RHAPSODY AND REVOLUTION
Wednesday, Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m. | Voxman Concert Hall
Kenny Lee, Conductor and Director of Orchestral Studies
Joan Tower, Purple Rhapsody
Molly Wise, Viola
Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 11, “The Year 1905”
Join the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra for our debut concert of the 2026-2027 school year! We’re kicking off the season with Joan Tower’s masterful concerto for viola, Purple Rhapsody, featuring our fantastic new viola professor, Molly Wise.
Following the concerto, the orchestra takes on Shostakovich’s epic Symphony No. 11, “The Year 1905,” a powerful depiction of the 1905 Russian Revolution. Clocking in at nearly an hour, the symphony unfolds like a film score, with Shostakovich vividly and graphically portraying the tragedy and turmoil of Bloody Sunday and the events that followed. Throughout its four movements, several 19th and 20th century revolutionary songs are interwoven into the music, creating a vivid and breath-taking musical narrative. An evening not to be missed!
This concert is free and open to the public.
Concert can be viewed via livestream here: https://music.uiowa.edu/events/school-music-livestream
Program information will be available here: https://performingarts.uiowa.edu/digital-programs/music