THE RUSSIAN STRAVINSKY: A PHILHARMONIC FESTIVAL To Kick Off 4/21

The second week of the New York Philharmonic's The Russian Stravinsky: A Philharmonic Festival conducted by Valery Gergiev, will open with Mr. Gergiev leading the New York Philharmonic in Stravinsky's primitivist cantata Le Roi des étoiles along with two of Stravinsky's neo-classical works: the Violin Concerto, performed by Leonidas Kavakos, and the opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex, narrated by Jeremy Irons, with Anthony Dean Griffey in the title role, along with mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier (Jocasta), basses Mikhail Petrenko and Ilya Bannik, and tenor Alexander Timchenko
in their Philharmonic debuts, and the Mariinsky Theatre Chorus, Andrei Petrenko, Principal Chorus Master, and Natalie Domskaya, Principal Vocal Coach. This program will be performed Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at 7:30 p.m., and Thursday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m.

The second program, on Friday, April 30, 2010, at 8:00 p.m., and Saturday, May 1, at 8:00 p.m., will feature two neo-classical works based on Greek mythology: the ballet Orpheus and the opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex, with Jeremy Irons again as the narrator, and the same cast as April 28-29.

The final program of the second week, on Sunday, May 2, 2010, at 3:00 p.m., will feature two works from Stravinsky's "Russian" period: the "burlesque tale" Renard (1916) with tenors Dmitri Voropaev and Alexander Timchenko and basses Andrei Serov and Gennady Bezzubenkov in their Philharmonic debuts; and the war-influenced L'Histoire du soldat (1918) narrated by Alec Baldwin, with Daniel Davis (known as Niles the butler on The Nanny) as The Devil.

An Insights Series event with Valery Gergiev, titled "Stravinsky's Russian-American Odyssey," will take place Saturday, May 1, 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Gilder Lehrman Hall, The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street. Joseph Horowitz, curator and host, will be joined by Mr. Gergiev, as well as pianists from The Juilliard School and the New York Philharmonic Education Department Teaching Artists Ensemble for this multimedia event that includes performances of piano and chamber works, film, and a one-hour colloquy.

The three-week Russian Stravinsky festival, which runs from April 21 to May 8, 2010, is one of several initiatives launched during Alan Gilbert's first season as Music Director. Led by the Russian-born Mr. Gergiev, the festival features eight programs over three weeks, including concerts, lectures, pre-concert talks, radio broadcasts, podcasts, and an Archives exhibit, and offers an in-depth look at Stravinsky and how his Russian roots informed his works.