New DPO season rolls from Beethoven to rock

DAYTON — Beethoven will not be rolling over in response to at least some of the Dayton Philharmonic’s 2012-13 series.

He may twitch a few times to learn that the anti-stodgy DPO will present another four-part “Rockin’ Orchestra” series in addition to a six-concert people-pandering SuperPops lineup.

The season theme, “Imagine,” refers in part to one of the “Rockin’” concerts, “The John Lennon Experience,” as in the Lennon song “Imagine.”

But Beethoven is the solid, certain and passionate centerpiece. All five of his piano concertos will be showcased between the season-opening Classical Series concert in September and the “Beethoven Weekend Festival” April 11-13, 2013.

The cycle measures his progression as a pioneer of the Romantic Era and showcases the interplay between the opposing forces of orchestra and piano.

The monumental composer and pianist will also have a humanizing presence on the Family Series in the production “Beethoven Lives Upstairs.”

Featured piano soloists will include Terrence Wilson, Sara Davis Buechner, who has an amazing active repertoire of more than 100 piano concertos, and Norman Krieger, who will tackle Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 on April 11, the No. 5 two days later and both works on the day in between.

Music by Strauss, Respighi, Mozart, Brahms, Berlioz, Rossini, Weber, Copland, John Adams, Sibelius, Glinka, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff and Britten will be heard in the Schuster Center or, up close and almost in the round, for the Symphony Sundaes programs in the Masonic Center.

Modern composer Michael Daugherty, whose electric guitar concerto “Gee’s Bend” was part of a March 2010-11 program, will be represented again with “Troyjam,” which combines poetry and orchestra to tell the story of the Battle of Troy. The same concert will include an interlude from the Berlioz opera “Les Troyens.”

Trombonist Haim Avitsur will sound the shofar (ram’s horn) during Meira Warshauer’s “Tekeeyah” (“A Call”) on the Jan. 10 and 12 concerts.

Besides Lennon, in a concert conducted by Gittleman, Rockin’ performances will feature the music of Michael Jackson, The Doors and the Beach Boys.

SuperPops headliners will be circus and cirque performers, two-time Grammy winner Rita Coolidge, a pair of divas from the Broadway smash “Wicked,” stars from “Dancing With the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” and jazz guitarist-singer John Pizzarelli.

Singer-songwriter Pam Tillis, daughter of country superstar Mel Tillis, will perform with the orchestra in a special event. Among other one-time specials: a chamber concert of works by Debussy and the film “Casablanca,” backed by full orchestra.

Ticket options are multiplying. Choices include Classical Series packages of nine or six concerts, mix-and-match subscriptions with incentives, and wild card options.

Prices have increased slightly for some concert and series tickets. For example, season tickets for the Classical 9 Series (eight classical concerts, plus one wild-card event of the subscriber’s choice) will climb from a range of $90-$432 to $94.50-$438.75 in 2011-12.

But seats for the family friendly entry-level Symphony Sundaes Series will be reduced from a high of $88 to just $79.

Full-time students ages 25 and younger can buy a ticket for most locations in the hall for just $12. A $2 per ticket discount for teachers is being added. Seniors also get $2 off.

Those who renew or buy season tickets in any of the various packages by Jan. 14, 2012, are eligible to receive free tickets to the Dayton Art Institute’s current Norman Rockwell exhibition. Those who do so by Jan. 31 can choose between a free ticket to any 2012-13 DPO concert that isn’t part of their plan, or a Philharmonic CD.

The 48-concert season incorporates Classical, Classical Connections, Symphony Sundaes, SuperPops, Rockin’ Orchestra, Family Series and Special Events, plus the 2012 Philharmonic Gala.

Music director Neal Gittleman will conduct most of them, cutting across all genres of music.

Dayton Philharmonic’s 2012-13 season

Classical Series: 8 concerts, featuring guest artists Sara Davis Buechner, Haim Avitsur, Chad Hoopes, Terrence Wilson, Norman Krieger and Jessica Hung. Dates are Sept. 13 and 15, Oct. 12 and 13, Nov. 9 and 10, Jan. 10 and 12, 2012; Feb. 1 and 2, 2013; March 15 and 16, 2013; April 11, 2013, and April 13, 2013.

Classical Connections: “The Romantic Violin,” Nov. 18; “Ensemble Experience,” Jan. 27, 2013; “Piano Masterpiece,” March 27, 2013, and “Classical Collage,” April 28. Music director Neal Gittleman will provide introductions, insights and context at each.

SuperPops: “Cirque Musica,” Sept. 28-29; “Ballroom With a Twist,” Nov. 2-3; “Wicked Divas,” Jan. 25-26, 2013; “An Evening with Rita Coolidge,” March 22-23, 2013; “American Songbook with John Pizzarelli,” May 3-4, 2013, and “Hometown Holiday,” Dec. 7-8, 2013.

Rockin’ Orchestra: “Music of Michael Jackson,” with Windborne, Nov. 17; “Music of The Doors,” with The Doors Symphonic Experience, Jan. 19, 2013; “Just Imagine: The John Lennon Experience,” Feb. 16, 2013, and “Endless Summer: The Music of the Beach Boys,” April 27, 2013.