Icons and Anthems: Elgar and The Blue Danube

Enrique Diemecke, music director and conductor

Anthony Ross, cello

Johann Strauss Jr., An der schönen blauen Donau, op. 314 (The Beautiful Blue Danube)

Edward Elgar, Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 85 

Richard Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30 (Thus Spoke Zarathustra)

Prize-winning cellist Anthony Ross will leave his home as principal cellist of the Minnesota Orchestra to perform his compelling interpretation of Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto on the stage of Whiting Auditorium. A favorite among cellists, the piece rose to wide acclaim nearly 40 years after it premiered, when celebrity cellist Jacqueline du Pre released a recording in the 1960s. FSO will bookend the concerto with iconic pieces by Johann Strauss, Jr. and Richard Strauss. Strauss Jr.’s The Blue Danube is so well loved, in fact, that Austria adopted it as a second national anthem. The work by Richard Strauss has also been adopted as an anthem of sorts by sci-fi fanatics everywhere.

Where have I heard this before?

The 1998 film Hilary and Jackie, about Jacqueline du Pre and her sister, flautist Hilary du Pre-Finzi, underscores the tragic tale of the musician with some of her most renowned performances, including the Elgar Concerto. The Blue Danube and Also sprach Zarathustra are easily recognizable in Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Inside the Music: 6:30 pm 

Title: From a Cellist’s Vantage Point

Guest Speaker: Julie Ford Edwards, cellist (Flint Symphony Orchestra and Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra)

Anthony Ross, cello

Dynamic leader of the Minnesota Orchestra’s cello section since 1991, prize-winning cellist Anthony Ross has appeared as soloist many times with the Orchestra, performing all the standard cello concertos under Osmo Vanska, Edo de Waart and Eiji Oue. Equally passionate about new music, he has given powerful performances of Michael Daugherty’s Tales of Hemingway, James MacMillan’s Cello Concerto, Paul Moravec’s Montserrat, and he and his wife, cellist Beth Rapier, have championed David Ott’s Concerto for Two Cellos since 1993. Prior to assuming the principal role in Minnesota, Ross performed for four years as principal cello of the Rochester Philharmonic under David Zinman.

Winner of the prestigious bronze medal at the 1982 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Ross went on to gain the Stulberg Award, the G.B. Dealy Award and a prize in the Parisot International Cello Competition. He was awarded a McKnight Artist Fellowship, once as soloist and again in 2005 as part of the Ross Rapier Cello Duo. A graduate of Indiana University, where he studied with Fritz Magg, Ross earned another degree at the State University of New York, studying with Bernard Greenhouse and Timothy Eddy.

Supporting Sponsors

Dr. Mark and Genie Plucer

Joe and Patti Higgins

Age recommendation: No one under 5 admitted (including babes in arms)

Runtime: Approximately 2 hours 30 minutes

Including intermission

Sensory warning: Full band and loud volume.

Genesee County residents receive 30% off - discount applied at checkout.

Tickets start at $18 (plus fees)

Get Tickets