Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto

The Minnesota Orchestra is back at Orchestra Hall on Friday, January 22, 2027, with violinist Sergey Khachatryan taking the spotlight for Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. It's Khachatryan's Minnesota Orchestra debut, and he's coming in with a pedigree that's hard to ignore: born in Yerevan, Armenia, he won First Prize at the VIII International Jean Sibelius Competition in Helsinki in 2000 as the youngest winner in the competition's history, and later took First Prize at the 2005 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. The concerto is the big draw of the night, a heavy-hitting Romantic staple that gives a soloist plenty of room to stretch out.

Conducting is Hannu Lintu, who's described by Bachtrack as "dynamic and sharp on the podium" and by the Los Angeles Times as bringing "extreme clarity of purpose." He's not just there for the Tchaikovsky, though—he's also leading John Corigliano's Symphony No. 1, a deeply personal work composed when the AIDS epidemic was rampant. Between the two, the program pairs a familiar, sweeping concerto with a modern symphony rooted in a specific, heavy moment in history.

The orchestra itself is now in its second century and ranks among America's top symphonic ensembles. Music director Thomas Søndergård began his third season in September 2025, and this concert is part of This Is Minnesota Orchestra, the ensemble's Emmy Award-winning series that's produced more than 50 broadcasts since it debuted on Minnesota PBS in 2020. Because of that, the performance will air on Minnesota PBS and stream live and on-demand on the Orchestra's YouTube channel, so you can catch it even if you can't make it downtown.

The concert runs from 6 to 8 PM at the Lindahl Auditorium in Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55403.