Cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, who first performed with the Minnesota Orchestra as part of the 2007 Sommerfest, returns to Orchestra Hall on May 10 and 11 to perform Schumann’s lyrical Cello Concerto. The concerts are led by British conductor Michael Francis, who makes his first appearance with the Minnesota Orchestra. The program also includes Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem and Vaughan Williams’ Sixth Symphony, a work that was last performed at Orchestra Hall in 1975.

The Minnesota Orchestra concerts are held at Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis on Thursday, May 10, at 11 a.m., and Friday, May 11, at 8 p.m., with ticket prices ranging from $29 to $96. More information is available at minnesotaorchestra.org and by phone at 612-371-5656. For further purchasing details, refer to the information section at the conclusion of this press release.

Michael Francis, conductor

Conductor Michael Francis is currently the music director of the Florida Orchestra and the Mainly Mozart Festival. From 2012 to 2016 he was the chief conductor and artistic advisor of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra in Sweden. This season he debuted with the Berlin Radio Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra and Pacific Symphony Orchestra; had return engagements with the Komisch Oper Berlin, Seoul Philharmonic, and the Milwaukee and Indianapolis symphony orchestras; and conducted the ARD Music Competition with the Bavarian Radio Symphony. He has recorded the Rachmaninoff piano concertos with Valentina Lisitsa and the London Symphony Orchestra; Wolfgang Rihm’s Lichtes Spiel with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the New York Philharmonic; and the Ravel and Gershwin piano concertos with Ian Parker and the London Symphony Orchestra. Prior to his career as a conductor, Francis was a tenured double bass player in the London Symphony Orchestra. More: columbia-artists.com, michaelfrancisconductor.com.

Daniel Müller-Schott, cello

Daniel Müller-Schott has performed with the major orchestras of New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago and Philadelphia. He has also been featured internationally with the London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig; with the radio orchestras of Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Leipzig and Hamburg; and in Asia with Tokyo’s NHK Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan’s National Symphony Orchestra and the Seoul Philharmonic. He has a special interest in discovering little-known works and extending the cello repertoire with his own adaptations, and through cooperation with composers such as André Previn, Peter Ruzicka, Sebastian Currier and Olli Mustonen. His extensive discography under the ORFEO, Deutsche Grammophon, Hyperion, Pentatone and EMI Classics labels has earned awards and recognition including the Diapason d’Or, Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Strad Selection and BBC Music Magazine’s CD of the Month. More: imgartists.com, daniel-mueller-schott.com.

Britten, Schumann and Vaughan Williams

Britten’s three-part Requiem, written as an anti-war statement, opens with a mournful procession in which saxophone plays a striking role, proceeds into chaos and concludes with a prayer-like hymn.

Distinctive for the sheer beauty of its content, Schumann’s Cello Concerto represents the composer’s lyricism at its best. Three movements flow without pause as the music’s mood changes from the sweeping passions of the opening to the brightness of the finale.

Vaughan Williams’ Sixth Symphony is restless and compelling, quiet and questioning, and unconventional in its approach—with an epilogue rather than a finale, and each movement connected to the next by a single sustained note.

Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts

BRITTEN AND SCHUMANN

Thursday, May 10, 2018, 11 a.m. (Coffee Concert) / Orchestra Hall

Friday, May 11, 2018, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra

Michael Francis, conductor

Daniel Müller-Schott, cello

BRITTEN Sinfonia da Requiem

SCHUMANN Cello Concerto

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 6

Tickets: $29 to $96

OH+ Events

Pianist Bill Duna performs music from the Great American Songbook in the Target Atrium on Thursday, May 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m..

Encore Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Jerry Luckhardt, performs a concert onstage on Friday, May 11, from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.

For more information about these and other OH+ events, visit minnesotaorchestra.org/ohplus.

TICKET PURCHASING INFORMATION

Individual tickets can be purchased online at minnesotaorchestra.org or by calling 612-371-5656 or 800-292-4141. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Orchestra Hall Stage Door, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis (open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.); at the Minnesota Orchestra Administrative Office, International Centre, 5th floor, 920 Second Avenue South, Minneapolis (open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.); and at the Orchestra Hall Box Office, two hours before all ticketed performances. For more information, call 612-371-5656 or visit minnesotaorchestra.org. For groups of 10 or more, call 612-371-5662.

All programs, artists, dates, times and prices subject to change.

The Star Tribune is the Minnesota Orchestra’s media partner for the 2017-18 season.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.