Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

I’ve been attending the MSO for years. Performances tend to be hit or miss. Sometimes the musicians play with an energy that brings the hall to life, and other times they seem lackluster. Sometimes the programming is very good, and other times I wonder what the artistic director was thinking.
Uhlein hall has treacherous rows of seating; there are no aisles. I would like the MSO to get its own hall soon– one that is much more accessible to its older patrons. Ushers for the hall, which are not employed by the symphony itself, have never wowed me with their customer service. They consistently let people into the halls after a performance has started, and at times they have been so absorbed with their conversations amongst each other that I had to announce myself to get them to hand me a program.
You will spend at least 30 minutes waiting to get out of the parking garage after a performance.

Hey Milwaukee… listen up! I’m about to spit some truth atchya.
We’re SO lucky to have to MSO here in Brew City.
So, I may be biased because I dig classical music and grew up playing the violin… but I’m no band nerd, and I’m certainly not current in my practice, so there’s that.
Here’s the thing: classical music is awesome and generally highly underrated or just plain ignored by those unfamiliar with the genre. Like metal? You’ll like classical. Like using your brain? You’ll like classical. Music nerd? Love math rock or Rush or whatever? Give classical a chance. (Though, to be clear, the MSO isn’t only about old dead white dudes with names like Bach and Liszt…)
Here’s what the MSO brings to our community’s collective table:
+world class musicians (mad talent, mad discipline)
+diverse programming: classical (different eras/​composers/​regions) as well as contemporary and Pops offerings
+a commitment to community; you’ll find ‘em out and about, playing at Colectivos and other various events throughout the year
+culture, class, and an opportunity to explore something new and have a new experience
Additionally, the MSO now has a social group called Crescendo; they rock events and are all about connecting you with the symphony, so keep an eye out for their stuff on the world wide interwebz, or hit ‘em up if you’re even slightly interested in checking out the MSO.
If you’ve never been, I highly suggest taking a chance on a new thing.
(Here’s a great analogy from the president of the MSO, paraphrased) «Think of it this way: you can set up a fan in your basement, sit on your stationary bike, play engine noises on youtube and throw on your „Bad to the Bone“ 45, or you could actually ride a motorcycle.» Going to see the symphony? Like riding the motorcycle.

Unilocal sponsored an elite event on Thursday, May 14^th, 2015 at the symphony. The composers featured on this night were Ludwig Van Beethoven, Vivian Fung and Maurice Ravel.
Now, Beethoven’s my jam. Well, Mozart is my jammiest jam, but Beethoven is a close second. Für Elise, the original love song*? Yes, please, but not tonight. Tonight we were treated to selections from The Creatures of Prometheus, a piece I was not previously familiar with and Symphony No. 8 in F major, a piece I have heard a time or two before. As usual, two very beautiful pieces of music.
With The Creatures of Prometheus, I felt an intensity, very much like I feel when I listen to Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony. The difference being that this was a more positive, uplifting, warms-​your-​heart intensity, versus that of the brooding and apprehensive 5^th with it’s sporadic moments of happiness. As I listened to TCP, I very easily pictured people and cartoon animals, a la Disney’s Fantasia, frolicking to the music as I made up scenarios in my head and it was lovely.
With Symphony No. 8, I could picture the various movements as pieces of a movie soundtrack; a Meg Ryan-​type romantic comedy…
Vivian Fung was new to me. I had never heard of her before this night. The piece selected was her Violin Concerto. At first, I wasn’t feeling it too much but, as the piece continued, I started to enjoy it more. For the most part, it sounded like a mixture of crickets and space ships. It was very progressive and what many might consider «out there». The solo violinist, Kristen Lee, was amazing and made her violin hit notes that I did not know were possible.
Maurice Ravel was also new to me, but then, I don’t know of many French composers other than Berlioz and Debussy. For the most part, the movements were upbeat and positive, but there were a few times when the music turned a bit somber. Later, I learned that each movement was dedicated to a friend of the composer who had died in World War 1. History lesson aside, it was very enjoyable to listen to and I think I should listen to more.
Any time someone (or, as in this case, many someones) can do something better than me, they get 5 stars. As a former clarinetist, I know how much time and effort it takes to practice to the point of perfection. Job well done, symphony!
*I use the word song very loosely
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Although my wife and I have attended a few concerts at MSO, we brought our kids here for their first classical symphony orchestra performance.
First off, the seats were great. I don’t believe there is a single section in the theater that has bad seats. So don’t fret too much over where to sit — just find a good priced open seat and go for it!
Second, we expected the kids to get bored after a while, but they were captivated during the entire performance. They loved every minute of the performance!
Third, the ushers and the rest of the staff is very friendly and helpful. I observed them attend to many elderly guests’ needs and patiently dealt with seating issues.
The one issue I have is the food situation. During intermission long line forms to purchase drinks or snacks from the one station setup to serve the audience. The beverage and food options are rather limited. It would be great if there were more stations and more choices.
Overall a great experience! Milwaukee is fortunate to have a musical destination like MSO. Hope more people come and enjoy its performances.

The Milwaukee Symphony is a real gem in the crown of Milwaukee arts. I was able to experience the MSO tonight playing Barber, Bernstein and Prokofiev in an all 20^th Century program. The guest conductor was Andrew Litton, who was quite a show by himself, and the piano soloist was William Wolfram.
The opening piece was Samuel Barber’s Overture to The School for Scandal, a lively piece that set the pace for the concert. Maestro Litton is a very active conductor, all but dancing as he led the orchestra tonight. The second piece on the program was Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 «The Age of Anxiety.» Bernstein based his work on the epic poem, «The Age of Anxiety» by W.H. Auden that was published in 1947. The final presentation on the program was the Symphony No. 5 in B-​flat Major of Sergei Prokofiev. It was written in 1944 about the time the allies were landing in Normandy. It was a rousing success in Russia and in the United States and is considered by some to be the pinnacle of Prokofiev’s career.
The MSO did a masterful job in performing these works tonight, and I cannot say enough about William Wolfram who has complete control over the complex piano component of Bernstein’s symphony.
Many people have no concept of the significance of the MSO which is a shame — this is a Milwaukee asset to be fully enjoyed.

We saw Tchaikovsky’s Fifth last night, and it was fantastic! Lecce-​Chong conducted without a score, and proved his mastery without it. The second movement was very moving it has been a while since I’ve gone to see the MSO, and I hope to return again soon!

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is a very talented group of musicians and we are lucky to have them here.
I enjoyed the Gershwin Favorites: Porgy, Bess & More concert recently. Having seen many performances on Broadway and at Lincoln Center in NYC, I was so pleased to be able to enjoy such high caliber performing arts here in Wisconsin.
The guest conductor and singers were really talented. The best part of my experience was buying a ticket on the day of the performance and sitting in the front row. For $ 25. That was a WIN!
I grew up attending this symphony with my parents and am happy to see it’s continued success.

Ok, I’ll admit it — as a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, I’m a tad biased about the quality of our MSOrchestra.
I LOVE singing with this Orchestra! Not only do they have amazing talent & flexibility in their playing, but the Orchestra members are genuinely nice people. Often times, orchestra members & chorus members in other cities remain in their own world, seldom interacting with each other. Here, the opposite is the case. Singers and Orchestra members will regularly converse with each other, and both sides are glad to have the other during performances.
I’ve sung with both the Milwaukee & Houston Symphonies, and attended many more orchestra-​only concerts. I can say hands down that Milwaukee would beat Houston in a Orchestra-off…pass the word — the MSO is FANTASTIC!

I took my brothers to the kinder concert (jungle jazz) two weeks ago and we had front row seats, which I learned can be bother a bad and good thing. The orchestra was good. Not great, just good. The story teller and the singer however were amazing… and the saxophone player, they are all what made the performance great… but the rest of the orchestra seemed dead. Maybe they all had late Saturday nights?

Regrettably, we were running late and missed the pre-​concert lecture and first half of Carmina Burana :(as MSO does not seat patrons once the show has begun, we were relegated to the Atrium Bar until intermission.
We were able to catch the concert on closed circuit t.v. while enjoying libations; i was beginning to think I’d much rather catch the concert from the bar to enjoy more libations.
We did make it to our seats for the second half and proceeded to immerse ourselves in a «sitting up in your seat» concert.

I’m somewhat puzzled by the previous review… it seems to be the reviewer didn’t quite know the program she was getting into… it sounds so terrible, I felt compelled to look it up, from the MSO’s website, here’s the description: «It’s Mardi Gras Weekend and you’ll find the greatest jazz band in the land not in New Orleans but in Milwaukee! Join us as we spice up a Wisconsin winter weekend with three concerts from the „Big Easy“ and help chase the winter blues away.»
This sounds utterly terrible, for sure… but even the largest and most well respected orchestras do lame programs… I’d hate to see someone pay good money to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra without bothering to see that they’re paying to see a «Haunted Halloween» concert.
That being said I’ve seen this orchestra several times over the past couple years and they are consistently stellar. This groups is, in every way, a professional symphony orchestra which attracts world famous classical music stars and currently has highly respected music director (Andreas Delfs) and perhaps an even more highly regarded music director designate in Edo de Waart.
In the 2008 – 2009 season Renée Fleming and Itzhak Perlman will be performing concerts — two giant names in the industry. Nothing to shake a stick at. Plus they’ll be doing Mahler’s 8^th Symphony.
You can hit up their website at
to hear some recordings — they have a few available for (paid) download that are great.
Pre-​concert lectures are generally informative, the ushers are helpful, as are the box office staff.
The one gripe I have is that the cheap seats in the «Rear Loge» are absolutely terrible in terms of both sightlines and sound (many time these cheap seats may have a terrible view but the sound quality is excellent — not so here).
I would strongly recommend that if you’re on a budget to sit in the «Front Orchestra» section — the sound balance is absolutely fine and assuming you can get a bit further back (row E) the sightlines are fine too.
I know enough about classical music that I know a good group (and a bad group) when I hear one. The MSO is a good one — do not hesitate, for a second, catching a concert.

I actually saw them at the Marcus Center for a Mardi Gras extravaganza of sorts. The main purpose for going was to see the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, but little did I know it was a mashed production to merge the passionate, life-​long musicianship of the veteran players of New Orleans with the Milwaukee symphony.
The question that kept running through my mind was, «Do these people actually get paid to play?»
I was disappointed from the get-​go. I’ve seen and heard theatre orchestras play better, with more skill, more passion. I don’t know how long they’ve had to rehearse, but the timing was terrible and there was no real cohesiveness. Well, scratch that. There were moments where things sort of came together, but over all I was wishing none of them were on stage and that they would let the Preservation Hall Jazz Band do what they do best. Many times I got the impression that a lot of them just didn’t want to be there. It was like watching a highschool band. Come on, people! This is a professional gig. Don’t you LOVE music? Isn’t that why you’re doing it?
The Gershwin was terrible. It couldn’t end soon enough. I don’t hate Gershwin. In fact, there are some Gershwin tunes that I really enjoy. But I felt that the selections didn’t quite play to the strengths of the sleepy orchestra.
I’m sorry to say, but I think a chunk of the blame might be the new resident conductor. I guess people love his lively, bubbly spirit (and he did have a cute sense of humor), but I had no idea what he was doing up there. He could very well have just been some guy simply dancing in the middle of the music, gesturing off time and without purpose, not really connecting with the musicians. I wanted so much for him to really hold his orchestra together. But it just didn’t happen.
There were some moments that shined. The trombonist had life and pep. The surly female percussionist was fantastic. Her accents with each stroke and her conviction and passion to the music was quite refreshing.
Hey, I’m no expert. But I’ve seen and heard orchestras and individual musicians that would blow this group out of the water. And I’ve seen conductors who were the heart and soul of the music, the general that led his troops to victory. [Note: If you want to see some fire from an amazing, young conductor, check out Gustavo Dudamel!] Perhaps it was an off night because it was a Mardi Gras celebration and this group was allowed to be laid back and in casual clothes. At least, I hope that’s the case. Milwaukee’s not a little neighborhood town; what I saw was not what I would expect from a city’s main symphony.
I feel horrible for being harsh. But I was very surprised and almost heartbroken that this marred the musical experience I was hoping to have. Had they been an excellent orchestra, I think the idea would have been marvelous, but I was missing the soul. I am glad that we did get a little bit of the Preservation Hall guys sans orchestra towards the end. That’s when they really popped and the true spirit and love of music came forth and the evening was not completely lost.
One more thing. It completely baffled me to hear audience members on different occasions comment on how the Preservation Hall Jazz Band didn’t have music stands, and how they weren’t used to seeing musicians with instruments that were so much a part of them.
One particular comment was, «Are they going to do all improv or something?!» This coming from a 50-​something «lady» with her pressed-​pant leg hiked up, her pointy shoe propped on the balcony railing for what I assumed to be a nonchalant yet «empowered» pose, and carelessly dropping Mardi Gras beads to the floor causing a hazard for those that may just have to squeeze past her girth to go to the bathroom. And of course, she didn’t bother to pick up the beads. So, like the «gentleman» I am, I picked them up for her and said, «Ma’am, you dropped your beads.» Barely a «thank you» later, I wished I’d whipped them in her face.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only fine person to question the methods of the Pres Hall guys with their «improv» and lack of music stands. :O !!! I feel like even the audience was missing the real point of music… Gah!