This coming weekend, the Madison Symphony Orchestra will perform three concerts programs of exhilarating repertoire featuring guest soloist James Ehnes. As a prominent concert soloist, Ehnes has toured internationally, collaborated with renowned chamber musicians, and received numerous awards for his solo recordings, including the Gramaphone Artist of the Year in 2021. With the MSO, he will perform the Barber Violin Concerto, a beautiful three-movement work for violin and orchestra transitioning from singing lyrical themes to fiery virtuosic passagework in the finale. Also on the program will be Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration, an incredibly eerie work illustrating the pain of death that the composer felt soon approaching, contrasting with triumphant timpani heartbeats, reflective melodies, and powerful characters as symbolism for a heroic ‘transfiguration’. To close the program, the MSO will perform Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.3 in A minor, animated with a melodic storyline that travels into a brisk, lively last movement. If you are interested, tickets start at $16 for students and $20 for general admission. Otherwise, $15 rush tickets are available at the box office on the day of the performance. For more information, visit the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s website.