Photo by Jonathan Kirn
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) had hoped to open the 2020-21 season in October in spectacular fashion at the renovated 1930 Warner Grand Theater, now renamed the Bradley Symphony Center after the late philanthropists Harry and Peg Bradley. COVID-19, which has impacted nearly all performing arts groups, prevented that but is not the only factor. This summer, the building sustained millions of dollars in basement flooding damage in a storm. Delays are occurring as extensive repairs are underway concurrent with continuing construction.
The most overused word of 2020 must be “pivot,” and circumstances have forced the MSO to pivot. In August, MSO announced plans for an all-virtual season performed by scaled-down ensembles. MSO president and executive director Mark Niehaus stated, “While we wish we could be together sooner, we look forward to the day when we can officially open the doors of the Bradley Symphony Center to our community. It will be well worth the wait!”
Ticketed virtual performances will begin in the 1,650-seat Allen-Bradley Hall at the end of January, and MSO considers the possibility of socially distanced concerts; the complete season will be announced mid-November. Some works will highlight sections of the orchestra, as well as music by under-represented composers, such as Eleanor Alberga, Jessie Montgomery, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and James B. Wilson. More standard fare by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Francis Poulenc, Henry Purcell and others will also be programmed.
Not What Was Envisioned
Choosing repertoire for a chamber orchestra or chamber ensemble is vastly different from a typical MSO season, which features large-scale works, adding as many as 25 players to the 70-musician roster, and sometimes with the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus of 150-plus voices on stage. It is not the season that music director Ken-David Masur, who started with MSO last season, had envisioned. Nevertheless, he said, “…we will pour our hearts into creating a virtual season that will transcend our physical distance and continue the perpetual wonder that is music.”
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
The orchestra played an acoustical test in the Warner Grand Theater as long ago as 2001. In a recent Doors Open Milwaukee virtual tour, Niehaus stated that MSO began talking with architecture firm Kahler Slater six years ago about the combination of renovation and new design. One principal challenge was moving the historically protected million-pound back wall of the theater 35 feet to create a larger stage area. Architect Chris Ludwig spoke about the design of the contemporary south addition, which is connected to the restored original theater lobby: “The exterior glass enclosure features a unique art glass as a contemporary companion to its art-deco counterpart of the original Warner movie palace. The couple paired together provide a harmony of historic and modern.” An important benefit is the leading role the Bradley Symphony Center is playing in the revitalization of West Wisconsin Avenue.
Photo by Jonathan Kirn
Excellent Acoustics Promised
Niehaus visited other former movie theaters around the country that have been converted into concert halls. “Ours is the most shoebox shaped. Because it’s smashed in the middle of the block, [the original architects] were forced to create a theater that is long and skinny… For an orchestra, the optimum shape is a shoebox. All the great orchestra halls in the world are this shoebox shape.” The concert-going public anticipates what are promised to be excellent acoustics, which are certainly much better for unamplified orchestral sound than in the multi-purpose Uihlein Hall.
MSO has made efforts to post online content, including 20 programs to stream on mso.org through December, as well as the 2020 Radio Broadcast Series with WFMT. The musicians have been on furlough for the last few months, something that is unfortunately common to performing arts organizations across the country. Benefits have remained in place, and furloughed employees are eligible for unemployment compensation. Most players are teaching lessons online, and some are teaching in person with distancing. Some have created online performances of various kinds, including MSO musicians performing in a recent virtual Frankly Music concert of chamber music. The official MSO Facebook page is active, as is the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Musicians Facebook page. The orchestra’s YouTube channel lists dozens of videos.
In the early weeks of the pandemic when we were all trying to adjust to a restless new normal, I received a text from an MSO musician that simply said, “You’ve probably seen this.” I had not. I was caught completely off guard when I opened the link to see and hear MSO players―each individually in a Brady Bunch-style video box―in a beautifully edited account of the soulful “Nimrod” from the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar. I burst into sobs, realizing how much I miss MSO concerts.
Rick Walters is vice-president of the classical division at Hal Leonard LLC, and has written classical reviews for the Shepherd Express for more than 20 years.
To read more articles by Rick Walters, click here.
