American Symphony Orchestra Opens Season at Carnegie Hall with Focus on Music and Politics: Sessions, Copland, Bernstein

The American Symphony Orchestra will open the 57th season of its Vanguard series at Carnegie Hall with a program titled The Sounds of Democracy on Wednesday, October 11 at 8 pm. All performances in this year's four-concert series - comprising three at Carnegie Hall and one at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall - will offer a timely political framework by examining the music composers have created under various types of leadership. American democracy was shaped by the ideals, vision, and principles of its leaders, particularly Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. The Sounds of Democracy is an evening featuring works of American composers inspired by the legacy of these two presidents, who protected our liberties and stood by the common people against the interests of the rich and powerful. Sessions' Second Symphony is dedicated to FDR, Bernstein's Kaddish is both a Jewish prayer for the dead and a celebration of life, and Copland wrote Canticle of Freedom in response to the assault on civil liberties during the McCarthy era. Concert notes and additional information on artists and works are available here.

Music director Leon Botstein will provide musical context for the program in a lively, 30-minute Conductor's Notes Q&A session. A popular learning opportunity for both concert-goers and music connoisseurs alike, the discussion begins one hour before the concert and is free for all ticket holders. The Sounds of Democracy Wednesday, October 11, 2017 Conductor's Notes Q&A 7 PM Concert 8 PM Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage) Leon Botstein, conductor Pamela Armstrong, soprano Bard Festival Chorale, James Bagwell, director Manhattan Girls Chorus, Michelle Oesterle, director

Tickets, priced at $25 / $40 / $55, are available at carnegiehall.org, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800, or visiting the box office at 57th St & 7th Ave. The next concert in the Vanguard series is Triumph of Art, which will survey the music of Russian, Polish, and Czech composers under fascist and communist regimes (Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, December 7, 2017). American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski with a mission of making orchestral music accessible and affordable for everyone. Music director Leon Botstein expanded that mission when he joined the ASO in 1992, creating thematic concerts that explore music from the perspective of the visual arts, literature, religion, and history, and reviving rarely-performed works audiences would otherwise seldom hear performed live.

The Orchestra has made several tours of Asia and Europe, and performed in countless benefits for organizations including the Jerusalem Foundation and PBS. Many of the world's most accomplished soloists have performed with the ASO, including Yo-Yo Ma, Deborah Voigt, and Sarah Chang. The Orchestra has released several recordings on the Telarc, New World, Bridge, Koch, and Vanguard labels, and numerous live performances are also available for digital download. In many cases, these are the only recordings of rare works that have been rediscovered in ASO performances. The ASO's recent online-only issue of Weber's Euryanthe, recorded at the 2014 Bard Music Festival, was reviewed by the Wall Street Journal as "Musically rich, lyrical and expansive."

Leon Botstein Leon Botstein has been music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992. He is also music director of The Orchestra Now, an innovative training orchestra composed of top musicians from around the world. He is co-artistic director of Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival, which take place at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, where he has been president since 1975. He is also conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he served as music director from 2003-11. In 2018, he will assume artistic directorship at Grafenegg, Austria. Mr. Botstein also has an active career as a guest conductor with orchestras around the globe, and has made numerous recordings, as well as being a prolific author and music historian. He is the recipient of numerous honors for his contributions to the music industry.

For more information, please visit americansymphony.org.