Musician photos by Carl Socolow Photography

2012/13 HSO SEASON

“…an irresistible powerhouse performance” is how the New York Times described a concert by prize-winning pianist Alon Goldstein, who makes his HSO debut performing Rachmaninoff’s ever-popular Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini. Strauss’s dashing musical portrait of Don Juan and Schumann’s stirring Rhenish Symphony fill out the program.

Strauss: Don Juan

Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini

Schumann: Symphony No. 3 “Rhenish”

Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra’s whimsical co-production offers the perfect setting to introduce young children to music and dance. Whisked away to a make-believe world of zoological wonder, young Noah finds nothing ordinary or boring about his day. Full of buoyant melodies and vivid daydreams, Carnival of the Animals carries away the adventurous of all ages!

Five tremendous brass musicians - each a virtuoso in his own right - form the legendary Canadian Brass. With an international reputation as one of the most popular brass ensembles today, the Canadian Brass has truly earned the distinction as “the world’s most famous brass group.” We especially extend a warm welcome back to the group’s newest member, Eric Reed, who left his former position with the HSO Horn Section to join the CB in 2011.

Imagine the magic of the best illusionists, aerialists and acrobatic cirque artists performing on the same Forum stage with the Harrisburg Symphony. The famed Cirque de la Symphonie has sold out concert halls and showrooms around the world with their program of thrills, chills and edge-of-your-seat excitement! Buy your tickets early for this spectacular show.

The HSO is proud to present the winner of the third Rodney and Lorna Sawatsky Rising Stars Concerto Competition with cellist Julia Rosenbaum performing Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme. The high spirits of Haydn’s Symphony No. 102 and Shostakovich’s dynamic Symphony No. 6 round out the program.

Haydn: Symphony No. 102

Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 6

Pianist Rich Ridenour joins Stuart Malina, the Messiah College Concert Choir, the Susquehanna Children’s Chorale and the HSO for a memorable musical celebration of the holidays. We invite you to bring the whole family to enjoy this special concert of favorite seasonal music, all at family friendly pricing.

Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s thrilling Third Symphony will be performed for the first time by the HSO. The concert opens with the rousing Prelude to Wagner’s only comic opera and Chee-Yun makes her HSO debut performing the most romantic of violin concertos.

Wagner: Prelude to “Die Meistersinger”

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto

Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 “Sinfonia Espansiva”

Stuart Malina conducts one of the most beloved pieces in the repertoire, Rimsky-Korsakov’s technicolor symphonic suite, Scheherazade. The magical sounds of the harp are also featured as HSO Principal Harpist Rebecca Kauffman performs captivating masterpieces by Debussy and Ravel.

Dvorak: Othello Overture

Debussy: Sacred & Profane Dances

Ravel: Introduction & Allegro

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade

This annual tradition continues as the Maestro takes to the piano to perform with select “friends” from the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra.

After performing Tosca and La Bohème to rave reviews in recent seasons, Stuart Malina turns to Giuseppe Verdi’s most popular opera, La Traviata, for the March Masterworks. This tale of love, sacrifice and heartbreak will fill the Forum with beautiful melody and glorious singing. Concert version in Italian with English supertitles.

Respighi’s spectacular showpiece, The Pines of Rome, is paired with Mahler’s triumphant Fifth Symphony. Stuart Malina goes “full throttle” as the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra is heard in all its considerable glory in this Springtime Masterworks concert.

Join us on a journey through space and time as you hear sweeping themes and dynamic suites. Travel to the edge of the universe with music from the biggest and best science fiction movies and TV shows, including some of the most familiar music from Star Wars and Star Trek. May the force be with you!

Beethoven’s hymn to nature, the “Pastoral” Symphony, brings the season to an eloquent close. Popular pianist Jeffrey Biegel returns to the HSO to perform Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Millennium Fantasy and Liszt’s dazzling First Piano Concerto.

Zwilich: Millennium Fantasy

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1

Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral”

Stuart Malina conducts the HSO in a multi-media celebration of the immortal song-writing team of George and Ira Gershwin. Pianist Kevin Cole, vocalist and tap dancer Ryan Van Den Boom, and Grammy Award-winning vocalist Sylvia McNair will bring Gershwin’s music to life! Enjoy classic American songs, including The Man I Love, Summertime, and Love is Here to Stay, all while viewing rare Gershwin photos and home-videos. Rhapsody in Blue will be performed by Kevin Cole. A night of pure Gershwin, who could ask for anything more?