- Good evening from backstage at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis I'm Ariana Kim and this is Minnesota Orchestra.

The concert is about to begin and the energy here is palpable.

Tonight, we welcome renowned soloists, Benjamin Beilman for Szymanowski's first violin c Hailing from Warsaw, Szymanowski marries the avant-garde with Polish musical traditions to bring this rousing piece off Hector Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique," a towering and magnetic work that takes us from a grand ball to the countryside.

And then scenes of witches and sorcerers will close out tonight's program.

We begin this evening wit "Night Signal" by Toru Takemitsu performed by the Minnesota Orchestra Brass Musicians led by music director Thomas Son They will take the stage in just (dramatic orchestral music) - Feel the power of music a it captivates and connects us.

(dramatic orchestral music conti - Music is love.

(dramatic orchestral music conti - Music is passion.

(dramatic orchestral music conti - [Speaker] Music belongs to eve (dramatic orchestral music conti This is Minnesota Orchestra.

(dramatic orchestral music conti (audience cheers and applauds) ("Night Signal") ("Night Signal" continues) ("Night Signal" continues) ("Night Signal" continues) ("Night Signal" continues) ("Night Signal" continues) (audience applauds) - That was "Night Signal" by Toru Takemitsu.

with 11 Minnesota Orchestra bras led by Thomas Sondergard.

It's the second part of a piece called Signals from Heaven composed in 1987 in a style that dates back to Renaissance Italy when ensembles like that were often split in half, maybe in a cathedral or basilica We are live at Orchestra Hall with a Minnesota Orchestra on your classical NPR, Twin Cities, PBS, and streaming on the orchestra's YouTube channel and Facebook.

I'm Melissa Ousley in the radio and Ariana Kim is backstage toni Hey there, Ariana.

- Hey, Melissa.

It's so nice to - It is good to see you too.

That Takemitsu called "Night Signal" is antefinal fanfare for brass, and it's a reminder that fanfares aren't always loud and celebratory.

- Exactly.

I love those mystic qualities that Takemitsu brings to life.

And he kind of intersperses solo lines admits that choral like writing, there's kind of a solemnity to his fanfare that's really cap - I think it also sets things up beautifully for the violin concerto by Szyma that's coming up in just a momen I'm always curious how composers set up the solo instrument.

Sometimes, there's an orchestral introduction that's a couple of minutes and gives us kind of a sneak preview of themes.

Sometimes, nothing at all.

And in this piece, he creates this kind of magical world and takes us to another planet waiting for the first glimpse of this special guest.

- Precisely.

And looking at the opposite end of the piece, I love to tell people to listen out for his use of harmonics and extended techniques with fluttering double stops in the cadenza, the fantasy of those, perhaps even foreshadowing the drama that will unfold in the Berlioz later in the program.

- Ah, you must be referring to the "Symphonie Fantastique."

- Yes, ma'am.

- That is coming up.

I'm looking forward to that as w Ariana, thanks so much.

I hear the orchestra tuning now with Concertmaster Erin Keef.

- Excellent.

Nice to speak with - This Szymanowski is about 25 minutes long and once it gets going, there is When I asked Benjamin Beilman about that, he said he likes that structure because when there are breaks between movements, there's always the possibility that you lose the creative tension of the music or the relationship with the aud Now that said, even without any breaks, there are a ton of tempo changes, a lot of direction from the composer to indicate just what he's after And Benjamin described that as a of sort of imposed freedom.

So while he's following all of those directions, it should sound natural and at times, may be even improv to those of us listening.

Here is Benjamin now, Benjamin B making his third appearance with Minnesota Orchestra over the last five or six years.

Tonight playing the Szymanowski "Violin Concerto No.

1."

Thomas Sondergard, the conductor This is the first time these two are working together.

("Violin Concerto No.

1") ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu ("Violin Concerto No.

1" continu (audience cheers and applauds) (audience cheers and applauds) (audience cheers and applauds) (audience cheers and applauds) - An outstanding performance by Benjamin Beilman and the Minnesota Orchestra under the baton of music director, Thomas Sonder I'm Ariana Kim, and this is Minnesota Orchestra.

The audience here is buzzing from the first half of tonight's program.

We thought it would be fun to test the knowledge of some of our musicians in the for of a quiz show about composers and their works.

Play along at home and see how well you know the score.

- Hello, everybody, and welcome to Know the Score, the Minnesota Orchestra Quiz Show, where our contestants get to show off their knowledge of music and composers.

I'm Michael Sutton, your host and self-appointed concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra.

Let's meet our contestants.

First up, we have Emily Switzer.

Emily is a native of Denver, Col She's played second violin with the Minnesota Orchestra sin She loves words and languages and has what she says is stupidly long streak on Duolingo Currently 2,880 days, that's almost eight years.

That's longer than you've been a member of the orchestra.

Congratulations.

- Thank you.

- If you can name us a score that you're a fan of or at least a composer.

- Hmm, lots of composers, but at the moment, than listening to a lot of Ravel, particularly his "Mother Goose S which is just gorgeous, gorgeous orchestral writing - That tracks with the fac that you are fluent in French.

- Perfect.

- Sitting next to her is Sarah S There's a pattern here.

Sarah is Emily's sister.

Sarah's been a violist in the Minnesota orchestra since 2022.

Sarah designs and sews clothing for events like the Renaissance and perhaps the Symphony Ball.

Sarah, what's a score you've been listening to lately?

- I really like all of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's film scores, particularly the one from the 1937 "Robinhood" with Errol Flynn, which is a really great movie if anyone hasn't seen it.

- Hey, Switzer watching Swashbuckling, I love it.

And last but not least and unrelated to anybody else in is assistant principal cello Lukas Goodman, who grew up in Winchester, Massa It's just Boston.

He joined the Minnesota Orchestr Lukas is the proud papa t cats Bob Ross and Andy Warhol.

Lukas, what score i significant to you in your life?

- I like Brahms.

- Just, we're gonna go with Brah That doesn't narrow it down, but it doesn't have to.

Fantastic.

And over to my right is Kari Sundstrom on trombone.

Kari is a native of Sahalahti Fi and joined the orchestra in 1996 Kari owns a wood sauna on wheels Kari, how fast do you get that thing going?

- [Kari] You could take it up to maybe 65 miles per hour.

- Okay, but with people in it, maybe not, okay.

Kari, what's your favorite composer and score?

- Dmitri Shostakovich and his Symphony Number 11, 1905.

He's musical revolutionary.

- Absolutely.

Very cool, thank y - And how about you, Michael?

- Well, the interesting fact abo is that I'm the only member of the Minnesota Orchestra, formerly the Minneapolis Symphony that was born and raised in the city limits of Minneapolis.

We've got people from Minnesota and St.

Paul, but we're not gonna count them.

0 Who is your favorite composer, - My favorite composer is Richar not the waltz guy.

Richard Strauss and my favorite opera is Rose Cavalier.

All right, folks, are you ready?

Here's how this is gonna work.

I'm gonna read you the rules.

I'll ask a series of questions.

After each question, the first contestant to buzz in with a correct answer wins one p If an answer is incorrect, Kari will let you know.

(funky trombone warble) Like that.

A final speed round may determine the winner.

Each speed round question is worth two points.

The contestant with the most poi at the end of the game wins.

Let's play Know the Score.

(lively trombone music) All right, folks, are you ready?

Time for the first question.

Which composer is known for their large hands, which could span a 12.

Sarah.

- Sergei Rachmaninoff.

- [Michael] Absolutely.

(lively trombone music) - The reason that I know that is because of the comedy duo, Igudesman & Joo who did a skit entitled Rachmaninoff had Big Hands.

- I love that one.

We would've accepted Franz Liszt Moving on to the next question.

Question number two, what instrument plays pitches that sound an octave lower than the composer writes them in music?

Lukas.

- Bass.

- You are correct.

(lively trombone music) The Contra Basso was also a correct answer.

Bonus points for the instrument that sounds an octave higher than written.

- [Michael] Emily.

- Piccolo - Bingo.

- Oh.

- Nicely done.

- I didn't know that.

(lively trombone music) - Next question.

Which Minnesota Landmark, the composer Antonín Dvorak visi - Was this the same landmark not visited by a poet?

- There's no discussion.

- That wasn't part of the- - I'll ask the questions here, E Oh, Lukas.

- Fort Snelling.

- That is incorrect.

(funky trombone music) - Emily.

- Was it Minnehaha Falls?

- It was indeed.

(lively trombone music) Lukas, that was a good guess, Fort Snelling but- - [Lukas] Thank you.

- How did you come up with that?

- Just thinking about what would've been here in 1893.

- That's pretty much it.

And you know Fort Snelling and Minnehaha falls are not that far apart, but he came to Minneapolis.

He was living in Spillville, Iowa for the summer, being a head of a music school in New York City.

And he came up here, got on a street car in downtown, went straight down t Minnehaha Falls, walked around and wrote a musical theme o his shirt cuff that became part of his G major violin Sonatina.

- Wow.

Did not know that.

- How'd you know all that?

- It's on the card.

Next question.

Which former Minnesota Orchestra music director composed an orchestral piece called "The - Uh-oh.

- Skrowaczewski.

- That is incorrect.

(funky trombone music) - Thank you.

- It can't upend anyone that rec - Kari, do you know this one?

- Osmo Vanska.

- That is correct.

- Oh.

- Kari gets a point.

(lively trombone music) (all laugh) Osmo composed the bridge in 2008 in response to the 35 W Bridge collapse the year before.

He could see the bridge from his Several Minnesota Orchestra musi are also composers.

The one featured most recently on an orchestra program is Kari, who composed th chromatic fantasy for solo cello and played by Tony Ross at our chamber music concert in Well, how'd it go?

- He was awesome.

- Now, which composer appears on of the Washington DC version of the US Quarter released in 20 Was it Aaron Copeland, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin or Adolphus Hailstork?

- Duke Ellington.

- Bingo.

(lively trombone music) Bonus points if you know his act - I did at one point.

- That doesn't count.

Anybody?

His name was Edward Kennedy Elli Ed Kennedy.

- That would've been my second g (all laugh) - All right, our last question of this round.

In a full score of an orchestra which instrument is typically at the top of the page?

I think that was Lukas.

I need a ruling though.

(funky trombone music) I agree.

Lukas.

- The flute.

- Bingo.

- Let's go.

(lively trombone music) - I was gonna say piccolo actual - Well, you might be right.

If a piccolo is being used on the score, it would be above the flute.

Point also goes to Sarah.

(lively trombone music) - Thank you.

- That brings us to the end of t Let's tally up the points.

With three points, Lukas is in t Coming up in second place is Emily with two points and Sarah, two points.

But you all have a chance to win in this lightning round where each correct answer is worth two points.

(festive music) Thank you, Kari.

Are you ready?

Which composers depicted as Mozart's rival in the 1980 fi - Lukas.

- Tellier.

- Bingo.

What is the time signature of Lalo Schifrin's Mission Impossible main theme?

- Five four.

- Correct.

Which Beethoven Symphony is the with five movements?

Lukas.

- Six.

- Correct.

True or false?

The American composer's form was founded in Minnesota.

- I think it's true.

- You are correct.

The Minnesota orchestra's brand new CD recording features music by witch composer - Thomas Ades.

- That is correct.

That's the end of round two.

Let's have our judges tally up t (lively music) Sarah, you scored two points.

Lukas, you scored seven.

Which means with eight points, Emily is our winner today.

(lively trombone music) And that means you've won braggi - Thank you very much.

- So special thanks to our showc and resident trivia writer, Carl Schroeder, and Kari for bringing your tromb Our contestants, Lukas, Sarah, a and to all of you.

How well do you know the score?

(dramatic music) - Thanks.

- Thank you, sir.

Very cool.

(dramatic music) - I hope everyone at home had fun escaping into the world of a game show with our musician And ,now a musician portrait on Cheryl Losey Feder, our Minnesota Orchestra principal harpist, winner of the Alice Rosner Prize at the Munich ARD competition.

Losey joined the Minnesota Orchestra in 2024 and shares her love of music and the world it has opened for (ethereal music) - I love the intimacy of the har I'm basically hugging it when I'm playing it.

It's on my shoulder, my feet are on the pedals.

There's no intermediary between the instrument and yourself.

It's just my fingertips on the s I am Cheryl Losey Feder, and I'm the principal harpist of the Minnesota Orchestra.

(ethereal music) I like to think of the harp in the orchestra as the color palette of the orch We can contribute so many ways to just changing and shaping and adding color.

("Daphnis and Chloe") There are so many different soun and effects we can make like percussive short sounds.

Other times, I'm accompanying a playing a supporting role.

Very often, we are called on to do like a sweeping ascendo which sometimes sets a incredible mood in the orchestra (bright music) Some of our great repertoires really from WC and Ravel and Tchaikovsky has som incredible cadenzas for the harp The most famous one, of course, is "Waltz of the Flowers" from the Nutcracker.

But he also wrote beautiful Cadenzas in "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake" for the harp, and really just always gives us gorgeous material.

("Waltz of the Flowers") The first composer to really use the harp regularly in orchestra was actually Berlio Berlioz said that the harp speaks to the heart, unlike any other instrument, and that he likes to use that magic in his music.

(ethereal music) It really shows how he does use in Symphonie Fantastique to just create such a magical sparkling atmosphere.

(ethereal music continues) This is my personal harp that I keep at home, and this is as large as harps co It has 47 strings ranging from t to a high G up here.

And then what many people often don't realize is that there are also seven foo and the pedals move the discs.

You can kinda see them, the disc As I move the pedals, there's on for each note of the scale.

So my pedal farthest to the left It controls all the notes D, and these are these notes.

And right now my pedals and it's top position, so it's D (ethereal music) I move the pedal, same string is now D natural, move the pedal again and D sharp So at the start of a piece, I will set my pedals for whatever key we're in and then move them as I go.

So it really, the instrument really uses your whole body except actually my pinkies.

So we don't use our pinkies.

They just don't fit and reach th So traditionally, we just don't (gentle orchestral music) My mom actually decided I would play the harp, so I give my mom credit for that I grew up in Harpswell, Maine, which is kind of hilarious.

And I guess maybe why I ended up loving the harp.

I don't know.

It was a beautiful place to spend my childhood right on the Casco Bay.

My life was changed by my mentors in really every way, both Jara Goodrich when I was gr And then I studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with incredible harp Yolanda Kon They believed in me and showed me that I could be better and bigger than I thought possib - I knew from Cheryl's audition for the Cleveland Institute of M that she is a very, very special Even back then when she was probably not even quite 18 years old.

She had an innate musicianship.

Her technique was far beyond most folks her age.

And there was a warmth to her pl and her sound that was even more I'm just so proud of her.

(audience applauds) - The first international competition I did was the USA international compet which ended up being featured in the PBS documentary, "Harp Dreams."

Mostly, I just wanna make sure my fingers are moving.

They came to Cleveland, followed me around, filmed my lessons, and honestly, it was very intense.

(laughs) (ethereal music) A few days before graduation, I was lucky enough to, I went a job with the Sarasota O in Sarasota, Florida.

So that was my firs full-time orchestral position.

And it was also where I met my husband, Abe, and he was principal cello there We started work on the same day.

And from Sarasota, we had kind of a circuitous turn to Minneapolis kind of taking turns following each other for different positions.

We have two little boys, Sammy a who are six and three.

Sammy plays the cello and Andrew plays the violin.

All right, I'll give you your vi I think music is one of the best things we can do as a people.

And so of course, we should do it with our children.

You can just see how it stretches their mind and their body in such an amazin Their creativity, their confiden all of those things just grow exponentially every week with music.

And then of course, to have that opportunity to create something beautiful every time you sit down to work is just such a gift, and I'm so happy to give that to my children and also believe that should be an opportunity for every child.

I was very lucky as a teenager to join an orchestra that travels the globe and just seeing how in all these places, our reaction to music is exactly the same.

Music connects us all and brings us together in this shared expression of beauty.

- What's your D at the end?

- Abe and I love to play togethe but unfortunately there's so little music written for the combination, which is kind of baffling 'cause the cello and harp work so beautifully together.

(ethereal music) So Abe and I have transcribed some of the buck gamba suites that work beautifully on harp an We've also transcribed this Straus romance.

It's one of our favorite pieces to play together.

(ethereal music) Prior to our move to Minneapolis Abe and I were in Detroit, Michi where Abe was the assistant principal cello of the Detroit Symphony.

And after I was offered the position in Minnesota, we were just so thrilled and honored that Abe was asked to join the orchestra on a one year contract.

To both be making music together in Minnesota just feels beyond lucky.

I was able to go to Chicago to choose a harp at Lyon & Healy Harps, which is of the most incredibl instrument makers in the world.

Unfortunately, harps do depreciate over time.

The mechanisms, the wood, al these things kind of wear out, but it was a joy to find a harp for us here.

We are thrilled to have this incredible sansito here at Orchestra Hall.

It has this beautiful, rich soun that also has like a sparkle to that I think is gonna carry so lovely in the hall and project so well.

I also love the look of it that it has a very strong and modern presence that really suits our hall in our orchestra.

(ethereal music) Being a part of the Minnesota Or is a dream come true.

I've been dreaming almost as long as I can remember of being a part of a world class orchestra.

Having colleagues who have such and integrity every time they go on stage is so inspiring.

I must say it's even better than I dreamed.

(laughs) - How lovely to get to know Cher With its rich and ethereal sound the harp also has the ability to create a sense of peace.

Tonight, we remember Minnesota Orchestra life director, Kathy Cunningham, who passed away in September.

Kathy deeply loved music and was connected to our orchestra across five decades of service and generous support.

Here she is with our music director, Thomas Sondergard.

We dedicate tonight's performanc to our friend, Kathy Cunningham.

Our second half is about to begi with Thomas conductin Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.

I'll see you back on stage in just a few moments.

(instrumental music) (audience applauds) Hi everybody.

Welcome back to the Lindahl Audi here at Orchestra Hall.

We conclude tonight wit Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique a foray into the audacious 26-year-old composer's imagination, taking us on a vivid programmatic journey himself as protagonist.

In its most simple explanation, it's a fantastical retelling of obsessive love gone wrong.

Berlioz having fallen for a Shakespearian actress, Harriet Smithson, whom he later married.

Underneath that, however, are the intricacies of a complicated and stormy rela echoed in his writing.

We're taken from the countryside to a feverish dream telling of murder and the scaffold.

Dies Irae coming to bear its unmistakable identity.

And now the Minnesota Orchestra will perform the magical "Symphonie Fantastiq Here again is Concertmaster Erin Please enjoy the rest of your ev (audience applauds) ("gentle orchestral music") (audience applauds) ("Reveries - Passions") ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues ("Reveries - Passions" continues (audience applauds) ("A Ball") ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("A Ball" continues) ("In the Country") ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("In the Country" continues) ("March to the Scaffold") ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("March to the Scaffold" continu ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) ("Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" continues) (audience cheers and applauds) (audience cheers and applauds) (audience cheers and applauds) (audience cheers and applauds) (audience cheers and applauds) (audience cheers and applauds) - [Announcer] This is Minnesota Orchestra, is a partnership between Twin Cities PBS, YourClassical MPR, and the Minnesota Orchestra.

One of the nation's preeminent e Every year, tens of thousands of young people experience music at orchestra hall and audiences around the globe enjoy free access to digital con The Minnesota Orchestra, now led by Thomas Sondergard, has been bringing people together around music for generations.

More at minnesotaorchestra.org.

(audience cheers and applauds)