Kicking off this legendary season, Canton Symphony Orchestra celebrates a significant milestone! Our Music Director, Gerhardt Zimmermann, has served in this role for FORTY YEARS! To commemorate this achievement, we are filling this season with Gerhardt’s favorites.

We will begin with American composer Lowell Liebermann’s Revelry, Op. 47. Composed during a vacation to Rome following his divorce, this fun, lighthearted piece was inspired by the street music of Carnevale. This piece will be followed by Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, played by our featured soloist, Jinjoo Cho, a brilliant and world-renowned violinist. Considered a staple of violin music, this Romantic-style piece flows with beautiful, soaring melodies over lush orchestrations. As a charismatic female solo artist, a vibrant and engaging chamber musician, a devoted teacher, an innovative artistic director, and a published writer, Jinjoo is redefining what it means to be a consummate classical artist in the modern society.

“Jinjoo’s playing is a work of marvel…how this young violinist masters the breathtakingly crossed touch of the intimacy and drama, and still understands to maintain the highest precision, is truly glorious”
– Süddeutsche Zeitung, München, Germany

After intermission, we will also honor the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birthday by presenting his Wellington’s Sieg, Op. 91, inspired by the famous battle between the Duke of Wellington and Josef Bonaparte. This work features a grand percussion section, imitating the sounds of the battle with bass drum, ratchets, and snare. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­The piece’s groundbreaking use of the percussion section changed its function in western composition thereafter.