Virginia Symphony Orchestra announces its 2016-2017 season

January 22, 2016

The Virginia Symphony Orchestra has announced the lineup for its 2016-17 classics season, including a collaboration with the Chrysler Museum of Art and the world premiere of a work by composer Kenneth Fuchs .

During the season, the VSO’s 96th and JoAnn Falletta’s 26th as music director, the orchestra will perform nine programs in venues in Norfolk, Newport News and Virginia Beach.

Falletta said in a statement: “The musicians and I look forward to a very special year. We want every concert to be an experience, and I hope to see both familiar and new faces in our audiences this season.”

The world premiere will come in March 2017, when Fuchs and Falletta present a collaboration that began 30 years ago when they were students at the Juilliard School. “Poems of Life,” based on the poems of Judith Wolf, was written for VSO principal cellist Michael Daniels and his brother, countertenor David Daniels.

The museum collaboration will come earlier in the month. While the Chrysler Museum features the work of French post-impressionist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the VSO will focus on French works that paint their own images.

Here are the programs:

Russian Fireworks, Sept. 23, Ferguson Center for the Arts, Newport News; Sept. 24, Chrysler Hall, Norfolk; Sept. 25, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach. Falletta, conductor; Conrad Tao, piano.

Borodin: “Polovtsian Dances”; Stravinsky: “Petrouchka”; Rachmaninoff: piano concerto No. 3.

Latin Rhythms, Oct. 21, Ferguson Center; Oct. 22, Chrysler Hall. Falletta, conductor; Celil Refik Kaya, guitar.

Works by Gershwin, Ponce, Moncayo and Revueltas.

Beethoven’s symphony No. 5, Oct. 30, Sandler Center. Danny Matsukawa, bassoon and conductor.

Includes Prokofiev’s “Classical Symphony,” Mozart’s bassoon concerto.

Handel’s “Messiah,” Dec. 16, First Baptist Church of Newport News; Dec. 17, Harrison Opera House, Norfolk.

“The Four Seasons,” Jan. 20, 2017, Ferguson Center; Jan. 21, 2017, Chrysler Hall; Jan. 22, 2017, Sandler Center.

Vivaldi’s masterpiece, with works by Monteverdi and Biber.

A Night at the Movies, Feb. 10, 2017, Ferguson Center; Feb. 11, 2017, Chrysler Hall; Feb. 12, 2017, Sandler Center. Falletta, conductor; Elina Vähälä, violin.

Herrmann: “Vertigo Suite”; John Corigliano: “Chaconne From the Red Violin”; John Williams: “Theme from Schindler’s List”; Copland: “Suite from the Red Pony”; Gershwin: “An American in Paris.”

Pictures at a French Exhibition, March 3, 2017, Ferguson Center; March 4, 2017, Chrysler Hall; March 5, 2017, Sandler Center. Falletta, conductor; Alon Goldstein, piano; VSO Chorus (women).

Debussy: “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”; Saint-Saëns: piano concerto No. 2; Debussy: “Nocturnes”; Roussel: “Bacchus et Ariane Suite No. 2.”

Tchaikovsky’s symphony No. 5, March 17, 2017, Ferguson Center; March 18, 2017, Chrysler Hall; March 19, 2017, Sandler Center.

Griffes: “Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan”; Kenneth Fuchs: “Poems of Life”; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

Verdi’s Requiem, April 7, 2017, Ferguson Center; April 8, 2017, L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center, Norfolk; April 9, 2017, Sandler Center. Falletta, conductor; VSO Chorus.