of American chamber music in an encore broadcast at 7 p.m. on Monday, September 2. 

Please join Iowa Public Radio in an encore broadcast at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 26, 2013 as Orchestra Iowa triumphantly returns to the newly refurbished Paramount Theatre following the devastating flood of 2008.

Please join Iowa Public Radio in an encore broadcast of the Des Moines Symphony, led by Maestro Joseph Giunta, at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 19, 2013. The DMSO performs Paul Dukas’ programmatic scherzo, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, based on a ballad by the German poet Goethe.

Guest artist Benny Kim joins the orchestra for a performance of Bruch’s Violin Concerto. The concert closes with Berlioz’s monumental and programmatic  Symphonie Fantastique.

(Concert recorded Oct. 27 and 28, 2012)

Please join Iowa Public Radio in an encore broadcast at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 12, 2013 as Orchestra Iowa’s Chamber Players present their second concert of the season. Among the pieces performed is Bach’s Concerto for Violin, Viola and Continuo. The Chamber Players present Hurnik’s Sonata da Camera. Hurnik is known for his film scripts, radio plays and concerts for children. The music of Bach’s fifth child, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach graces the concert with the Duet for Flute and Violin. The concert continues with yet another work by Bach’s son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. W.F.

Please join Iowa Public Radio in an encore performance of Kodály’s Variations on a Hungarian Folksong, sometimes referred to as the “Peacock Variations,” at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 5, 2013. This piece was commissioned in 1939 by the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. For the main thematic material, Kodály chose an ancient Hungarian folk song titled Fly, Peacock Fly, the text of which metaphorically advocated for political freedom.

Please join Iowa Public Radio in an encore broadcast at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 29, 2013 as members of Orchestra Iowa’s Chamber Players bring to life Schubert’s String Trio in Bb Major. Schubert wrote this piece during a time when he was involved in informal chamber music performances. The Orchestra Iowa Chamber Players also present a lively rendition of Mozart’s Trio in C Major, written in the summer of 1788. Finally, the Chamber Players will fill the air with Faure’s Piano Quartet in G minor. This piece is known for its tranquil and harmonically rich melodies.

Please join Iowa Public Radio in a encore broadcast of Maestro Giunta and the Des Moines Symphony opening their seventy-fifth season on Monday, July 15, 2013 at 7 P.M. with music from the Austrian film composer, Ernest Korngold. Korngold’s music for the 1935 film Captain Blood helped pioneer the symphonic film score as a new art form. 

Join us Sunday at noon or Monday at 7PM to hear the Grieg Concerto played by Joyce Yang (called "the most gifted young pianist of her generation") with the Des Moines Symphony. Yang, a winner of the prestigious Avery Fischer Career Grant, has performed recently with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra. The concert begins with Sibelius's stirring Finlandia and closes with Mahler's powerful Symphony no. 5 conducted by music director Joseph Giunta.

Des Moines Symphony – Grieg Piano Concerto & Mahler 5

Joseph Giunta, music director
Joyce Yang, guest pianist

SIBELIUS                             Finlandia
GRIEG                                   Piano Concerto
MAHLER                              Symphony No. 5                       

Orchestra Iowa – American Gothic
 

Timothy Hankewich, music director

RACHMANINOV                 The Rock
DAUGHERTY                      American Gothic (World Premiere)
DVORAK                              Symphony No. 7

Quad City Symphony Orchestra

Mark Russell Smith, music director

Maestro Mark Russell Smith leads the Quad City Symphony in a program from their 2012-2013 season. Founded in 1915 as the Tri-City Symphony, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra celebrates 98 years.

Dubuque Symphony Orchestra – Classics 5 Russia’s Greatest

William Intriligator, conductor
Eugene Alcalay, piano

TCHAIKOVSKY        Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23 in B-flat Minor

BORODIN         Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV     Russian Easter
                                                   Festival Overture, Op. 36
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV    Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34

Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony – The Planets, Reimagined

Jason Weinberger, music director
Gary Kelley, artist

HOLST                                   The Planets

Des Moines Symphony – Carmina Burana

Joseph Giunta, music director
Gregory Oakes & Clarence Padilla, clarinets
Carrie Ellen Giunta, soprano
Christopher Pfund, tenor
Robert Orth, baritone
The Drake Choir and Drake University/Community Chorus, directed by Aimee Beckmann-Collier
Drake University Orchestra, directed by Akira Mori

Orchestra Iowa Chamber: Concert 4

Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony – Bach at Easter

Jason Weinberger, music director
UNI Cantorei & John Len Wiles
WCFSO soloists

Des Moines Symphony – Tchaikovsky 4

Joseph Giunta, music director

TCHAIKOVSKY                   Symphony No. 4 in F Minor

In collaboration with the Chicago Symphony for their third BEYOND THE SCORE presentation, the Des Moines Symphony presents Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F Minor. This beautiful and inspiring four movement piece has captivated listeners since its first performance in Moscow in 1878.

This concert was recorded March 16 and 17, 2013.

Orchestra Iowa – Brahms’ Third

Timothy Hankewich, music director
Roger Oyster, euphonium

ELGAR                                  Enigma Variations
WEBER                                Concertino
BRAHMS                             Symphony No. 3

Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony – Northern Iowa Youth Orchestra

Jason Weinberger, music director
Northern Iowa Youth Orchestra

CHENETTE                          Rural Symphony
DVORAK                              Suite in A, Op. 98b
COPLAND                             Suite from The Tender Land

Des Moines Symphony – Nadja Plays Mendelssohn

Joseph Giunta, music director
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin

WAGNER                               Music from Die Meistersinger
MENDELSSOHN                Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64.
FRANCK                                 Symphony in d Minor

Orchestra Iowa – Star-Crossed Lovers
Timothy Hankewich, music director
Frank Oden, actor

Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony – Past & Present, Hunter Capoccioni

Jason Weinberger, music director
Hunter Capoccioni, bass

MOZART                              La Clemenza di Tito, K. 621, “March” and “Overture”
HARBISON                         Concerto for Bass Viol
BARBER                               Suite from Medea, Op. 23

Orchestra Iowa Chamber: Concert 3
LECLAIR                                 Sonata for 2 Violas, Op. 12 #2
BOCCHERINI                         Trio in D minor, Op. 54, No. 5
MENDELSSOHN                    Quintet No. 2 in Bb Major, Op. 87

Internationally-renowned pianist Jon Nakamatsu joins the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra for performances of Liszt’s first and second piano concertos. Nakamatsu, a Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist, has performed at the Chopin Institute in Warsaw, the Beijing International Piano Festival and with jazz pianist David Benoit at the prestigious Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, CA. This program under Maestro Joseph Giunta opens with music from Engelbert Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera, Hansel and Gretel.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, led by music director Jason Weinberger, joins forces with the Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival to bring audiences an eclectic array of American chamber music. Opening the concert is Walter Piston’s Divertimento, written for nine instruments and commissioned by the International Society for Contemporary Music in 1946. John Harbison’s North and South is a cycle of six settings of poems by Elizabeth Bishop, scored for mezzo-soprano, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and bass.