Pianist Yefim Bronfman, musical theater star Audra McDonald and pianist Yuja Wang are just a few of many world-class musicians slated to perform with the orchestra next season.

By Rob Hubbard

For the Minnesota Star Tribune

April 18, 2023 at 5:01PM

Thomas Søndergård begins his tenure as the Minnesota Orchestra’s new music director in September. (Chris McDuffie/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Thomas Søndergård isn't all that's new at Orchestra Hall. Yes, the Dane will begin his tenure as the Minnesota Orchestra's music director in the fall, and he'll bring along a host of changes.

The orchestra announced its 2023-24 season on Tuesday, and there's good news for those looking for a cheap date on Saturday night — those concerts will have a "Choose your price" option. They'll also start earlier (7 p.m.), so you will still have much of the evening ahead of you afterward.

Oh, is that still too late for you? Well, Søndergård also will be conducting some Saturday afternoon concerts and sticking around to chat with the audience afterward.

In addition to classical concerts, there will be pops offerings, films accompanied by the orchestra, one-hour concerts, chamber music, concerts for kids and families, sensory-friendly programs, and wellness-oriented concerts. For those who prefer to stay home, there's some livestreaming, too.

Some of the most promising performances of the season:

September: Søndergård launches his tenure with two weeks of concerts, the first program featuring two Richard Strauss works sandwiched around a Mozart Oboe Concerto with soloist Nathan Hughes (Sept. 21-23), the second featuring some transporting French fare from Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel (Sept. 28-30).

October: This orchestra makes the symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich deeply involving experiences, as you'll likely find when Juraj Valčuha conducts the composer's Fifth on a program that also features a trombone concerto by Scottish composer James MacMillan with Jörgen van Rijen as soloist (Oct. 13-14).

November: In addition to what should be a richly entertaining evening with one of America's greatest musical theater stars, Audra McDonald (Nov. 4), the orchestra also will host one of the classical world's hottest pianists, France's Bertrand Chamayou, performing Camille Saint-Saëns' Fifth Piano Concerto. His recording of that with the French National Orchestra won the Gramophone Award for Recording of the Year in 2019.

December: Søndergård will celebrate his first Minneapolis New Year's with the outstanding pianist Stephen Hough (or Sir Stephen to you, as of last year), who will solo on Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" (Dec. 31-Jan. 1).

January: A Søndergård-led, all-English program features not only Edward Elgar's "Enigma" Variations, but a magnificent violinist, Augustin Hadelich, soloing on Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto (Jan. 5-6). Then Søndergård leads his first "relaxed family concert" (Jan. 7).

February: Longtime music director Osmo Vänskä probably didn't get to conduct nearly as much new music as he would have wanted during his 19 years here. So he's cutting into the deficit on a program that features commissions from the orchestra by Anders Hillborg and Kevin Puts and two bass concertos with Nina Bernat as soloist (Feb. 22-24).

March: Pianist Yuja Wang is a star edging up toward superstar status. She'll solo on Béla Bartók's Piano Concerto, the centerpiece of a program in which Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu leads works by Rachmaninoff and Kaija Saariaho (March 29-30).

April 2024: Søndergård conducts music of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms in a program that also features concertmaster Erin Keefe soloing on Max Bruch's First Violin Concerto (April 11-13, 2024).

May 2024: Violinist Christian Tetzlaff is always an insightful interpreter. He'll be the soloist for Brahms' Violin Concerto with conductor David Afkham, who also leads the orchestra in works by Henri Dutilleux and Bartók (May 30-June 1, 2024).

June 2024: If you've never heard pianist Yefim Bronfman, you should. One of the great classical pianists of our era, he'll solo on a Beethoven Concerto (No. 4), between David Robertson conducting works by Adolphus Hailstork and John Adams (June 7-8, 2024). Then Søndergård concludes the season with a series of Pride programs with works by lesbian and gay composers (June 20-22, 2024).

Packages of three or more concerts are available, with single tickets available on Aug. 4. Ages 6 to 18 can get free admission to several concerts. Visit minnesotaorchestra.org or call 612-371-5642.

Rob Hubbard is a Twin Cities classical music writer. Reach him at wordhub@yahoo.com.