Orchestra Of St. Luke's 2018 Winter Spring Season To Offer 43 Performances
By: A.A. Cristi Dec. 11, 2017
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Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) 43rd season continues in 2018 with 43 performances in 10 venues throughout New York City. The winter-spring calendar offers wide-ranging programs-from intimate chamber music concerts devoted to Baroque, Classical, and Romantic repertoire to a world premiere at Carnegie Hall by one of today's most lauded composers. Additionally, the Orchestra will play music for a legendary dance institution's Lincoln Center season and collaborate with a renowned choral group on a program that juxtaposes an established work with a new, dramatic oratorio based on the Orpheus myth.
Highlighting the 2018 calendar is OSL's Chamber Music Season, which launches in January with a program of Vivaldi works for church and stage, featuring St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble and guest artist, mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau. Details about the 2018 winter-spring performances follow in this release.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S Carnegie Hall SEASON
Robert Spano "has that great skill in a conductor of making every performance radiate joy," declared The New York Times. Spano will take the podium when Orchestra of St. Luke's returns to Carnegie Hall on February 15, for the last concert of its annual subscription series at the hall. The program is highlighted by two works considered signal achievements of their respective forms: Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor," with guest artist Jeremy Denk. The program also includes the world premiere of Bryce Dessner's Voy a dormir, which will feature Grammy® Award-winning mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor. The work was co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall as part of Carnegie Hall's 125 Commissions Project, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
On April 18, conductor Rob Fisher leads the OSL and a dazzling cast of guest artists in Leonard Bernstein's Candide-a special performance celebrating the Bernstein centennial.
OSL CHAMBER MUSIC SEASON 2018
The season will unfold in four intimate venues in 2018, and opens with the Baroque Series featuring unearthed and established gems including vocal rarities by Vivaldi, father-and-son Bach, other composers favored by Frederick the Great, and the second season of OSL's composer-focused, three-week June festival, this year called Facets of Brahms. For the concerts on January 28 & 29, Vivaldi: Church & Stage, St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble is joined by rising mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau. On April 23 & 29,The Musical Offering & Frederick the Great is highlighted by J.S. Bach's Trio Sonata fromThe Musical Offering and includes works by Quantz, Graun, and C.P.E. Bach. Facets of Brahms, featuring readings and special guests, offers perspectives on the musical life of the Romantic-era master in three programs: Seasons of Brahms, June 5, 6 & 10; Brahms & The Schumanns, with pianist Pedja Muzijevic, June 12, 13 & 17; and Brahms & the Search for a Symphony, June 19, 20 & 24. Discussions led by noted scholars, authors, and musicians will take place prior to each Brahms program.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S AND Paul Taylor AMERICAN MODERN DANCE
OSL continues its partnership with celebrated Paul Taylor American Modern Dance (PTMAD), performing for its multi-week Lincoln Center season March 7-25. The programs feature numerous works by choreographer Paul Taylor, including a world premiere, a signature Trisha Brown work, Set and Reset, danced by members of her company, a recent Lila York work, Continum, and world-premiere commissions fromDoug Varone and Bryan Arias. New York City Ballet's principal dancer Sara Mearns will perform works by Isadora Duncan, reconstructed by Lori Belilove, Artistic Director of the Isadora Duncan Dance Company. Performing a vast array of musical genres, the Orchestra is led by PTMAD Music Director, maestro Donald York, and maestro David LaMarche.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S AND MASTERVOICES
MasterVoices (formerly known as The Collegiate Chorale) and Orchestra of St. Luke's join forces for Orphic Moments at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall May 6 & 7. The innovative production, featuring celebrated countertenorAnthony Roth Costanzo and conducted by Ted Sperling, pairs Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridicewith Matthew Aucoin's critically acclaimed 2016 dramatic oratorio The Orphic Moment, in an unforgettable re-interpretation of the ancient myth.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S AT SAINT THOMAS FIFTH AVENUE
On May 9, St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble joins the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boysfor Music for the Eve of Ascension, featuring J.S. Bach's "Lutheran" Mass in G Minor, BWV 235, the Bach cantata Wer da gläubet und getauft wird, BWV 37, and Vivaldi'sIntroduzione e Gloria.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S AT TEMPLE EMANU-EL
Continuing a multi-year partnership, St. Luke's returns to Temple Emanu-El's Streicker Center on May 14 for a spring concert highlighted by Tchaikovsky's sublime Serenade for Strings, and featuring works by Mozart and Mendelssohn.
OPEN BAR CONCERTS AT THE DIMENNA CENTER
Relaxed seating, drinks, and conversation with the musicians are all on tap for three intimate and casual chamber music concerts at OSL's home in Hell's Kitchen. The three programs are part of the 2018 Chamber Music Season and feature the same works, guest artists, and musical configurations: Vivaldi: Church & Stage on January 26; The Musical Offering & Frederick the Great on April 27; and Brahms & the Schumanns on June 15.
For a schedule of Orchestra of St. Luke's performances through June 2018, visitOSLmusic.org.
About Orchestra of St. Luke's and St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble
Orchestra of St. Luke's began in 1974 as a group of virtuoso musicians performing chamber music concerts at Greenwich Village's Church of St. Luke in the Fields. Now in its 43rd season, the Orchestra performs diverse musical genres at New York's major concert venues and has collaborated with artists ranging from Renée Fleming and Joshua Bell to Bono and Metallica. In the fall of 2018, internationally celebrated expert in 18th-Century music, Bernard Labadie, will join the Orchestra as Principal Conductor, continuing the Orchestra's long tradition of working with proponents of historical performance practice. OSL's signature programming includes a subscription series presented by Carnegie Hall, now in its 31st season; an annual multi-week collaboration with Paul Taylor American Modern Dance at Lincoln Center; an annual summer residency at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts; and a chamber music festival featuring appearances at The Morgan Library & Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center. The Orchestra has participated in 118 recordings, four of which have won Grammy Awards, has commissioned more than 50 new works, and has given more than 175 world, U.S., and New York City premieres. Nearly half of OSL's performances each year are presented free of charge through its education and community programs, reaching over 10,000 New York City public school students. Additionally, OSL provides free instrumental coaching and presents student performances through its Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's and its Mentorship Program for Pre-Professional Musicians. OSL built and operates The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Hell's Kitchen, New York City's only rehearsal, recording, education, and performance space expressly dedicated to classical music. The Center serves more than 500 ensembles and more than 30,000 musicians each year. For more information, visit OSLmusic.org
About the DiMenna Center for Classical Music
Opened in 2011, the 20,000+ square foot DiMenna Center for Classical Music, located at450 West 37th Street, is OSL's permanent home and the first New York City space acoustically optimized for classical music rehearsal, recording, and education. The DiMenna Center offers local and touring musicians access to affordable, state-of-the-art facilities at its midtown Manhattan space. The Center has hosted such celebrated artists as Iván Fischer, Renée Fleming, Emanuel Ax, Christian Tetzlaff, Valery Gergiev, Itzhak Perlman, the New York Philharmonic, Sting, James Taylor, International Contemporary Ensemble, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, American Symphony Orchestra, American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, and many others. Committed to serving the musical community and its Hell's Kitchen community, The DiMenna Center also hosts hundreds of neighbors, families, and schoolchildren each year, in addition to other free community events. The DiMenna Center's building is also home to Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC). For more information, visit DiMennaCenter.org.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S WINTER-SPRING 2018 PERFORMANCES
Carnegie Hall CONCERTS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018, 8 PM
Beethoven's "Emperor" with Denk
Stern Auditorium / Perlman Stage
Orchestra of St. Luke's
Robert Spano, Conductor
Kelley O'Connor, Mezzo-Soprano
Jeremy Denk, Piano
MOZART Symphony No. 40
Bryce Dessner Voy a dormir (World Premiere*)
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor"
Mozart's final symphonies are pinnacles of Classicism that boldly point to the Romantics. His Symphony No. 40 opens in a state of nervous agitation and culminates in an edge-of-your-seat finale that Wagner called "exuberant with rapture and audacity." The "Emperor" Piano Concerto is grandly virtuosic and heroic in spirit-a towering landmark in which Beethoven the master pianist and symphonist are brilliantly fused. It will be performed by acclaimed pianist Jeremy Denk who last appeared with the Orchestra in 2012. Bryce Dessner, known to many as a guitarist with The National, is a much-sought-after composer and active curator in the realm of new music. He has received commissions for orchestral, chamber, and vocal compositions from Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Metropolitan Museum of Art (for the New York Philharmonic), Kronos Quartet, BAM Next Wave Festival, Barbican Centre, and New York City Ballet, among others.
*Co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
TICKETS from $16.50 to $95 are available at carnegiehall.org.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018, 7 PM
Stern Auditorium / Perlman Stage
Orchestra of St. Luke's
Rob Fisher, Conductor
Artists TBA
BERNSTEIN Candide
This one-night-only special concert celebrates the Leonard Bernstein centennial with a performance of Candide. Based on Voltaire's satirical tale, Bernstein's ebullient work is a superb fusion of Broadway flash and operatic virtuosity with its quicksilver overture, dazzling coloratura soprano aria "Glitter and Be Gay," sardonic "Auto-da-fé" chorus, and deeply moving "Make Our Garden Grow" finale. Performed in concert by major guest artists (to be announced) and Orchestra of St. Luke's, Candide is an ideal celebration of Bernstein's legacy.
TICKETS from $47 to $155 are available at carnegiehall.org.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S AND MASTERVOICES
SUNDAY, MAY 6, 2018, 8:30 PM & MONDAY, MAY 7, 2018, 7 PM
Jazz at Lincoln Center / Frederick P. Rose Hall / Rose Theater
Orchestra of St. Luke's
MasterVoices
Ted Sperling, Artistic Director & Conductor
Zack Winokur, Director
Douglas Fitch, Scenic Design
Cath Brittan, Production Manager
Kiera Duffy, Soprano
Keir GoGwilt, Violin
Bobbi Jene Smith, Dancer
GLUCK Orfeo ed Euridice
AUCOIN The Orphic Moment
When Orphic Moments premiered at National Sawdust in March 2016, the rave New York Times review ended with a lament: "Why does it run for just two consecutive evenings, and for fewer than 300 people?" MasterVoices felt the same way and joins forces with Orchestra of St. Luke for two performances in the 1,100-seat Rose Theater. The production pairs Matthew Aucoin's dramatic cantata, The Orphic Moment with an innovative staging of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, in a version specially re-conceived for MasterVoices. The effect is a provocative probing of the psychology of Orpheus' crucial turning point when he seals his and Eurydice's fate. Conducted by MasterVoices Artistic Director, Ted Sperling, Orphic Moments features countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, whom Opera News proclaimed, "has an instrument of inexorable beauty," soprano Kiera Duffy, dancer Bobbi Jene Smith, and violinist Keir GoGwilt. American composer, conductor, writer, and pianist Matthew Aucoin is Artist in Residence at Los Angeles Opera and has worked as a composer and conductor with the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the American Repertory Theater, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Music Academy of the West.
TICKETS from $30 to $175 are available at mastervoices.org.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S AND Paul Taylor AMERICAN MODERN DANCE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7 - SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018
David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center
Paul Taylor American Modern Dance
Orchestra of St. Luke's
Donald York, Music Director & Conductor
David LaMarche, Conductor
Two essential New York institutions-Paul Taylor American Modern Dance and Orchestra of St. Luke's-continue their revelatory partnership in these spirited performances at Lincoln Center. Experience the electric power of dance accompanied by live music as OSL provides the "breath of life" (The New York Times), animating Taylor's renowned work, including the world premiere of his 147th piece.
The season includes 13 classics and a world premiere by Paul Taylor; a 2017 work by Lila York (music recomposed by Max Richter, based on Vivaldi's "Four Seasons"); and world premieres commissioned by Taylor from Doug Varone (music by Julia Wolfe), and Bryan Arias. Also performing are special guest artists New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Sara Mearns in Dances of Isadora choreographed by Isadora Duncan and reconstructed by Isadora Duncan Dance Company Artistic Director Lori Belilove (music by Chopin, J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Scriabin, and Strauss); and Trisha Brown Dance Company dancing Brown's masterwork Set & Reset (music by Laurie Anderson).
TICKETS from $10 to $175 are available at davidhkochtheater.com.
CHAMBER MUSIC SEASON 2018
BAROQUE CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES
SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 2018, 2 PM
Brooklyn Museum
MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2018, 8 PM
The Church of St. Luke's in the Fields
St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble
Avery Amereau, Mezzo-soprano
VIVALDI Nisi Dominus, RV 608
VIVALDI Trio Sonata in D Minor, RV 64
VIVALDI Sinfonia and arias from La verità in cimento, L'Olimpiade, and Orlando Furioso
This concert showcases a lesser known side of Vivaldi-master of vocal music for church and stage. Spanning a wide range of genres, from modest chamber compositions to extravagant arias, the program contains lesser-known and performed works, and features the radiant mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau. In Nisi Dominus, a dramatic setting of Psalm 126, Vivaldi ranges over a vast emotional and spiritual terrain, infused with warmth by the resonantly stringed star of the early Baroque, the viola d'amore. The Sinfonia from La verità in cimento and the Trio Sonata in D Minor-part of Vivaldi's very first published opus-balance out the vocal fireworks, followed by a pastiche of arias from Vivaldi's rarely heard operas, of which only a precious few survive.
The Musical Offering & Frederick the Great
The Church of St. Luke in the Fields
Brooklyn Museum
St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble
QUANTZ Trio in E-flat for Flute and Violin
C.P.E BACH Quartet in G Major for Flute, Viola, Cello, and Harpsichord
GRAUN Sonata in C Minor for Viola and Harpsichord
J.S. BACH Trio Sonata from the Musical Offering
Music and intrigue from the court of Frederick the Great fill this program featuring the trio sonata from Bach's beloved Musical Offering. Based on a complex 21-note theme Frederick himself supposedly wrote in in an effort to stump the composer, the heart of Bach's masterwork is heard here alongside works by Frederick's court composers of choice: Quantz, Graun, and Bach's son, C.P.E., rumored to be the real author of theMusical Offering theme.
Seasons of Brahms
TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 2018, 7:30 PM
Merkin Concert Hall
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2018, 7:30 PM
The Morgan Library & Museum
Richard Gilder Chamber Music Series
Brooklyn Museum
St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble
BRAHMS Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115
BRAHMS String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18
Chamber music masterpieces from the dawn and dusk of Brahms's long career encompass a lifetime in a single bill. The String Sextet No. 1, written when the composer was 27, is an utterly confident work reveling in the rich sonorities of two cellos, two violas, and two violins. In the Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, written post-retirement and inspired by the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, the music reflects on a life lived, ending enigmatically at its own beginning.
A pre-concert discussion with OSL Clarinetist Jon Manasse will introduce the range of Brahms's oeuvre represented in the works on the program, as well as the singular influence a performer can have on a musical artist, as was the case with the creation of Brahms's Clarinet Quintet.
Brahms & The Schumanns
TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2018, 7:30 PM
Merkin Concert Hall
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018, 7:30 PM
The Morgan Library & Museum
Richard Gilder Chamber Music Series
Brooklyn Museum
St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble
Pedja Muzijevic, Piano
BRAHMS "Scherzo" from Sonatensatz in C Minor
Robert Schumann Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 63
CLARA SCHUMANN Romances for Violin, Op. 22
BRAHMS Horn Trio, Op. 40
Two works by Brahms and two by Clara and Robert Schumann make up this intimate program recalling the complex emotional entanglements among the three composers. On the bill is Brahms's "Scherzo" from the Sonatensatz in C Minor-a collaborative creation that also includes contributions by Robert Schumann and Albert Hermann Dietrich; Robert Schumann's pathos-filled Piano Trio No.1; Clara Schumann's late Romances for Violin, imbued with invention and charm; and Brahms's Horn Trio, Op. 40, based on a theme dating from the year of his first encounter with the Schumanns.
A pre-concert discussion, led by Deborah L. Cabaniss, M.D. (Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University) and Thomas Cabaniss (composer and faculty member, The Juilliard School), will explore the composers' intricate, psychologically-charged relationship.
Brahms & the Search for a Symphony
TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2018, 7:30 PM
Merkin Concert Hall
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018, 7:30 PM
The Morgan Library & Museum
Richard Gilder Chamber Music Series
Brooklyn Museum
St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36,
arranged by Andy Stein
BRAHMS Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11,
reconstructed by Alan Boustead
The legacy of Beethoven informed much of Brahms's creative life. Beethoven's sunny second symphony-in an arrangement created by composer-violinist Andy Stein especially for St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble-is performed alongside Serenade No. 1 in D, an early work that Brahms considered calling his first symphony. The original nonet version was destroyed when Brahms adapted it into a symphonic version. It was restored in the 1980s by composer-author Alan Boustead.
A pre-concert discussion with Stanford University musicologist and program annotatorJames Steichen will address the questions: what did Brahms learn from Beethoven?; why did he destroy his first version of the Serenade?; and what can we learn from the creative processes involved in the new versions of the works?
Subscription packages for OSL's Chamber Music Season 2018 are available now. Single tickets go on sale March 1, 2018. Visit: oslmusic.org/tickets.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S AT SAINT THOMAS FIFTH AVENUE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018, 7:30 PM
Music for the Eve of Ascension
Saint Thomas Church
The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys
Orchestra of St. Luke's
Daniel Hyde, Conductor
Krista Bennion Feeney, Violin
Sara Cutler, Harp
Clara Rottsolk, Soprano
Adrian Timpau, Baritone
J.S. BACH Wer da gläubet und getauft wird, BWV 37
J.S. BACH "Lutheran" Mass in G Minor, BWV 235
VIVALDI Introduzione e Gloria, RV 588
St. Luke's joins the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys for a concert that marks the conclusion of the choral season at St. Thomas. Bach's Cantata 37, his first cantata composition written for the Feast of the Ascension, has been described by Sir John Eliot Gardiner as "emollient and graceful, a halfway house between a minuet and a waltz, affirming a more serene side to faith." In his "Lutheran" Mass in G minor, Bach affirms his own music, borrowing brilliantly from his Cantatas 72, 102, and 187. Concluding the program is Vivaldi's rousing Gloria, RV. 588, the lesser known of the composer's Gloria settings but no less masterful as a cascading exhortation of praise in a style influenced by the theatrical and expressive opera music of the period.
TICKETS from $30 to $75 are available at saintthomaschurch.org.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S AT TEMPLE EMANU-EL
MONDAY, MAY 14, 2018, 6:30 PM
Temple Emanu-el / The Streicker Center
Orchestra of St. Luke's returns to Temple Emanu-El with a delightful spring concert. The program includes the charming Divertimento by Mozart, and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in D Minor, a gem written when the composer was just thirteen. The strings of the Orchestra will shimmer in Tchaikovsky's beloved Serenade for Strings, which the composer's composition teacher Anton Rubinstein declared his pupil's best piece.
Orchestra of St. Luke's
MOZART Divertimento in D Major, K. 136
MENDELSSOHN Concerto for Violin in D Minor
TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade for Strings, Op. 48
FREE; Tickets required; available soon. Sign up for an email alert or follow OSL on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date (@OSLmusic).
OPEN BAR CONCERTS AT THE DIMENNA CENTER
Orchestra of St. Luke's teams up with the online social network Groupmuse to present a very special concert experience-the Massivemuse, a casual evening of music, drinks, and conversation. The series of three intimate chamber music concerts, all being presented as part of the 2018 Chamber Music Season, takes place in a salon-style setting and provides the audience with the opportunity to chat with the musicians between pieces.
The DiMenna Center / Cary Hall
St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2018, 7 PM
Vivaldi: Church & Stage
Avery Amereau, Mezzo-soprano
VIVALDI Nisi Dominus, RV 608
VIVALDI Trio Sonata in D Minor, RV 64
VIVALDI Sinfonia and arias from La verità in cimento and other operas
The Musical Offering & Frederick the Great
QUANTZ Trio in E-flat for Flute and Violin
C.P.E. BACH Quartet in G Major for Flute, Viola, Cello, and Harpsichord
GRAUN Sonata in C Minor for Viola and Harpsichord
J.S. BACH Trio Sonata from the Musical Offering
Brahms & the Schumanns
Pedja Muzijevic, Piano
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36, arranged by Andy Stein
BRAHMS Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11, reconstructed by Alan Boustead
TICKETS are $25 and are available at oslmusic.org.
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