Introducing Guest Conductor Ryan Murray

Why did you become a conductor?

I began my musical career as a bassoonist. My undergraduate degree is in Voice and Bassoon. However, I was also studying conducting.  One of the first major pieces I ever conducted (as a college sophomore) was Mozart's Don Giovanni. Much of my early career was in opera conducting, and so I spent a lot of time with the music of Mozart. I quickly fell in love with all of it.

Tell us about the pieces to be performed.

The Gran Partita is one of the finest pieces written for wind instruments. It showcases the lyricism that wind instruments are capable of. It requires virtuoso technique. It features some wonderful minor key movements that reveal Mozart's more intense and dramatic side. 

Piano concerto #23 might be my favorite of the later piano concertos. The second movement is one of the most poignant and beautiful things Mozart ever wrote. I'm so looking forward to performing this with John! The piece has wonderful features for both the soloist and the orchestra.

The Haffner Symphony (#35) bursts with life from the very first bar. It's exuberant and celebratory, with plenty of Mozart’s charm and wit. It’s a great way to end the program,. 

This will be your first Festival appearance.  How does it feel?

Exciting.  I have worked with many of the players in other orchestras. The Festival has an amazing history.  I'm honored to work with such wonderful musicians on some of the greatest music ever written.

It’s clear that you love Mozart’s music.  Why is that?

Mozart's music still sounds fresh and exciting even these hundreds of years later. There is something special about the way that Mozart weaves together complex musical ideas in a way that feels almost effortless. A teacher told me once that every note of Mozart is Opera. Every note is part of telling a musical story and eliciting the whole range of emotions. I feel that Mozart really understood humanity and people, and he captured that in his music. Every piece reflects on our lives in some way.  I think that is why the music resonates just as strongly today as the day it was written.