The Minnesota Orchestra has announced a last-minute switch for concerts this Friday and Saturday.
Classical Music Hall of Fame pianist André Watts, an Orchestra Hall favorite for five-plus decades, is sick with the flu and unable to fulfill his duties as soloist for Beethoven's ever-popular "Emperor" Piano Concerto. Replacing him will be 23-year-old Kenny Broberg, a Minneapolis native (he went to Washburn High School) and winner of the silver medal at the prestigious 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas.
Broberg is unknown to most Minnesota music lovers, though he made his Minnesota Orchestra debut in 2010 playing Saint Saëns' "Carnival of the Animals" for a series of family concerts.
Winning the Van Cliburn was a big deal for the young pianist. Founded in 1962, the Van Cliburn is one of the world's most prestigious piano competitions, attracting entrants from around the world. Broberg's 2017 performance put him back on Minnesota Orchestra's radar.
"There will be a lot of pressure on him, substituting on such short notice," said Minnesota Orchestra spokeswoman Gwen Pappas. "But the orchestra will be pulling for him."
Pappas pointed out that Watts launched his career in similar fashion. "Watts was 16 when he was asked by Leonard Bernstein to replace Glenn Gould, who was sick, in performances with the New York Philharmonic," she said.
Everything else about the week's program remains the same: Broberg opens the program with Beethoven; Finnish conductor John Storgårds presides over Shostakovich's hefty 10th Symphony, the composer's recollection of surviving the Stalin years.
Concerts are scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. For tickets, call 612-371-5656 or visit minnesotaorchestra.org.
