“The Grand Rapids Symphony on Wednesday unveiled its 2017-18 season, the first planned season under new music director Marcelo Lehninger,” writes Maddie Forshee in Wednesday’s (2/15) Grand Rapids Press (Michigan). “The symphony will return to Carnegie Hall in April 2018—nearly a dozen years after its debut there. The Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus will travel along with the orchestra for the first time. Lehninger said the upcoming season is focused on ‘variety.’ … The season includes classical favorites, including music from Ravel, Holst, Mozart and an all-Tchaikovsky program…. The Grand Rapids Symphony will perform ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ in September of this year and ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ in the spring of next year…. Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire … [will perform] Villa-Lobos’ ‘Monoprecoce.’ … [Violinist Sarah] Chang … will open the symphony’s 2017-18 season with its ‘West Side Story Suite for Violin and Orchestra’ arranged specifically for her…. [Pianist Gabriela] Montero [will be] the soloist for Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 as part of Lehninger’s all-Tchaikovsky program.” Also planned are Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, and six pops concerts.
Posted February 16, 2017
