Saturday, november 22nd, 2025 | 7:30pm
Umstattd Hall | Zimmermann Symphony Center
2331 17th St. NW
Canton, OH 44708
DESCRIPTION
This concert will be conducted by Guest Conductor, Tito Muñoz.
As part of a season shaped by shared stories and human connection, Tchaikovsky’s Romeo & Juliet explores love in its many forms—romantic, fragile, and transformative.
The evening opens with Anna Clyne’s This Midnight Hour, a fevered orchestral essay inspired by poetry from Juan Ramón Jiménez and Charles Baudelaire. The work’s dark lyricism, pulsating textures, and sudden eruptions evoke a sense of restless yearning—an apt prelude to the emotional volatility that follows.
Cellist Mark Kosower—principal of The Cleveland Orchestra—performs the world premiere of Daniel Perttu’s The Guises of Love, commissioned by the late Maestro Gerhardt Zimmermann for the Canton Symphony Orchestra. Inspired in part by the emotional undercurrents of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, Perttu’s work explores love in its many dimensions: passion, mystery, loss, and renewal. Written specifically for Kosower, the concerto is both personal and expressive—its second movement honoring the memory of Perttu’s father-in-law and Maestro Zimmermann. This emotional arc continues with Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, which looks back to Mozartian elegance while embracing the lyricism and introspection of Tchaikovsky’s own voice.
The program culminates with Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture. A masterclass in thematic development and dramatic pacing, the piece distills Shakespeare’s tragedy into pure symphonic narrative. Few composers have captured emotional extremes so completely—or so devastatingly.
PROGRAM
“This Midnight Hour”…………………………………………………………Anna Clyne
“The Guises of Love” (world premiere)……………………………Daniel Perttu
Intermission
Rococo Variations…………………………………………………Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Romeo & Juliet………………………………………………………Pyotr Tchaikovsky
TICKETS
$12 / $27 / $37 / $52
All tickets, excluding children and students, are subject to a $3 processing fee. Must call for free and discounted tickets.
College Students (18+): FREE
Children 17 and under: FREE
Veterans, First Responders, Healthcare Workers, & Educators: 20% off
SNAP & Medicaid Recipients: 20% off
Groups of 10 or more: 20% off
Box Office: 330-452-2094
boxoffice@cantonsymphony.org
There will be a pre-concert lecture prior to this concert at 6:30pm in Foundation Hall hosted by Prof. MJ Albacete.
Hotel Accomodations
The Canton Symphony Orchestra is a proud partner of Embassy Suites by Hilton at the Akron-Canton Airport, who have offered CSO patrons an exclusive rate to book rooms attending our concerts from out of town. To take advantage of this special offer, please click the link below or the image above. The rate is $135/night!
7883 Freedom Ave NW, North Canton, OH 44720 | (330) 305-0500
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Mark Kosower, Cello
Mark Kosower is the principal cello of The Cleveland Orchestra, a renowned recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician. Before joining Cleveland in 2010, he was solo cellist with the Bamberg Symphony. Kosower’s 2024–25 season includes performances with various orchestras and festivals, including the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, Puerto Rico Symphony, and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.
A prolific performer, Kosower has appeared with major orchestras worldwide and has recorded extensively, including the complete solo cello works of Ginastera. He is also the founder of Bach for Humanity, a charitable initiative bringing Bach’s music to diverse communities. An educator, Kosower teaches at several prestigious institutions and has served on the faculties of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory. | LEARN MORE
Tito Muñoz, Conductor
Praised for his versatility, technical clarity, and keen musical insight, Tito Muñoz is internationally
recognized as one of the most gifted conductors on the podium today. After 10 years as the Music
Director of The Phoenix Symphony, Tito’s tenure concluded at the end of the 2023-24 season, and
he now continues as their newly appointed Artistic Partner. Tito previously held Music Director
positions with the Opéra National de Lorraine and the Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique de
Nancy in France and Assistant Conductor positions with Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony
Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and Aspen Music Festival.
Tito has appeared with many of North America’s most prominent orchestras, including those of
Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, New York
and Utah. Recent international engagements include the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, SWR
Symphonieorchester, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Mahler Chamber Orchestra,
Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, Ulster Orchestra,
Royal Philharmonic (London), Luxembourg Philharmonic, Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra,
Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, Opéra de Rennes, Auckland Philharmonia, Sydney
Symphony, Sao Paolo State Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Adelaide
Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Queens, New York, Tito began his musical training as a violinist in New York City public schools. He made his professional conducting debut in 2006 with the National Symphony Orchestra at theKennedy Center and made his Cleveland Orchestra debut at the Blossom Music Festival that same
year. | LEARN MORE
composer Spotlights
Presenting sponser
Larry & Nancy Hoover
co-sponser
Ralph & Joan Leidy
participating sponsor
Jan & Roger Baker
This concert is supported by: