Pre-concert lecture at 7:15.

Kenneth Kiesler, the 2011 recipient of The American Prize in Conducting, leads the opening concert of the Grammy Award winning University Symphony Orchestra, recently named winner of The American Prize in Orchestral Performance. Distinguished pianist and U of M faculty member, Louis Nagel is the soloist in the Third Piano Concerto of Beethoven. Two 20th Century works rooted in early music form the second half of the concert: Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, a beautiful work for two string orchestras and solo string quartet, and Respighi’s colorful and stunning orchestral showpiece, the Pines of Rome.

PROGRAM: Brahms - Tragic Overture; Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 3, Louis Nagel (piano); Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis; Respighi - Pines of Rome