Internationally-renowned pianist Olga Kern joins the Orchestra for the Des Moines Symphony’s 87th Season Debut: The Emperor
9/20/2024DES MOINES, IA— The Des Moines Symphony (DMSO) will perform its 87th Season Debut: The Emperor at 7:30 PM Saturday, September 28 and 2:30 PM Sunday, September 29, 2024 at the Des Moines Civic Center (221 Walnut Street, Des Moines).
The concert will mark the start of DSMO’s 2024-2025 Masterworks Series. Kevin Day’s Lightspeed will open the concert before Olga Kern makes her debut with the Des Moines Symphony performing Beethoven’s bold “Emperor” Piano Concerto. In celebration of Bruckner’s 200th birthday, the concert will close with a performance of the composer’s majestic Symphony No. 7.
ABOUT OLGA KERN
With a vivid onstage presence, dazzling technique, and keen musicality, pianist Olga Kern is widely recognized as one of the great artists of her generation, captivating audiences and critics alike.
Born in Moscow, Russia, she began studying piano at age 5. She launched her U.S. career in 2001 at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, winning a Gold Medal—the only woman in the last fifty years to do so. She has since performed with top-tier ensembles, among them the St. Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.), Czech Philharmonic, and Filarmonica della Scala. She has also scored successes with Tokyo’s NHK Symphony, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Philharmonic, and Pittsburgh Symphony. She was a soloist on U.S. tours with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in 2018 and 2022, both of which were widely praised. She has also performed riveting recitals in Savannah, Fort Worth, Minneapolis, Poland, and Sweden. Locally, Ms. Kern performed a recital as part of Des Moines Civic Music Association’s Lauridsen Great Pianists Series.
Olga has served as a jury chairman of several high-profile competitions, including her own, the Olga Kern International Piano Competition, of which she is Artistic Director. A dedicated educator, she has been on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music since 2017, and in 2019, she was appointed the Connie and Marc Jacobson Director of Chamber Music at the Virginia Arts Festival. She also established Aspiration, a foundation that provides financial assistance to musicians around the world.
Olga Kern is a Steinway Artist whose well-regarded discography includes works of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Brahms, and Shostakovich. Olga’s iconic dresses are designed by Alex Teih (New York), and her jewelry is designed by Alex Soldier (New York).
SEASON DEBUT SIGNALS THE SYMPHONY’S THIRD ANNUAL ‘MACOMBER CONCERT’
The Harriet S. and J. Locke Macomber Des Moines Symphony Fund — a $5 million endowment — was established at the direction of Harriet Macomber upon her passing in 2020. The Macombers were lifelong Des Moines residents and regular supporters of the arts, and the Macomber Des Moines Symphony Fund, which is administered by the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, will enable the Symphony to create exciting, innovative programming designed to sustain and build the Symphony’s audience while growing the Orchestra’s artistic standard of excellence.
CONCERT TICKETS
Single tickets range from $20 to $80 and are available online through dmsymphony.org (up until two hours prior to performances) and at the Civic Center Ticket Office (515.246.2300), 221 Walnut Street, Des Moines; open 10 AM-5 PM Monday through Friday and two hours prior to performances. Single tickets, excluding student rush tickets, increase $5 on the day of the concert.
Student tickets are half-price in all sections and are available through the Civic Center Ticket Office with valid student ID. Student rush tickets, subject to availability, are $5 for junior high and high school students and $10 for all other students the day of the concert through the Civic Center Ticket Office. Tickets will be available at the door.
LEARN MORE
Audiences can learn more about the pieces performed during each Masterworks concert in the Symphony’s “DMSO Remix” podcast (get it on Spotify,Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts) or by attending free Concert Prelude Talks led by Dr. Eric McIntyre, Professor of Music at Grinnell College, 45 minutes prior to each Masterworks concert in the Prairie Meadows (East) Lobby.
Season Debut: The Emperor
Sat Sep 28 at 7:30 PM & Sun Sep 29 at 2:30 PM
Des Moines Civic Center
Joseph Giunta, conducting
Olga Kern, piano
Kevin DAY Lightspeed
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto “Emperor”
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7
(200th Birthday)
MORE INFORMATION
2024-2025 Masterworks concerts take place at 7:30 PM Saturdays and 2:30 PM Sundays at the Des Moines Civic Center (221 Walnut Street, Des Moines IA, 50309). For complete program details, please use the links below:
- Sep 28 & 29 Masterworks 1—Season Debut: The Emperor
- Oct 26 & 27 Masterworks 2—Lewis Plays Brahms
- Nov 23 & 24 Masterworks 3—Parker Plays Gershwin
- Dec 21 & 22 Holiday Brass Concert
- Dec 31 NYE Pops—The Doo Wop Project
Visit dmsymphony.org for complete season details. Find more information, including where to park and what to expect, at dmsymphony.org/about/plan-your-visit/
Visit us at Facebook.com/DMSymphony and Instagram.com/desmoinessymphony
For questions or interview requests, please contact Calla Whipp at calla@dmsymphony.org or 515.419.2124.
The Des Moines Symphony is a not-for-profit, professional orchestra formed in 1937 to enrich, educate and inspire the community by performing great orchestral music. The Symphony Association, governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees and operating on an annual budget of more than $4.6 million, supports the Symphony Academy and its numerous music education programs including four youth orchestras and supports the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra which performs seven pairs of Masterworks concerts, a Pops series including the traditional New Year’s Eve Pops, education, outreach and family concerts, and other special events in its home at the Des Moines Civic Center. The organization also produces and performs the Des Moines Symphony’s annual Yankee Doodle Pops concert in July on the grounds of the Iowa State Capitol which attract more than 100,000, the largest single-day attendance of any concert event in the State.
