LISE DE LA SALLE PERFORMS RAVEL’S PIANO CONCERTO WITH THE MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA; LUDOVIC MORLOT CONDUCTS

Seattle Symphony Music Director Ludovic Morlot conducts the Minnesota Orchestra in music by Dutilleux, Ravel and Prokofiev, April 27, 28 and 29

Pianist Lise de la Salle performs Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major

In concerts April 27 to 29 at Orchestra Hall, French conductor Ludovic Morlot makes his Minnesota Orchestra debut in performances that feature virtuoso pianist Lise de la Salle, also of France, as soloist in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major. Opening the concerts is Henri Dutilleux’s Sounds, Space, Movement, a work inspired by van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night. At the center of the program is de la Salle’s performance of Ravel’s Concerto, a piece which she performed in her debut concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra in 2008. Then, the Orchestra performs Prokofiev’s brilliant and thrilling Fifth Symphony.

The concerts are performed at the Orchestra’s home venue in downtown Minneapolis, Orchestra Hall, on Thursday, April 27, at 11 a.m.; Friday, April 28, at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, April 29, at 6 p.m., with ticket prices ranging from $29 to $96. Tickets are available online at minnesotaorchestra.org and by phone at 612-371-5656. For further purchasing details, refer to the section at the conclusion of this press release.

Lise de la Salle, piano

Lise de la Salle first came to international attention in 2005 when, at age 16, she released a Bach and Liszt recording that was chosen as Recording of the Month by Gramophone magazine. She has played with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including recent performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and with the Zurich Opera. Her most recent recording features five piano works by Rachmaninoff, performed with the Philharmonia Zurich and conductor Fabio Luisi. She has performed major recital series in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Montreal, Toronto, and at the Philharmonie in Berlin, Wigmore Hall in London and the Louvre in Paris. More: lisedelasalle.com.

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

French conductor Ludovic Morlot has been music director of the Seattle Symphony since 2011. During his tenure, the ensemble has won two Grammy Awards and earned acclaim for a performance at Carnegie Hall. He also makes regular appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. In Europe, he debuts this season with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in the closing concert of the prestigious Wien Modern festival, as well as with the Netherlands Radio and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras. He has conducted the Royal Concertgebouw, Dresden Staatskapelle, London Philharmonic Orchestra, DSO Berlin, Czech Philharmonic, Tonhalle, Budapest Festival and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestras. More: ludovicmorlot.com.

Dutilleux, Ravel and Prokofiev

Dutilleux coupled his love for the mysteries found in van Gogh’s famous painting, The Starry Night, with his own curiosities about light, clouds, stars and space to create his piece titled Sounds, Space, Movement. It is an emotive work with an unusual blend of voices: no violins or violas; fortified wind sections; and an abundance of deep, dark, low strings.

Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major opens with a jazz-spiced movement highlighted by a bravura cadenza and proceeds into a serene, sparsely accompanied Adagio. In the mischievous Presto with which it concludes, the piano chases the orchestra.

Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony is a monument to the composer’s genius and heart: written in a single month during the last year of World War II, it speaks of humanism rather than cynicism or angst. Among its hallmarks: simple, almost singable themes that contrast with tumultuous developments, and brilliant scoring for winds and percussion. Memorable, too, is the grieving third movement, Adagio, whose quiet closing moments are among the most beautiful in the symphony.

Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
LISE DE LA SALLE PLAYS RAVEL

Thursday, April 27, 2017, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, April 28, 2017, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, April 29, 2017, 6 p.m. / Orchestra Hall (Please note: early concert start time)

Minnesota Orchestra
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Lise de la Salle, piano

DUTILLEUX Sounds, Space, Movement (The Starry Night)
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G major
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5

Tickets: $29 to $96

TICKET PURCHASING INFORMATION

Subscription packages and individual tickets can be purchased online at minnesotaorchestra.org, or by calling 612-371-5656 (612-371-5642 for subscriptions) or 800-292-4141. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Orchestra Hall Box Office, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis (open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and beginning two hours before all ticketed performances); and at the Minnesota Orchestra Administrative Office, International Center, 5th floor, 920 Second Avenue South, Minneapolis (open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). For more information, call 612-371-5656, or visit minnesotaorchestra.org. For subscriptions, call 612-371-5642 or visit minnesotaorchestra.org/subscribe. 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 2016-17 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.