The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra projects the art which influenced composers Andrew Strawn, Michael Daugherty and Modest Mussorgsky in a 2026 concert/exhibition.
NEWPORT, KY, UNITED STATES, January 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Visual art has long inspired musical works: Botticelli — Respighi’s Botticelli Triptych, Hogarth — Stravinsky’s opera The Rake’s Progress, Serat — Sondheim’s Saturday in the Park with George. Art remains a popular go-to for composers today. The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra invites you to enter the KSO’s Galerie Fantastique on February 7 to view the (projected) art of Van Gogh, Warhol and Hartmann accompanied by the respective live musical works of Strawn, Daugherty and Mussorgsky.
Andrew Strawn (b. 2003) is a local composer, and a graduate of Ryle H.S. and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, whose encounter with the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh inspired him to write Flowers from Vincent (2025), a three-movement work based on “Daisies and Poppies” (1890), Irises (1889) and Sunflowers (1887). The KSO offers the world premiere of Strawn’s fresh and colorfully vibrant orchestral work.
American icons are the focus from which Michigan-based composer Michael Daugherty (b. 1954) derives his musical inspirations (think Barbie dolls, Route 66, Superman, etc). In 2022, the Pittsburgh Symphony premiered Daugherty’s Fifteen: Symphonic Fantasy on the Art of Andy Warhol. The work examines Warhol’s takes on Beethoven’s late portrait, “Liz’s (Taylor) Lament,” the “Big Electric Chair,” and DaVinci’s “The Last Supper”. Daugherty sums up his
Fantasy, musically commenting on Warhols repetition of images in primary colors. In its regional premiere Daugherty takes the orchestra and audience on a wild imaginative sonic ride though the unusual art of Andy Warhol.
Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (1874) is an original piano suite depicting a tour of an exhibition of works by artist/architect Viktor Hartmann. In 1922, composer Maurice Ravel orchestrated Mussorgsky’s 10-movement art stroll, and made it a well-known orchestral showpiece, last heard at the KSO
in 1993.
See the art, and experience the old and new music that it inspired with the KSO — 7:30 Saturday, February 7 at Greaves Concert Hall, NKU. For additional info and tickets ($19-35) — kyso.org or call (859) 431-6216. Live stream passes available.
More on the KSO:
Since 1992, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of founder James R. Cassidy, has forged a unique brand of cultural entertainment via thematic programming, while offering fresh presentations of classics, premieres and forays into jazz, film, dance, semi-staged operas and musicals, long before they were common place with orchestras today. Serving as a farm team to major and regional orchestras across the nation, the KSO offers professional musicians and audiences opportunities to perform and hear great and varied music. Subscription series concerts represent the orchestra’s only ticketed revenue, as the KSO’s six Summer concerts and its education outreach programs remain completely free for attendees. In its fourth decade of serving the Tristate, the KSO continues to make symphonic music and the concert experience attractive, accessible and affordable for all.
James R. Cassidy
8598028304 ext.
email us here
Kentucky Symphony Orchestra
Visit us on social media:
Instagram
Facebook
X
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
