May 13, 2017

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra will perform two unforgettable works in a weekend of concerts conducted by Music Director Leonard Slatkin: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, including the famed “Ode to Joy” last movement, and John Corigliano’s Mr. Tambourine Man song cycle, inspired by the lyrics of Nobel Prize-winning musician and poet Bob Dylan.

The concerts will take place Thursday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 19 at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 20 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, May 21 at 3 p.m. at Orchestra Hall, within Midtown Detroit’s Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center.

These will mark Maestro Slatkin’s final subscription series performances of the 2016-2017 Season, though he will return on June 6 for a special concert held in conjunction with the League of American Orchestras national conference to take place in Detroit from June 6-8.

Both works on the May 18-21 program were composed in part by adapting written poetry. The well-known final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is inspired by and quotes Friedrich Schiller’s poem “Ode to Joy,” and Mr. Tambourine Man uses the lyrics of several Bob Dylan songs to create music quite different from the Dylan originals.

Soprano Hila Plitmann returns to the DSO as featured soloist for Mr. Tambourine Man. The UMS Choral Union and soprano Rachelle Durkin, mezzo-soprano Abigail Nims, tenor Sean Panikkar, and bass Peixin Chen will perform alongside the DSO for Beethoven’s Ninth.

The Friday evening performance will be webcast for free via the DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series. DSO fans can view the webcasts anywhere, on any device, at dso.org/live.