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Ticket Price$20-80Students Half Price
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Duration2hrs 10minOne intermission
- Saturday, September 28, 2024 7:30PM — Des Moines Civic Center
- Sunday, September 29, 2024 2:30PM — Des Moines Civic Center
Season Debut: The Emperor
Classical tradition meets innovative spirit in the Symphony’s Harriet S. and J. Locke Macomber Season Debut Concert! Kevin Day’s Lightspeed kicks off the concert with kaleidoscopic textures and futuristic soundscapes. The renowned Olga Kern brings the bold spirit of Beethoven’s Emperor Piano Concerto to life. Bruckner’s majestic Symphony No. 7 is a concert finale like no other.
DMSO Remix Podcast
Learn more about the program on the DMSO Remix Podcast: Classical Conversations, hosted by Dr. Eric McIntyre.
Community Partnership with Varsity Theater
Join us at the Varsity Theater for a screening of Dead Poet's Society on Saturday, September 22! The film prominently features Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto.
Masterworks 1 Program Notes
30 SECOND NOTES: Kevin Day is among the youngest of the remarkable generation of gifted American composers bringing new voices and renewed energy to the concert hall. At just 28, he has composed hundreds of works that have been performed internationally, received numerous honors, conducted, performed, led a professional organization, and been commissioned to write an opera for premiere on Juneteenth 2025 in Cincinnati. Day’s vibrant Lightspeed opens the Des Moines Symphony’s 2024-2025 season. Ludwig Van Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto, one of his most masterful works, was composed during the upheavals of the Napoleonic invasion of Vienna. The orchestral works of Austrian composer, organist and teacher Anton Bruckner have been called “cathedrals in sound” because of their vast proportions and heaven-reaching sonorities. Bruckner waited years to have his works accepted, and he finally won his first success with the Seventh Symphony, premiered when he was sixty years old.
Event Sponsors
Exclusive Sponsor
- These concerts have been made possible by a generous gift from the Harriet S. and J. Locke Macomber Des Moines Symphony Fund
Joseph Giunta Conductor
One of America’s most distinguished, versatile and dynamic conductors, Joseph Giunta is a musician of international acclaim. He is recognized as an important American conductor for his innovative programming and for his compelling interpretations of traditional and new music. His musical depth combined with his boundless energy and contagious enthusiasm makes him one of the most respected and successful orchestra leaders in the United States.
Olga Kern Piano
With a vivid onstage presence, dazzling technique, and keen musicality, pianist Olga Kern is widely recognized as one of the great artists of her generation, captivating audiences and critics alike.
In 2001, she launched her U.S. career at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, winning a Gold Medal—the only woman in the last fifty years to do so. She has since performed with top-tier ensembles, among them the St. Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), Czech Philharmonic, and Filarmonica della Scala. She has also scored successes with Tokyo’s NHK Symphony, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Philharmonic, and Pittsburgh Symphony. She was a soloist on U.S. tours with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2018 and 2022, both of which were widely praised. She has also performed riveting recitals in Savannah, Fort Worth, Minneapolis, Poland, and Sweden.
In the 2022–2023 season, she appeared with the Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Ireland’s National Symphony Orchestra, and Colorado Symphony. She performed recitals at the Minnesota Beethoven Festival and the International Piano Festival of Oeiras as well as in Brno and Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic; Virginia Beach; Chicago; and San Francisco. Engagements in the 2023–2024 season include performances of Rachmaninoff’s monumental four concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Austin Symphony and with Virginia Symphony Orchestra, a nationally broadcast New Year’s concert with the Czech Philharmonic, and tours of South Africa and Asia.
Olga has served as a jury chairman of several high-profile competitions, including her own, the Olga Kern International Piano Competition, of which she is Artistic Director. A dedicated educator, she has been on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music since 2017, and in 2019, she was appointed the Connie and Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music at the Virginia Arts Festival. She also established Aspiration, a foundation that provides financial assistance to musicians around the world.
Her well-regarded discography includes works of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Brahms, and Shostakovich.
