Interchanging Idioms

With James Levine stepping down as Boston Symphony Music Director as of September 2011 to focus on his continuing recovery from a series of back procedures, Maestro Levine will not conduct the BSO during its 2011-12 season, which, in addition to the orchestra’s 2011-12 season at Symphony Hall in Boston, also includes five West Coast performances in California, December 6-10, and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York, March 6, 7, and 9. Changes to the previously announced programming for the BSO’s West Coast tour and Carnegie Hall concert series are available on the BSO website . Following his two weeks of programs with the BSO, November 17-29, at Symphony Hall in Boston, French conductor Ludovic Morlot and the Boston Symphony Orchestra travel west December 6­-10, 2011, for a four-city tour of California—to include San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Palm Desert, and Los Angeles—that brings highlights of the BSO’s Symphony Hall subscription programs to the West Coast of the United Sta...

Kirill Gerstein, winner of the 2010 Gilmore Artist Award and of lavish praise for his most recent solo recording, launches the New Year with high-profile concerto performances across Europe and the US. The last two weeks of January see the pianist performing Shostakovich’s Second with Esa-Pekka Salonen in Wales, Beethoven’s “Emperor” in Germany, Rachmaninoff’s First with the Baltimore Symphony, and the Shostakovich again with the St. Louis Symphony. Then in February Gerstein plays Brahms’s Second in Iceland and Venezuela, the latter performance under Gustavo Dudamel. Gerstein’s new solo recital album, released in early November by Myrios Classics, features Schumann’s Humoreske , Liszt’s B-minor Sonata, and the debut recording of contemporary British composer Oliver Knussen’s Ophelia’s Last Dance , which Gerstein premiered at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival in May 2010. The New York Times lauded the disc as being “played with exquisite technique, refined musicianship, a...

San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley today revealed repertory plans, casting and productions for the 2011–12 Season, the Company’s 89th season. Nine operas will be presented: Heart of a Soldier , a world premiere commissioned on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks; three Company repertory premieres of Lucrezia Borgia, Xerxes and Nixon in China ; two new San Francisco Opera production premieres— Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute ; a new co-production of Attila with Teatro alla Scala; and Turandot and Carmen , revivals of two classic productions popular with San Francisco audiences. Seventy-four opera performances will be presented at the War Memorial Opera House beginning Friday, September 9 with a gala opening of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot . Throughout the season, San Francisco Opera will present some of the world’s leading singers including Renée Fleming, Francesco Meli and Vitalij Kowaljow ( Lucrezia Borgia ...

Masterworks by Bach and Vivaldi create a perfect Denver evening with the Symphony DENVER – January 7, 2011 – Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons," one of the most loved masterworks of all time, is the centerpiece of three must-attend concerts with the Colorado Symphony on January 14, 15 and 16. Vivaldi's masterpiece of charm and warmth will fill Boettcher Concert Hall with pure musical delight as acclaimed violinist Jennifer Koh and conductor Matthew Halls join the Colorado Symphony for a concert of undoubted Baroque favorites. Two Bach masterworks complete this beautiful program: Bach's Suite from the Easter Oratorio and Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major – both long heralded as works of genius and inspiration that are an undoubted pleasure for audiences and musicians alike. The evening begins with Bach's joyous celebration of Easter. Triumphant in rich orchestration and breathtaking energy, the Orchestral Suite captures the spirit of the Easter Oratorio . It'...

Music Director Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra today unveiled plans for their ninth season together—the final season at Orchestra Hall before the venue’s $45 million renovation takes place. Highlights of the season include a two-week “Bravo Brahms” series spotlighting an array of the composer’s symphonies, concertos and choral works; performances of Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera Hansel and Gretel marking the centennial of the Orchestra’s Young People’s Concert series; appearances by acclaimed guest soloists including violinists Midori and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, pianists Stephen Hough and Peter Serkin and soprano Deborah Voigt; a concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall and a five-city Florida tour; a recording of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 with soloist Yevgeny Sudbin; and the launch of the Common Chords outreach project including week-long festivals in Grand Rapids and Willmar, Minnesota. In addition, the Orchestra is now announcing a major multi-year initiative to record ...

Season-long Theme Celebrates Gustav Mahler’s Double Jubilee: 150th Anniversary of His Birth and Centennial of His Death Music Director Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra announced today the Orchestra’s 2010-2011 season, the fourth full season under the direction of Maestra Alsop. The 2010-2011 season celebrates Gustav Mahler’s double jubilee, recognizing the 150th anniversary of his birth and the centennial of his death. Mahler’s works are closely associated with themes of youth and the innocence of childhood, prompting the BSO to create a season that highlights today’s rising young stars and that features the earlier works of several seminal composers. Notable BSO debuts include 17-year-old BSO-Peabody Bruno Walter Assistant Conductor Ilyich Rivas and German violinist Augustin Hadelich, and there are welcome returns for seasoned performers like Emanuel Ax and Midori. By coupling the beauty of music with the vigor of youth, the 2010-2011 season aims to nourish the you...