Baltimore Symphony: Florence Price & Shostakovich
In person: $25-$80 | Stream: $9.99
- Michelle Cann, piano
- Eva Ollikainen, guest conductor
Florence Price — Piano Concerto in One Movement (Michelle Cann, piano)
Dmitri Shostakovich — Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47
Shostakovich's transcendent Fifth Symphony uses the coded language of musical irony that was off limits in the repressive Soviet regime. The trailblazing Finnish conductor Eva Ollikainen conducts this nuanced score with characteristic thoughtfulness, and her steady hand navigates the turbulent scenes from Britten's dark tale of social isolation. Michelle Cann, a leader in the revival of Florence Price’s long-overlooked canon, is known for delivering a "stirring and authoritative performance" that maximizes the "technical sparkle and probing humanity" of Price's action-packed concerto (The Philadelphia Inquirer).
About Michelle Cann, piano
Lauded as "exquisite" by The Philadelphia Inquirer and "a pianist of sterling artistry" by Gramophone, Michelle Cann has become one of the most sought-after pianists of her generation. She made her debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2021 and has recently performed concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, and Cincinnati.
Recognized as a leading interpreter of the piano music of Florence Price, Cann performed the New York City premiere of Price's Piano Concerto in One Movement with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra in July 2016 and the Philadelphia premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin in February 2021. Her recording of the concerto with the New York Youth Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2023 for Best Orchestral Performance. Her acclaimed debut solo album Revival, featuring music by Price and Margaret Bonds, was released in May 2023 on the Curtis Studio label. She has also recorded two Price piano quintets with the Catalyst Quartet.
Cann was the recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization. She also received the Cleveland Institute of Music's 2022 Alumni Achievement Award and the 2022 Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award.
https://www.michellecann.com/