toledoblade.com --

From the pristine classical sounds of Itzhak Perlman to the freewheeling fiddling of Mark O'Connor, and from the virtuosic a capella displays of Bobby McFerrin to the cozy four-part harmonies of the Lettermen, Toledo Symphony officials offer a wide-ranging list of headliners for the orchestra's 2004-05 season.

The orchestra's six-concert pops season features singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins of "Your Mama Don't Dance" fame as well as the ever-popular Canadian Brass.

Visiting artists in the Toledo Symphony-sponsored Peristyle Series include the Warsaw Philharmonic, Finland's respected Lahti Orchestra, Japanese violinist Midori, and O'Connor.

The most innovative weekend for the Toledo Symphony comes at the end of the season, on May 13 and 14, 2005, when pianists Stanislav Ioudenitch, Maxim Philippov, and Antonio Pompa-Baldi, all medal winners from the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, join symphony principal conductor Stefan Sanderling in performances of Rachmaninoff's five works for piano and orchestra. The third and fourth piano concertos are slated for Friday; Saturday features the first and second concertos, along with "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini."

This promises to be an exciting weekend, one with a level of focus on the work of a single composer that is generally found only in a much larger city. The weekend will also provide a litmus test for the viability of other such miniature festivals. Perhaps in the future a weekend of Beethoven piano concertos?

After two years of declining revenue, including last season's $745,000 deficit, symphony officials hope the organization's financial fortunes will rise along with the stars it puts on stage beginning in the fall. The season opens with a Chamber Series concert Sept. 12 and ends with the Rachmaninoff festival in May, 2005.

Officials also want to convert the buzz over the orchestra's artistic rejuvenation under Sanderling into increased ticket sales.

"We have turned a corner and are growing artistically," said Toledo Symphony president and CEO Robert Bell. "Now we are looking to expand our audiences, to become the artistic centerpiece in this community."

But while the orchestra has never sounded better, the sluggish economy continues to hurt.

To counteract this, the symphony administration has come up with a marketing plan to reverse the two-year drop in series subscription sales. Thus, the Perlman concert (he performs Beethoven on March 7) will be offered for free to those who subscribe to the nine-concert Classics Series. Subscribers to the Peristyle Series receive four concerts for the price of three; subscribers to the Pops Series receive six concerts for the price of five.

Sanderling remains in charge of artistic matters.

Upon his arrival in Toledo two seasons ago, the conductor stated that the Toledo Symphony needed to build its artistic credibility on a foundation of the Viennese classics. Attain the crystalline clarity demanded of music by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven and the rest of the repertoire will fall into place, he said.

"This music is not only great in its own right, but it makes the orchestra sound so much better," Sanderling said. "You have freedom, but with the discipline that comes from paying attention to the tiniest details."

The conductor is walking his talk. The orchestra's first four major concerts, all with Sanderling on the podium, include seven works by the three composers, including four symphonies.

Pianist William Wolfram performs both a Mozart concerto and the Strauss Burlesque in D Minor when the Classics Series opens on the weekend of Sept. 17 and 18. Toledo Symphony musicians Lauraine Carpenter and Sally Rochotte are featured Oct. 15 and 16, along with Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. The Goshen College Chorale joins the orchestra Nov. 19 and 20 for William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast. Also on that program is Beethoven's Symphony No. 8.

After a blitz of holiday concerts in area churches, the Classics Series resumes on the weekend of Jan. 14 and 15, 2005, with McFerrin conducting the Dukas showpiece "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" as well as Bizet's Symphony in C. McFerrin will be the vocal soloist in works yet to be announced.

Two interesting weekends follow in February. Associate conductor Chelsea Tipton II leads the orchestra in music of Ellington and Bernstein on the weekend of Feb. 4 and 5. Cellist Michael Sanderling joins his brother Stefan for a performance of Shostakovich's second cello concerto on Feb. 25 and 26.

The weekend of April 22 and 23 marks the unveiling of the Toledo Museum of Art's newly rebuilt 3,000-plus pipe 1926 Skinner organ. Originally designed for the long-razed 1,000-seat Hemisphere Theater, the organ was moved to the Peristyle in 1933. The instrument has not been played since 1978. Aaron David Miller will perform both Poulenc's Concerto for Organ and Saint-Saens' "Organ Symphony" with Tipton conducting.

The Warsaw Philharmonic opens the Peristyle Series season Oct. 28 when Olga Kern, a 2001 Van Cliburn gold medalist, performs Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1. Also on the program is the Brahms Symphony No. 1. Conductor Osmo Vanska leads Finland's Lahti Orchestra in an all-Sibelius program on Jan. 28, 2005. Violinists O'Connor and Scott Yoo present O'Connor's "American Seasons" and Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" on April 1. Midori performs an as yet undecided recital program on April 13.

The Franciscan Theatre & Conference Center-based Mozart and More season has been shortened from four to three concerts. In place of the fourth concert, the orchestra will give a free performance of Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 on Nov. 11 at Holy Rosary Cathedral.

The Pops Series opens in the Stranahan Theater with the Lettermen on Oct. 9. Tribute concerts to Rodgers & Hammerstein, Gershwin, and jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong take place on Oct. 30, Jan. 22, and April 16, respectively. The Canadian Brass hosts a holiday concert on Nov. 27. Kenny Loggins is scheduled to appear Feb. 19.

Subscription prices for the Classics Series range from $100-$290. The Pops Series ranges from $80-$260 and the Peristyle Series ranges from $85-$150. For more information on the Toledo Symphony season, call 419-246-8000.

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