Vancouver Symphony Orchestra season announcement features big names in strings and piano, new conductors, and a Brit fest

    1 of 3 2 of 3

      A Spring Festival devoted to Brits, a New Music Festival spotlighting to homegrown composers, and the local debut of several fast-rising conductors are just some of the highlights of the recently released Vancouver Symphony Orchestra 2016-17 season.

      Among the big names on the programs are pianists Emanuel Ax, Garrick Ohlsson, Alessio Bax, and Juho Pohjonen; violinists Baiba Skride, Simone Lamsma, Karen Gomyo, and Henning Kraggerud; and vocalists Adrianne Pieczonka, Susan Platts, Capathia Jenkins, and Ellis Hall.

      The 2017 VSO Spring Festival is to be themed "British Fantasy", focusing on great British composers and their most popular works. James Ehnes pulls triple duty at the event, conducting and playing both violin and viola, with three of the best-known English composers: Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten, and Vaughan Williams. Maestro Bramwell Tovey takes up the baton in a concert that features Gustav Holst’s The Planets, and Vancouver’s Ian Parker performs Richard Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto (from the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight). Among the other offerings, there’s also The Last Night of the Proms, with the Vancouver Bach Choir and the VSO.

      The January 2017 edition of the VSO New Music Festival will form part of the VSO’s contribution to Canada 150 anniversary celebrations, featuring a homegrown talent, alongside works of visiting composers.

      Among the visiting conductors debuting at the VSO will be Anu Tali, Cristian Macelaru, Karina Canellakis, and Mikhail Agrest.

      Legendary pianist Emanuel Ax will join Tovey for Ludwig van Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 16.

      Conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos will the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in celebrating the 35th anniversaries of Raiders Of The Lost Ark and E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial. Former VSO concertmaster Mark Fewer returns to perform Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

      The VSO's Subscription Renewals Campaign runs from March through to the Renewals Deadline of April 29th. New subscriptions can be ordered at any time through VSO Customer Service at 604-876-3434 and online beginning Wednesday, March 14 at noon. Single concert tickets go on-sale  August 22 at 10am through VSO Customer Service and online.

      Comments