Minnesota Orchestra and YourClassical MPR's broadcast partnership continues for the 2026-27 season. This page features a schedule of the upcoming concerts that you can hear on YourClassical MPR, and when possible, on-demand audio of the performance available for 30 days after the broadcast. Bookmark this page for updates throughout the season!
On Friday, Nov. 6, audience favorite Jon Kimura Parker returned to Orchestra Hall to play Swedish composer Anders Hillborg’s seamless MAX Concerto, written for Emanuel (Manny) Ax and titled after a shortened version of his name: M. Ax. Then, Thomas Søndergård led the orchestra in Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, a work the composer began writing in 1901 while on holiday in Italy. Listen to the concert now!
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Jon Kimura Parker, piano *
EDVARD GRIEG Selections from Norwegian Dances
ANDERS HILLBORG Piano Concerto No. 2 (MAX Concerto) *
JEAN SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2
Meet YourClassical MPR's Melissa Ousley
Previous Concerts
Minnesota Orchestra performs Haydn and Liszt with Simon Trpceski
When Franz Liszt saw that the language of music was changing, he felt that forms should change, too. His Piano Concerto No. 2 is constructed in six musical scenes, and on Friday, Oct. 22, pianist Simon Trpčeski and the Minnesota Orchestra brought the piece to life in a program that also featured Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 6 — a piece that quotes Martin Luther and was written to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession. Listen to the concert now!
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Jaime Martin, conductor
Simon Trpčeski, piano *
JOSEPH HAYDN Symphony No. 6 (Le Matin)
FRANZ LISZT Piano Concerto No. 2 *
Encore: SERGEI PROKOFIEV Piano Sonata No. 7 Op. 83, Mov. III Precipitato
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 5 (Reformation)
Minnesota Orchestra performs Ifukube, Glazunov and Mussorgsky
Born in 2011, violinist Himari has been described as a “once-in-a-generation” talent. She was 13 when she made her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic. Now, it’s your turn to find out what makes her playing so extraordinary in this Minnesota Orchestra program featuring guest conductor Kahchun Wong. Next, imagine yourself in a Russian art gallery as music dramatically unleashes a collection of paintings in Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Listen to the concert now!
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Kahchun Wong, conductor
Himari, violin *
AKIRA IFUKUBE Dance of the Seven Veils, from Salome
ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV Violin Concerto *
MODEST MUSSORGSKY/MAURICE RAVEL Pictures at an Exhibition
Minnesota Orchestra and Sondergard open new season with pianist Kholodenko
The world premiere of Stravinsky’s first ballet, The Firebird, made him famous overnight. For the Minnesota Orchestra’s season-opening celebrations, the creativity of video designer and director Tal Rosner adds thrilling dimension to Stravinsky’s luminous score. Also on the program, Van Cliburn Competition gold medalist Vadym Kholodenko’s technical brilliance will dazzle in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Enjoy pictures from the season premiere below!
Upcoming Broadcasts
Friday, Nov. 13 — Nordic Soundscapes Festival: Vänskä, Chen and Nielsen
The flags of Finland and Denmark fly high with the Violin Concerto by Osmo Vänskä’s beloved late friend, Jaakko Kuusisto, and the last symphony by Carl Nielsen. At first, Nielsen thought it would be “completely idyllic” in character, a Sinfonia semplice. When it was finished 16 months later, he wasn’t sure the name still made sense. Come discover its complexities alongside the Minnesota Orchestra.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Stella Chen, violin *
OUTI TARKIAINEN Songs of the Ice
JAAKKO KUUSISTO Violin Concerto *
CARL NIELSEN Symphony No. 6 (Sinfonia semplice)
Friday, Nov. 20 — Elgar and Dvořák
Minnesota Orchestra’s special guest for this concert — mezzo Sasha Cooke — compares Elgar’s Sea Pictures to entering a painting by J.M.W. Turner: “They are very dark and murky, but beautiful with radiant, shimmering light.” They’ll ease audiences into Antonin Dvořák’s nature-infused Symphony No. 8, composed when one of his biggest fans, Johannes Brahms, said that Dvořák’s head was “full of ideas.”
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Dinis Sousa, conductor
Sasha Cooke, mezzo
KAIJA SAARIAHO Ciel d’hiver
EDWARD ELGAR Sea Pictures *
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8
Friday, Dec. 18 — Handel’s Messiah
Dame Jane Glover — a specialist in Baroque-era and vocal music — returns to Orchestra Hall to lead the Minnesota Orchestra and various special guests in Handel’s Messiah, a piece that has been an integral part of her decades-long career.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Jane Glover, conductor
Lauren Snouffer, soprano
Clara Osowski, mezzo
Eric Ferring, tenor
Michael Sumuel, bass-baritone
Minnesota Chorale
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Messiah
Friday, Jan. 1 — A New Year’s celebration with the Minnesota Orchestra
The 47 strings of the harp are notoriously difficult to keep in tune, something that is not evident when listening to Principal Harpist Cheryl Losey Feder play with the Orchestra each week. This time, she makes her debut as soloist in dances by Debussy. After intermission, hear how Ravel builds excitement as the theme from his Boléro makes its way around the Minnesota Orchestra.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor
Cheryl Losey Feder, harp *
CLAUDE DEBUSSY Danse sacrée et Danse profane
CLAUDE DEBUSSY Ibéria from Images *
ISAAC ALBENIZ/FRÜHBECK DE BURGOS Selections from Suite Española
MAURICE RAVEL Boléro
Friday, Jan. 8 — Mozart, Haydn and Shostakovich
Conductor David Afkham leads a program spanning the emotional range from Mozart’s thrillingly theatrical Don Giovanni Overture to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8, a profound reflection on suffering and hope. Cellist Zlatomir Fung makes his Minnesota Orchestra debut with Haydn’s radiant Cello Concerto in D major. The youngest artist to win first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, Fung combines dazzling virtuosity with exquisite sensitivity, establishing him as one of the most exciting rising stars of his generation.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
David Afkham, conductor
Zlatomir Fung, cello *
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Overture to Don Giovanni
JOSEPH HAYDN Cello Concerto in D Major *
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8
Friday, Jan. 22 — Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Sergey Khachatryan was 15 when he became the youngest-ever winner of the International Sibelius Competition. Now a seasoned professional, he’ll play Tchaikovsky for his Minnesota Orchestra debut. John Corigliano believes that music enables us to keep the people we’ve lost alive in our thoughts. This deeply personal symphony, composed when the AIDS epidemic was rampant, explores the excess of rage and the tenderness of remembrance.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, conductor
Sergey Khachatryan, violin *
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto *
JOHN CORIGLIANO Symphony No. 1
Friday, Feb. 12 — Søndergård, Hadelich and Prokofiev
In this Fire and Water Minnesota Orchestra program, the heat comes from a Dante-inspired ballet by Thomas Adès and Augustin Hadelich’s ability to make Sergei Prokofiev’s music sear itself into your consciousness. The water flows from Claude Debussy’s childhood fascination with the sea and an orchestral interlude from Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes that deepens our understanding of the story and its characters.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin *
THOMAS ADÈS Inferno Suite
SERGEI PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 1 *
BENJAMIN BRITTEN Passacaglia from Peter Grimes
CLAUDE DEBUSSY La Mer
Friday, Feb. 19 — Lunar New Year Concert
Celebrate the Year of the Goat with conductor Molly Turner and the Minnesota Orchestra! Lunar New Year marks the beginning of spring, with all the color and festive moods of the season of rebirth. Family traditions and themes of unity and health take center stage in this vibrant and compelling program.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Molly Turner, conductor
Silver Ainomäe, cello *
Ziniu Zhou, bass
Fei Xie, artistic consultant
JI SOO LEE Arirang Rhapsody
TAN DUN Crouching Tiger Concerto, for Solo Cello and Orchestra *
IGOR STRAVINSKY Fireworks
SUNGHYUN LEE Clockworks and Fireworks
GRACE ANN LEE Tiger's Pipe
TRADITIONAL Chinese Folk Song Selections
AN-LUN HUANG Saibei Dance from Saibei Suite No. 2
Friday, March 12 — Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky
Sergei Rachmaninoff’s fascination with bells dates to his childhood, when his grandmother would take him to town on church festival days. That special sound permeates his rarely performed choral symphony, The Bells. At the center of these Minnesota Orchestra concerts, First Associate Concertmaster Susie Park takes the spotlight in Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 2 — the composer’s last major work — in her first solo concerto collaboration with Music Director Thomas Søndergård.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Susie Park, violin *
Felicia Moore, soprano
John Matthew Myers, tenor
Daniel Okulitch, bass-baritone
Minnesota Chorale
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Hamlet, Fantasy-Overture
KAROL SZYMANOWSKI Violin Concerto No. 2 *
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF The Bells
Friday, April 2 — Keefe, Shostakovich and Ravel
The role of concertmaster requires many non-musical skills: leadership, diplomacy and confidence, among them, and for 16 years, Erin Keefe has demonstrated them all. Hearing her tackle the demands of Shostakovich’s first violin concerto is a reminder that she’s an extraordinary soloist, too. The second half of this Minnesota Orchestra program presents one of the most brilliant depictions of daybreak ever composed in Ravel’s ballet, Daphnis and Chloé.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Lionel Bringuier, conductor
Erin Keefe, violin *
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1 *
FLORENT SCHMITT The Tragedy of Salome
MAURICE RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloé
Friday, April 9 — Beethoven Symphony No. 7
The first few minutes of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 hold so much promise, it’s hard to imagine how he could possibly sustain that level of intensity. He does exactly that with an exquisitely structured symphony of dances. Violinist Veronika Eberle makes her Minnesota Orchestra debut alongside first-time guest conductor Anja Bihlmaier in performances of Karl Hartmann’s Concerto funebre, an emotional work that embodies resistance, remembrance and resilience.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Anja Bihlmaier, conductor
Veronika Eberle, violin *
RICHARD WAGNER Overture to Tannhäuser
KARL HARTMANN Concerto funebre *
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7
Friday, April 16 — Ross, Beethoven and Sibelius
In this Minnesota Orchestra program of real and imagined heroes, audiences meet Lemminkäinen, a star of Finnish mythology. In the eyes of Sibelius, he was “fair of cheek and comely beneath his brows.” Then, Principal Cello Anthony Ross’ artistry is a perfect fit for Bloch’s concerto Schelomo, which depicts the cello as the “voice” of the biblical King Solomon.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Elias Grandy, conductor
Anthony Ross, cello *
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont
ERNEST BLOCH Schelomo: Rhapsodie hébraïque *
JEAN SIBELIUS Lemminkäinen Suite
Friday, April 30 — Søndergård conducts Future Classics
The future of classical music will be stronger if we nurture the next generation of creative minds. In the Composer Institute, some of the nation’s top emerging composers experience a week-long residency with Thomas Søndergård and the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra. The week is capped off by this concert, when they (and Minnesota audiences) experience the thrill of hearing their pieces played brilliantly.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Kevin Puts, host and Composer Institute director
TBD
Friday, May 8 — Puccini’s Tosca
Puccini’s impeccable sense of timing and detail allows him to tap into our rawest emotions, capturing attention and illuminating the complexities of his title character, Tosca, a gifted, temperamental opera singer who lives her art for God. This story of passion and tragedy is filled with powerful moments, including her despairing aria “Vissi d’arte,” as she struggles to come to grips with what is happening around her, showcasing why Puccini remains one of opera’s greatest composers more than a century later. Offered as part of the Sound Unbound series — a multi-year series offering highly visual, imaginative treatments in the concert hall — this production will feature creative direction from Adam Larsen, who will incorporate lighting design and digital projections to create atmospheric, immersive experiences for audiences.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Adam Larsen, creative director
Ailyn Pérez, soprano (Tosca)
Joshua Guerrero, tenor (Cavaradossi)
Gevorg Hakobyan, baritone (Scarpia)
Brandon Cedel, bass-baritone (Angelotti)
Minnesota Chorale
Angelica Cantanti Youth Choirs
GIACOMO PUCCINI Tosca
Friday, May 14 — Gershwin Concerto in F
Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, whose playing has been called “calmly commanding” and “unfailingly subtle” by The New York Times, makes her debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in a program that embraces the blues with George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. Then, Wynton Marsalis’ playful concerto for the entire orchestra that is structured around the language of jazz.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano *
CARLOS SIMON Hellfighters’ Blues
GEORGE GERSHWIN Concerto in F *
WYNTON MARSALIS Concerto for Orchestra
Friday, June 4 — Dvořák Symphony No. 7
After Dvořák composed his first set of Slavonic Dances, his publisher was desperate for more. He liked that they were short, popular and lucrative. While Dvořák understood the attraction, he was determined to follow his own North Star with his Symphony No. 7. Minnesota Orchestra’s Principal Bassoon Fei Xie takes on a new concerto by Puts that was co-commissioned by three orchestras, including your Minnesota Orchestra.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Fei Xie, bassoon *
SOOMIN KIM World Premiere (MinnOrch Commission)
KEVIN PUTS Bassoon Concerto *
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7
Friday, June 11 — Søndergård conducts Mahler Symphony No. 5
Thomas Søndergård draws attention to Burleske, Richard Strauss’ only work for piano and orchestra with decorated soloist Yeol Eum Son making her Minnesota Orchestra debut. There are many great moments in Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, including a moving Adagietto which some scholars have described as a love letter to his wife, Alma.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Yeol Eum Son, piano *
WITOLD LUTOSŁAWSKI Variations on a Theme by Paganini
RICHARD STRAUSS Burleske
GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Thursday, June 17 — Juneteenth with the Minnesota Orchestra
Kellen Gray conducts this annual Minnesota Orchestra Juneteenth concert that honors the rich legacy of Black artistry and creative expression.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Kellen Gray, conductor
Imani-Grace Cooper, vocals
DUKE ELLINGTON King of the Magi, from Three Black Kings
FLORENCE PRICE Juba, from Symphony No. 3
MARY ANN COOPER/BRUCE GREER Blessed Assurance
DUKE ELLINGTON/BRUCE GREER Caravan
MARGARET BONDS Prayer Meeting, from Montgomery Variations
BILLY STRAYHORN/GERI ALLEN Lush Life
WILLIAM GRANT STILL Autochthonous, from Symphony No. 4
Friday, July 16 — Beethoven and Barber
Nature is at the core of this program as Samuel Barber elevates a poem by James Agee to conjure nostalgic childhood memories of long summer evenings. Then, the Minnesota Orchestra will wander the countryside with Beethoven as he captures how it feels to listen to a nearby brook, gather with friends and experience a thunderstorm in his Pastoral Symphony.
Program
Minnesota Orchestra
Molly Turner, conductor
Ellie Dehn, soprano *
JEROD IMPICHCHAACHAAHA’ TATE Pisachi (Reveal)
SAMUEL BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral)
Minnesota Orchestra - Listening Project will be recorded to be post produced on another date.
When the Minnesota Orchestra launched its Listening Project in 2021, our goal was to present and record top-notch performances of music by underrepresented composers—in other words, to share music that many of us were not hearing. The project continues this season with Music Director Thomas Søndergård and soprano Janai Brugger.
‘Thomas Søndergård: Taken by the Sound’
Melissa Ousley joined Minnesota Orchestra music director Thomas Søndergård in his native Denmark in 2024 to explore some of the most important places in his life. Join them as they walk through his memories, musical and otherwise, in this documentary short.
‘Celebrating a Century on the Airwaves’
On most Friday nights, no matter where you are in the state — or in the world, for that matter — you can look forward to tuning into YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio to hear a live concert. From a radio debut in 1923 under Bruno Walter to television transmissions in the 1950s and the ensemble’s unprecedented international broadcast from Havana in 2015, the orchestra has always been on the forefront of finding new ways to connect audiences with music.
Reflecting on 100 years of radio broadcast history, MPR host Melissa Ousley sat down with historian John Michel, technical director Michael Osborne and former broadcast host and current orchestra staffer Brian Newhouse for a spirited retelling of this vital history.
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment‘s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
Love the music?
Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.
Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.
YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.
