Earl Lee makes Minnesota Orchestra debut with Beethoven Symphony No. 9

Fresh from his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic last week, Korean-American conductor Earl Lee jumps in with the Minnesota Orchestra this week for three performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, replacing conductor Eun Sun Kim.

The program also features the Minnesota premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Pachamama Meets an Ode as well as Beethoven’s Ah! Perfido with soprano Meigui Zhang.

Lee last conducted Beethoven 9 at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony in August 2025, where he also replaced the originally scheduled conductor, Zubin Mehta. About that performance, the Boston Globe wrote "Under [Lee’s] baton, the Ninth was an unhurried, momentous ritual... and the finale was nothing short of spectacular."

Also last week, Lee returned to the Ann Arbor Symphony, where he is in his fourth season as music director. In addition to Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, he led Unsuk Chin’s Puzzles and Games from Alice in Wonderland. Chin’s music is one of Lee’s specialties and he has worked closely with the composer both in Korea and at the Boston Symphony.

Lee’s remaining 2026/27 season includes a return to the Calgary Philharmonic with Mahler Symphony No. 1 and the Schumann Cello Concerto featuring Steven Isserlis; and his debut with the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival.

Original article here.