Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director, today announced Carnegie Hall's 2015-2016 season consisting of more than 170 concerts as well as wide-ranging education and community programs created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. The upcoming season includes performances by many of the world's greatest artists and ensembles representing classical, pop, jazz, and world music, with events presented on Carnegie Hall's three stages, in the Hall's new Resnick Education Wing, and throughout New York City.
Among the major season programming highlights announced by Mr. Gillinson are plans to celebrate
Carnegie Hall's 125th anniversary with two gala concerts as well as the launch of a major commissioning project, to result in the premieres of at least 125 new works from the Hall's 2015-2016 to 2019-2020 seasons. To mark the beginning of the five-year project,
Carnegie Hall has appointed the contemporary music group
Kronos Quartet to hold the position of the Richard and Barbara Debs Creative Chair for the 2015-2016 season.
Mr. Gillinson also announced three Perspectives series of artist-curated programs for 2015-2016 with pianist
Evgeny Kissin celebrating 25 years since his
Carnegie Hall debut across six concerts, conductor
Sir Simon Rattle launching a two-season series with a complete Beethoven symphony cycle in five November concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker, and singer-songwriter
Rosanne Cash curating a four-concert series focusing on American roots music.
As a major highlight of the Hall's extensive education and community programs in the new season,
Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) launches The Somewhere Project, a citywide exploration of West Side Story in spring 2016. This unique creative learning project will engage students and community members through events in all five New York City boroughs, anchored by a large-scale professional-level production of the iconic musical in March 2016 at Knockdown Center, a restored factory in Queens, conducted by
Marin Alsop and directed by
Amanda Dehnert.
"In creating this 125th anniversary season, we wanted to build for the future while remaining strongly rooted in
Carnegie Hall's heritage and legacy of legendary performances. We were excited about celebrating who we are today and-even more so-looking ahead," said
Clive Gillinson,
Carnegie Hall's executive and artistic director. "Alongside our terrific line-up of concerts this season by many of the world's great artists, we're eager to set sail on our five-year commissioning project and to engage more and more people in New York and around the world through the Hall's growing education and community mission. As
Carnegie Hall embarks on its next 125 years, we are working to ensure that it remains a key destination for all those who love music and an institution that plays a meaningful role in people's lives."
2015-2016 Season Highlights Overview
Carnegie Hall launches its 125th anniversary season with a celebratory Opening Night Gala concert on
Wednesday, October 7, 2015 by the
New York Philharmonic led by
Music Director Alan Gilbert, and featuring pianist Evgeny Kissin, who kicks off his season-long Perspectives series playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. The Opening Night program also includes the world premiere of
a fanfare by
Magnus Lindberg, co-commissioned by
Carnegie Hall and commencing an ambitious 125th anniversary commissioning project, which will result in at least 125 new works commissioned from leading composers-both established and emerging-to be premiered at the Hall between the 2015-2016 and 2019-2020 seasons.
Tied to the launch of its 125 Commissions Project,
Carnegie Hall has appointed the groundbreaking contemporary ensemble
Kronos Quartet to hold the Richard and Barbara Debs Creative Chair for the upcoming season. Fifty of
Carnegie Hall's 125 anniversary commissions will be part of Kronos's project Fifty for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire, in which 10 new works will be co-commissioned by Kronos and
Carnegie Hall each year for five years. As a central part of its Debs Creative Chair residency,
Kronos Quartet leads a week-long workshop for student and young professional quartets in April presented by
Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, capped by a public performance in Zankel Hall. In addition, Kronos performs the world premiere of a Fifty for the Futurecommissioned work at its own Zankel Hall performance in April alongside premieres of music by Karin Rehnqvist and Fodé Lassana Diabaté.
Carnegie Hall's 125th anniversary celebration reaches its pinnacle on
Thursday, May 5, 2016-exactly 125 years to the day that the Hall first opened its doors-with an all-star gala featuring appearances by
Carnegie Hall's esteemed artist trustees:
Martina Arroyo, Emanuel Ax, Renée Fleming,
Marilyn Horne,
Lang Lang,
Yo-Yo Ma,
Audra McDonald,
Jessye Norman, and
James Taylor.
Carnegie Hall's Perspectives series of artist-curated programs continue in 2015-2016, with pianist Evgeny Kissin, conductor
Sir Simon Rattle, and singer-songwriter
Rosanne Cash each offering concerts highlighting their artistic vision and musical virtuosity.
Evgeny Kissin performs a series of six concerts showcasing the pianist's remarkable versatility, performing two grand concertos by Russian composers with two world-renowned New York orchestras: the
New York Philharmonic with
Alan Gilbert and The MET Orchestra with
James Levine. Mr. Kissin also takes part in a trio concert with distinguished performers violinist
Itzhak Perlman and cellist Mischa Maisky; champions the works of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Albéniz, and Larregla in a solo recital program performed twice within one week; and a special program in which he recites Yiddish poetry in a performance that celebrates Jewish musical traditions.
Sir Simon Rattle's Perspectives series spans two
Carnegie Hall seasons, beginning in 2015-2016 with a complete cycle of Beethoven's nine symphonies, which he performs with the legendary Berliner Philharmoniker in five concerts over five consecutive days.
Singer-songwriter
Rosanne Cash curates a four-event Perspectives series, offering concerts that represent the rich and disparate elements of American roots music, from traditional bluegrass and country to soul music, and from Western swing to hardscrabble, virtuosic folk music. Featuring some of the greatest artists working in these fields,
the concerts are a celebration of the thread of
Southern roots music, showcasing a soulful and quintessentially American cultural form. She hosts three concerts in Zankel Hall-by the 11-piece band The Time Jumpers; by multi-instrumentalists Ry Cooder and
Ricky Skaggs exploring traditional blues, gospel, and bluegrass with vocalist
Sharon White; and by Alabama-based soul septet St. Paul and The Broken Bones. She concludes herPerspectives with her own concert in Stern
Auditorium / Perelman Stage, featuring songs from her critically acclaimed album The River & The Thread, plus other works with special guests.
Additional highlights of
Carnegie Hall's season include performances by an array of top American and international orchestras and acclaimed performers, including two concerts by The Cleveland Orchestra, the first led by
Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, the second featuring two Mozart piano concertos with Mitsuko Uchida as both soloist and conductor;
The English Concert and Artistic Director Harry Bicket continuing their multi-year project presenting Handel operas and oratorios at
Carnegie Hall with a performance of Orlando with Iestyn Davies in the title role; pianist
Yefim Bronfman performing a complete Prokofiev piano sonata cycle over three concerts; and an audience sing-along of popular American songs with mezzo-soprano
Stephanie Blythe.
Jazz and world music highlights include the return of
Dianne Reeves, one of the foremost jazz singers in the world, for an evening of swinging, sultry song; legendary pianist and composer
Randy Weston celebrating his 90th birthday with a performance by his African Rhythms ensemble, which combines the rich music of Africa with the African-American tradition of jazz; and concerts featuring Spanish flamenco guitarist Vincente Amigo and a double bill showcasing Portuguese fado, Spanish flamenco, and Latin song traditions with vocalists
Ana Moura and Buika.
Season pop highlights include a concert by mezzo-soprano
Susan Graham and some of her closest musical friends singing standards, American songbook, and folk and pop tunes; an audience-sing along with gospel singers
Donnie McClurkin and
Kim Burrell led by producer, composer, and director
Ray Chew; Tony Award-winning singer-songwriter
Duncan Sheik performing selections from his latest album and versatile catalogue of music in Zankel Hall. In addition,
Steven Reineke and The New York Pops present six performances with special guests to include
Montego Glover,
Capathia Jenkins, and Sy Smith for a concert tribute to the music of Billie
Holiday and
Ella Fitzgerald; as well as holiday concerts with Tony Award nominees
Stephanie J. Block and Brian d'Arcy James.
Music education and community programming created by
Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) continues to expand, serving people of all ages in all five boroughs of New York City, nationally, and around the globe. 2015-2016 WMI highlights include The Somewhere Project, a citywide exploration of West Side Story that culminates in professional-level production of the iconic musical in a restored factory in Queens, NY, conducted by
Marin Alsop and directed by
Amanda Dehnert; workshops and master classes for young professional musicians by leading artists, including mezzo-sopranos
Marilyn Horne and
Stephanie Blythe, baritone Sir
Thomas Allen, pianist Mitsuko Uchida, and Kronos Quartet; expanded family, after-school, and teacher training programs in
Carnegie Hall's new Resnick
Education Wing; and a historic July 2015 first tour of China by the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America conducted by Charles Dutoit with pianist YUNDI.
For a fifth consecutive year,
Carnegie Hall and WQXR 105.9 FM in New York will partner to produce
Carnegie Hall Live, an engaging nationwide live broadcast and digital series featuring 12 performances from
Carnegie Hall's season. To encourage community and conversation, the series offers robust digital content surrounding each concert, including live web chats, Twitter commentary by the broadcast team from backstage and in the control room, live and on-demand audio, special videos, program notes, photo galleries, and more. The full schedule of the 2015-2016
Carnegie Hall Livebroadcasts will be announced at a later date.
For the eleventh consecutive year, Bank of America will be
Carnegie Hall's season sponsor. "On behalf of everyone at
Carnegie Hall, I'd like to thank Bank of America for their remarkable support, not only here at the Hall, but working with arts and cultural organizations all around the world," said Mr. Gillinson. "We are very grateful for our continued partnership, one that plays a central role in helping us to bring inspirational musical experiences to audiences at
Carnegie Hall and throughout New York City."
"Bank of America is pleased to enter our eleventh year as season sponsor of
Carnegie Hall," said
Rena DeSisto, Global Arts and Culture Executive for Bank of America. "This partnership is emblematic of our longstanding commitment to be a leader in supporting the arts around the world, through partnerships with world class institutions such as
Carnegie Hall, to local programs that make the arts thrive in local communities. We believe strongly that cultural organizations and programs are part of the foundation on which healthy communities and economies are built."
