By DSO
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) welcomes back Carlos Miguel Prieto—recently named Musical America’s Conductor of the Year—for performances of two of the most beloved works in the classical repertoire: Brahms’s Violin Concerto with acclaimed soloist Christian Tetzlaff and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, which begins with one of the most recognizable passages in all of music.
Christian Tetzlaff is one of the most sought-after violinists of his generation, celebrated for reinterpreting familiar works and drawing attention to forgotten masterpieces—including Joseph Joachim’s Violin Concerto, of which Tetzlaff is regarded as the leading champion
The concerts will take place Thursday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, December 7 at 10:45 a.m., and Saturday, December 8 at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall, within Midtown Detroit’s Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center.
Carlos Miguel Prieto was born into a musical family of Spanish and French descent in Mexico City.
A graduate of Princeton and Harvard universities, Prieto studied conducting with Jorge Mester, Enrique Diemecke, Charles Bruck, and Michael Jinbo. He is recognized as a highly influential cultural leader in Mexico and has served as Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México—the country’s most prominent orchestra—since 2007. The following year he was appointed Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, which performs a two-month long series of summer programs in Mexico City. In the United States, Prieto has served as Music Director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra since 2006.
As a guest conductor, Prieto has led many of North America’s top orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and others; he enjoys a particularly close and successful relationship with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Since 2002, alongside Gustavo Dudamel, Prieto has conducted the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, which draws young musicians from the entire American continent. A staunch proponent of music education, Prieto served as Principal Conductor of the YOA from its inception until 2011, when he was appointed Music Director.
Prieto is renowned for championing Latin American music and has conducted over 100 world premieres of works by Mexican and American composers, many of which were commissioned by him. His extensive discography includes several releases for Naxos and Sony, as well as a recent album of works by Bruch, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn with violinist Philippe Quint and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería (on Avanticlassic). An earlier recording with Quint and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, a 2009 Naxos release including Korngold’s Violin Concerto, earned a Grammy Award nomination. In 2013, Prieto released a 12-DVD set of live recordings of the complete Mahler symphonies as part of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería’s 35th anniversary season.
One hour prior to each performance, guests are invited to enjoy an informative onstage Concert Talk about the program. These lectures and discussions will be made available for later viewing on the DSO’s YouTube channel.
The Friday morning concert will be webcast for free at dso.org/live and via Facebook Live, as part of the DSO’s groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series. The series is presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Thanks to a generous grant from the FCA Foundation, the charitable arm of North American automaker FCA US, the DSO welcomes military veterans, active military, and their families to access discounted tickets for the 10:45 a.m. performance on Friday, December 7. Discounts are available for 19 concerts throughout the 2018-2019 Season, including six Friday evening PNC Pops Series concerts and every Friday morning Classical Series Coffee Concert. The FCA Foundation and the DSO thank our veterans and active military members for their service.
The DSO Classical Series is generously sponsored by PVS Chemicals, Inc. Additional support for these concerts is provided by Beaumont Health.
