May at the VSO

Spring at the VSO features a strong line-up of guest artists, great classical repertoire, fun Symphony Pops, matinees, and a range of concerts for children and families. This month includes such prominent artists as violinist Nicola Benedetti, pianists Barry Douglas, Stewart Goodyear and Darrett Zusko, and Motown specialists Radiance.

Nicola Benedetti is one of the brightest, most talented stars in the Classical world and she makes her welcome return to the VSO to perform a rarely heard but exciting violin concerto, the subject of her 2004 BBC Young Musician of the Year award. Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama will lead the orchestra in Bruckner’s romantic masterpiece Symphony No. 4.

Barry Douglas is truly an extraordinary musician, having studied piano, clarinet, cello and organ while growing up in Belfast. In 1986 he became the first non-Russian to win gold in the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition since Van Cliburn in 1958. Douglas will conduct and perform in a concert that features Mozart’s thrilling little G minor symphony and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.1.

Deeper into the Spring, the VSO presents a thrilling Russian concert featuring two of the most exciting and popular works in all of the Russian repertoire: Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 and Khachaturian's Gayane and Sabre Dance. Raved about by critics and audiences alike, Canadian pianist Darrett Zusko is rapidly establishing himself as one of the leading artists of his generation.