LSO - Classics with a Twist

 

Lansing Symphony’s Music Director, Timothy Muffitt, has a knack for programming a concert that is interesting, unpredictable but always a pleasure to listen to.

Saturday’s (March 19, 2022) performance was a perfect example. It opened not with an overture or a cute ditty, but with an 11-piece wind, harpsichord and percussion ensemble standing in a semicircle, to play the beguiling Suite Francaise by Poulenc.

It was a bold and refreshing programming choice.  The ensemble played this charming and humorous neo-classical work beautifully. The seven movements gave the listener a broad variety of musical styles to enjoy.  The musicians performed with a lovely blend.

The Philadelphia, 2 Maestros and Tuba Shine

 

The storied relationship between the Philadelphia Orchestra and the University Music Society (UMS) in Ann Arbor goes back to 1913 when they first appeared there under the baton of Leopold Stokowski.  The orchestra’s triumphant return to Ann Abor last weekend (March 11-12, 2022) marked their 269^th and 270^th performance at Hill Auditorium.

The orchestra’s residency at UMS this year had many reasons to attract a big audience. The first of the two concerts was helmed by conducting phenom and Philadelphia’s music director Yannick Nezet-Sequin, the orchestra’s principal guest conductor, Nathalie Stutzmann who is also a rising star, conducted the second concert, and the featured soloist was the brilliant tubist Carol Jantsch, who happens to be an alum of the University of Michigan, playing a new work by Wynton Marsalis.

Because of this stellar line up, Hill Auditorium which seats 3300 was nearly full at both concerts, despite COVID fears.