Maestro Muspratt celebrates 20 years with New Philharmonic with Ravel & Mahler

The New Philharmonic opens its 2024-2025 concert season with Ravel & Mahler concerts on Oct. 5 & 6. Guest Pianist Winston Choi will join the celebration.

Photo: Kirk Muspratt and New Philharmonic. Photo courtesy of the McAninch Arts Center.

“To write a symphony is, for me, to construct a world,” said Gustav Mahler. For a conductor, to conduct an orchestra for decades means also to construct a world. The orchestra and music become his world. This world consists of endless preparations for concerts, lots of hours of studying the music and feeling it, numerous rehearsals with musicians who become your family, and tons of mistakes, repetitions, and, eventually, amazing concerts and events that were the goal of constructing this world to begin with.

For Maestro Kirk Muspratt, the Ravel & Mahler performances will mark his 20th year as Conductor and Music Director of the award-winning New Philharmonic. Under the baton of Maestro Muspratt, the new Philharmonic will open its 2024-2025 Season with Ravel & Mahler at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 5 and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 6 at the McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn.

In the first half of the program, award-winning Canadian pianist Winston Choi joins Maestro Muspratt and New Philharmonic for Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major. It will be his fourth appearance with the New Philharmonic and Maestro Muspratt. Winston is happy to join this wonderful celebration of Maestro’s hard work, dedication, and love for music.

Mahler’s Symphony No 1 in D Major will be performed in the second half of the program. A free MAC chat will precede both performances beginning one hour prior to performance. WDCB 90.9FM Chicago’s Home for Jazz is the Media Sponsor for these performances.

The contract between Maestro Muspratt and the New Philharmonic was recently extended through the 2025-2026 season. It’s a great honor for the MAC to have such an outstanding conductor and director in residence at this beautiful facility, it’s certainly a great honor for the New Philharmonic to extend this contract, but it’s also very important for Maestro Muspratt to direct and conduct the New Philharmonic.

Photo: Kirk Muspratt. Photo by Edda Taylor

“It’s been an honor and a thrill to be able to conduct the world class musicians of New Philharmonic and share the joys of classical music with MAC audiences over two decades,” said Muspratt. “I can’t wait to see what exciting things lie in store for all of us as we continue down this classical music road together.”

In July 2004, Muspratt was named both music director of the New Philharmonic and artistic director/music director of New Philharmonic Opera. In 2018, Maestro Muspratt was named 2018 Conductor of the Year (Professional Orchestra) by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. He has previously been honored as a “Chicagoan of the Year” in classical music by John von Rhein and the staff of the Chicago Tribune.

Choi and Muspratt have a great professional relationship. In April 2019 Winston performed with the New Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Muspratt for the third time. I conducted a big interview with both Kirk and Winston before that concert. At that time, Choi performed Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2 in E Minor.

Now, five and a half years later, the orchestra, the pianist, and the conductor reunite to demonstrate the beauty of another wonderful piece, Maurice Ravel’s (1875-1937) Piano Concerto in G Major.

Ravel composed this concerto between 1929 and 1931. This piece was created to entertain and to demonstrate the complex and unblended relationship between the piano and orchestra. Choi will present the best way of performing this wonderful composition and will show the deep and meaningful connection between the orchestra, the soloist, and the conductor.

The MAC’s piano cam will give the audience the opportunity to get an up-close view of Choi’s hands as he performs. His technique, extreme musicality, and professional presentation will impress everyone in the audience.

Photo: Winston Choi. Photo by Chad Johnston

Choi is Associate Professor of Piano and the Head of the Piano Program at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts. His professional career was launched when he was named Laureate of the 2003 Honens Piano Competition and winner of France’s Concours International de Piano 20e siècle d’Orléans in 2002. He is one of today’s most dynamic young concert artists who is known internationally for his fresh approach to standard repertory and masterful understanding and performance of works by living composers. Choi also successfully writes his own music.

Another great composition that will be performed by the New Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Muspratt on October 5 & 6 will be Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No 1. As the press release says, “Muspratt wanted to begin his 20th anniversary season with a big powerful piece and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 fits the bill perfectly.”

Mahler’s (1860-1911) Symphony No 1 in D Major is sometimes referred to as “Titan: a symphonic poem in the form of a symphony” or “Symphony Number One in Four Movements for Large Orchestra.” It was composed between late 1887 and March 1888. Mahler revised and reworked his first symphony over a span of 15 years. Yet, the symphony never received the praise the composer thought it deserved. However, now he would be pleased to find out that Symphony No 1 is considered to be one of the most impressive and bold first symphonies ever written.

The composer incorporates auxiliary instruments not previously used by symphony composers. The composition also includes layering of instruments – multiple timpani, piccolos and horns, Bb, A, Eb clarinets, and bass and bassoons with regular and contra resulting in rich sonic color and sound. To perform the work, the New Philharmonic will be expanding the size of its orchestra sections by nearly 15% for this concert program to accommodate the demands of this monumental work.

Tickets are $57. For tickets visit https://atthemac.org/events/ravel-mahler/ or call 630-942-4000. The McAninch Box Office is open Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 6 p.m. and two hours prior to performance.

Natalia Dagenhart