Beethoven's Emperor

On Sale July 1

Masterworks

Beethoven’s Emperor

Oct 25

Saturday

7:30 PM

Century II Concert Hall

featuring Michelle Cann, Piano

Carlos Simon’s Fate Now Conquers sets the mood for an evening of bold, brilliant performances. Inspired by Beethoven’s journals, it is a gripping and rhythmically charged response to the great composer’s defiance of destiny. Simon’s work crackles with urgency channeling Beethoven’s spirit in a voice that’s modern, bold, and uncompromising.

Celebrated pianist Michelle Cann then takes center stage at the Wichita Symphony Steinway with the tour de force that is Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto – “The Emperor.” A masterpiece of balance between the soloist and orchestra, it embodies Beethoven’s unwavering belief in the human spirit and solidifies his defiance of adversity, as heard in the opening work.

The evening concludes with sweeping drama and lyrical beauty in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. This symphony captures the full spectrum of human emotion through its lush orchestration, surging melodies, and vulnerable voice.

CARLOS SIMON Fate Now Conquers
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
featuring Michelle Cann
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 63

Michelle Cann is represented by Curtis Artist Management at Curtis Institute of Music.

About Michelle Cann

Lauded as “exquisite” by The Philadelphia Inquirer and “a pianist of sterling artistry” by Gramophone, GRAMMY® Award winning pianist Michelle Cann is one of the most sought-after artists of her generation. Recent engagements include appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, and the Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo. Her honors include the Sphinx Medal of Excellence and the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award. In 2024, she was named the inaugural Christel DeHaan Artistic Partner of the American Piano Awards, responsible for artistic oversight of the competition.

Cann holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Paul Schenly and Dr. Daniel Shapiro, and an Artist’s Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Robert McDonald. She joined the Curtis piano faculty in 2020 as the inaugural Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies. She is also on the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.

Michelle Cann is represented by Curtis Artist Management at Curtis Institute of Music.

Arrive Early for Concert Talks

If you’d like to learn more about the music in our concert programs, Concert Talks are just what you need! Before every Masterworks Concert, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra will present pre-concert talks which help prepare you and deepen your understanding of the music to be performed in the program. Sometimes our guest soloists even join Maestro Hege for a discussion of their concerto collaboration! Free to all ticket holders, Concert Talks take place in the Concert Hall one hour prior to each Masterworks performance.