Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director, today announced Carnegie Hall's 2011-2012 season, consisting of 180 performances and extensive education and community programs, featuring collaborations with many of the world's greatest musicians and ensembles from the worlds of classical, pop, jazz, and world music, and performances presented on Carnegie Hall's three stages and throughout New York City. Mr. Gillinson announced details of the new season-including plans to celebrate Carnegie Hall's 120th anniversary-at a press conference where he also unveiled design renderings for Carnegie Hall's Studio Towers Renovation Project, which will add inspirational spaces for music education within the historic building's existing upper floors and create fully refurbished backstage areas to support the Hall's performance venues.
Mr. Gillinson announced a number of programming highlights and residencies for 2011-2012, including American Mavericks, a citywide celebration of trailblazing American composers and artists, led by Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas and presented in partnership with the San Francisco Symphony in March 2012; two Perspectives series of artist-curated programs by pianist András Schiff and celebrated ensemble L'Arpeggiata with its Artistic Director Christina Pluhar; and the appointment of acclaimed Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho as holder of the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall.
Five concerts by Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra launch Carnegie Hall's season in October, including a full Tchaikovsky symphony cycle and festive Opening Night Gala. These Mariinsky performances anchor Carnegie Hall's 120th anniversary celebrations, which include an extended focus on the music of Tchaikovsky and his influence on the culture of St. Petersburg and a look at New York City at the turn of century, exploring the world into which Carnegie Hall was born. Mr. Gillinson also announced that, starting in May 2011 and stretching throughout 2011-2012, twenty Carnegie Hall performances will be broadcast to a national radio audience, thanks to a new partnership with New York's WQXR 105.9 FM, New York's Classical Station, and American Public Media.
"At the heart of our 2011-2012 season is a celebration of Carnegie Hall's 120th anniversary and the magical point in history into which this remarkable Hall was born," said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall's Executive and Artistic Director. "From the moment that Carnegie Hall's doors opened in 1891, it represented the best in music, creating an international standard for artistic excellence that we work to uphold to this day. Through exciting performances by the finest artists, partnerships with leading cultural institutions, meaningful education and community programs, and new developments in technology, we continue to reimagine what Carnegie Hall means for the twenty-first century. We want this to always be a dynamic, living place, one that makes an ever-growing contribution to music and people's lives through music for the next 120 years and beyond."
Highlights Overview
Carnegie Hall will launch its 2011-2012 season on October 5 with its Opening Night Gala concert featuring the Mariinsky Orchestra under the direction of Music Director Valery Gergiev. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma will join the orchestra for a program to include Shostakovich's Festive Overture, Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. Maestro Gergiev and the orchestra will present four additional concerts in October, performing a complete Tchaikovsky symphony cycle as well as music by some of Tchaikovsky's successors, paying tribute to the legendary Russian composer who made his American debut conducting at Carnegie Hall's inaugural Opening Night on May 5, 1891. As part of Carnegie Hall's season-long 120th anniversary celebration, these concerts will join performances by soprano Anna Netrebko and Ensemble ACJW, a Tchaikovsky-themed Discovery Day, and additional presentations at Carnegie Hall and partner institutions throughout New York City, exploring aspects of Tchaikovsky's influence on other St. Petersburg artists, from Balanchine to Fabergé.
