The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Stéphane Denève.
In Smile Politely (Champaign-Urbana, Illinois), Kathleen McGowan writes, “On Sunday March 29, the St. Louis Symphony played a concert … at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts…. Their program featured two works by Beethoven and two works by contemporary composers, Moni (Jasmine) Guo and Kevin Puts. The orchestra began with the Consecration of the House Overture … The two contemporary pieces that followed make the case that symphonic music has a bright future. Moni (Jasmine) Guo’s the sound of where I came from (2025) was inspired by the sound of her grandmother calling her as a young child. The two themes in the piece are based on the sound of her grandmother calling her name and of her calling her grandmother’s name back, and they make their way across the orchestra. … Guo assigns evocative nature sounds to the different instrument group… Kevin Puts’ Concerto for Orchestra (2023) likewise offered the orchestra members a chance to play in different combinations … The oboe is clearly Puts’ preferred solo instrument, though he gives other instruments the spotlight occasionally…. The two contemporary pieces really show off the STL Symphony at its best in a contemporary symphonic setting.” The program also featured soloist Víkingur Ólafsson in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5.
