Prokofiev’s virtuosic concerto bristles with youthful energy. Brahms’ greatest lifetime success was the Hungarian Dances. His radiant Second Symphony was composed lakeside, “where melodies were so abundant,” he wrote, that he had to “take care not to step on them.

About Daniel Hege

Daniel Hege is currently completing his seventh season as Music Director and Conductor of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, making him the seventh music director in the organization’s 73-year history. According to his bio at the Wichita Symphony’s website, Hege “has been widely recognized as one of America’s finest young conductors, earning critical acclaim for his fresh interpretations of the standard repertoire and for his commitment to creative programming.”

He also holds a special place in his heart for the quality of work Johannes Brahms did as a composer.

“The bulk of each of (his) works is extremely significant. That’s where Brahms makes up the ground,” Hege told The Wichita Eagle in a 2016 interview. “There are no throwaways anywhere. Everything is at the absolute highest level. There is not a wasted note in any composition. Everything is thought through, and everything is filled with passion in one way or another.

“That’s who Brahms was, in a nutshell. He was able to write with such cleverness in the construction of the work, because it’s all in the drama of the piece.”

Hege has appeared in Akron before and regularly conducts orchestras throughout the U.S. and abroad. He has guest conducted the Houston, Detroit, Seattle, Indianapolis, Oregon, Colorado, San Diego, Columbus and Phoenix symphonies; the Buffalo and Calgary Philharmonics; and led the orchestras at the Grand Teton and Aspen Music Festivals.

About Gabriela Martinez

Versatile, daring, and insightful, young Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Martinez is establishing a reputation on both the national and international stages for the lyricism of her playing, her compelling interpretations, and her elegant stage presence. An artist equally at home with established and contemporary repertoire, by composers ranging from Beethoven and Rachmaninoff to Mason Bates and Adam Schoenberg, she has performed throughout the United States as well as in Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and Venezuela.

In November 2016, Delos released Ms. Martinez’s debut solo album, Amplified Soul, a wide-ranging program featuring works by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Szymanowski, and two acclaimed contemporary composers, Dan Visconti and Mason Bates. It includes the world-premiere recording of Visconti’s Amplified Soul, a work written for her. Ms. Martinez collaborated with Grammy Award-winning producer David Frost on the CD. A video of the Visconti work can be found on YouTube.

Among the highlights of her 2017-18 season are recitals presented by the Broad Stage (Santa Monica, CA) and the Steinway Society of the Bay Area, and engagements with numerous orchestras including the Dayton Philharmonic and the Akron, Modesto, Springfield (MO), Topeka, and Wichita symphonies.

Ms. Martinez has played with such distinguished orchestras as the San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, New Jersey, Tucson, and Fort Worth symphonies; Germany’s Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, MDR Rundfunkorchester, and Nurnberger Philharmoniker; and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela.

She has performed under Gustavo Dudamel, James Gaffigan, James Conlon, Marcelo Lehninger and Guillermo Figueroa, among many other distinguished conductors, and has performed at such esteemed venues as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Alice Tully Hall in New York City; Salzburg’s Grosses Festspielhaus; Dresden’s Semperoper; Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens; and Paris’s Palace of Versailles.

Daniel Hege, guest conductor
Gabriela Martinez, piano
Brahms Hungarian Dances Nos. 1, 5
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2
Brahms Symphony No.