NSO: Joseph Young conducts 'Romeo & Juliet' | Michelle Cann plays Florence Price

National Symphony Orchestra

Saturday, June 10, 2023 @ 8:00pm – 10:00pm (EDT)

Concert Hall at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, United States

$19-$109

Michelle Cann, piano
Joseph Young, guest conductor

Antonín Dvořák — Othello, Op. 93, B. 174
Florence Price — Piano Concerto in One Movement (Michelle Cann, piano)
Sergei Prokofiev — Suite from Romeo and Juliet (extended suite)

Two of today's brightest classical stars make their NSO debuts! Michelle Cann performs Florence Price's Piano Concerto in One Movement—a work she's championed to great acclaim. Alongside references to Brahms and Beethoven, listeners will recognize allusions to African American spirituals, call-and-response song, and the syncopated juba dance rhythms.

Then, Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony Joseph Young conducts Shakespeare's tale of star-cross'd lovers in selections from Prokofiev's masterful ballet score.

This program will receive performances on Thu. Jun. 8 at 7pm; and Sat. Jun 10 at 8pm.

About National Symphony Orchestra

https://www.kennedy-center.org/nso/home/

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/