Momentum – the 99th season of the Madison Symphony Orchestra

The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s (MSO) 99th season continues in November at Overture Hall with “Momentum,” which sees crowd and orchestra favorite Garrick Ohlsson return for his long-awaited eighth performance. Guest conductor Michael Stern, hailed by the Atlanta Journal as “a dynamic force on the podium, conducting with exaggerated gestures and powerful mannerisms,” makes his MSO debut. Stern opens the show with Rush for Orchestra by Jonathan Leshnoff, a rousing and electrifying piece that builds a tremendous amount of energy throughout. Then, with sublime mastery, Ohlsson performs Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, a romantic masterpiece imbued with the spirit of his Norwegian homeland. The concert will conclude with Dmitry Shostakovich’s powerful Fifth Symphony, which he humbly described as “a Soviet artist’s practical response to legitimate criticism” in a subtle and bitter reaction to Joseph Stalin’s Russia.

Performances of “Momentum” will take place on Friday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, November 17 at 2:30 p.m. at Overture Hall, 201 State Street.