Park Avenue Armory to Celebrate Recital Series In 2023 Season, Marking 15 Recital Debuts And 15 Premieres

Park Avenue Armory's 2023 season will mark the tenth year of its celebrated Recital Series, bringing chamber music programs by world-renowned artists to the restored Board of Officers Room. Opening on April 3, 2023, the 2023 Recital Series boasts the long-awaited North American recital debut of tenor Allan Clayton, an evening of French art song and German Lieder by baritone Stéphane Degout, and a two-program residency by pianist Pavel Kolesnikov featuring J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations and a selection of works inspired by artist Joseph Cornell's orrery Celestial Navigation. In the fall of 2023, the series will continue with performances by soprano Julia Bullock, Grammy-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion, and mezzo soprano Kate Lindsey.

Over the past ten years, audiences have been treated to over 100 intimate performances by 230 internationally renowned musicians. Programs have included important 15 North American, US, and New York debuts, most notably including the North American recital debut of pianist Igor Legit and the US recital debut of soprano Barbara Hannigan. The series has served as the locale for the premiere of new works by contemporary composers, including two world, two US, one East Coast, and 10 New York premieres of pieces by composers such as Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, John Zorn, Dai Fujikura, Michael Gordon, and Jake Heggie. Please see page 6 for a full list of premieres, debuts, and musicians that have appeared on the Armory's Recital Series.

Ticket prices, dates, and full repertoire information for recitals in the spring of 2023 are below.

2023 Recital Series
Spring Recital Programs
Board of Officers Room

Stéphane Degout, baritone
Cédric Tiberghien, piano

Monday, April 3 and Wednesday, April 5 at 7:30pm
Tickets: $65 (plus fees)
Renowned for the finesse and sensitivity he conveys in his interpretations, baritone Stéphane Degout has earned renown with appearances at major opera houses and festivals around the world. He comes to the Armory to perform a program of French art songs and German Lieder that reflects the boundless technique and abundant musicality of the burnished baritone in the intimate Board of Officers Room.

Franz Schubert: "Der Wanderer," D489
Franz Schubert: "Schäfers Klagelied," D121a
Franz Schubert: "Der Einsame," D800
Franz Schubert: "An den Mond," D193
Franz Schubert: "Sei mir gegrüsst," D741
Franz Schubert: "Nacht und Träume," D827
Gabriel Fauré: Mirages, op. 113
Gabriel Fauré: Poèmes d'un jour, op. 21
Alban Berg: Vier Gesänge, op. 2
Maurice Ravel: Deux mélodies hébraïques
Claude Debussy: Trois Chansons de France, L115
Claude Debussy: Le promenoir des deux amants

Allan Clayton, tenor
James Baillieu, piano

Thursday, April 27 and Saturday, April 29 at 8:00pm
Tickets: $75 (plus fees)
Tenor Allan Clayton is established as one of the most exciting and sought-after singers of his generation with celebrated performances from Baroque to contemporary at opera houses around the world, including the title role in the US premiere of Hamlet at the Metropolitan Opera in spring of 2022. He makes his North American recital debut with a program of lieder as well as art and folk songs that showcase his dynamic vocal range, abundant musicality, and magnetic stage presence.

Robert Schumann: Kerner Lieder, op.35
Henry Purcell (rea. Tippett/Bergmann): "Music for a while," Z. 583 no. 2
Henry Purcell (rea. Tippett/Bergmann): "If music be the food of love," Z. 379
Henry Purcell (rea. Tippett/Bergmann): "Sweeter than rose," Z. 585
Michael Tippett: Songs for Ariel
Nico Muhly: "The Map Of The World"
Benjamin Britten: Canticle I: My beloved is mine and I am his, op. 40
Benjamin Britten: Folk Song selection

Pavel Kolesnikov, piano

Monday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 24 at 7:30pm
Tickets: $60 (plus fees)
Hailed as "a poet of the piano" (Bachtrack), Pavel Kolesnikov is celebrated for his imaginative, thought-provoking programming which offers the listener a fresh, often unexpected perspective on familiar pieces. He brings this inventive spirit to the Armory with two distinct programs that poetically showcase his sensitivity, musicality, and sheer mastery of the instrument. He opens his residency with one of the most challenging works for a pianist-J.S. Bach's towering classical keyboard masterpiece the Goldberg Variations-and then looks upward with a program of works by Scarlatti, Chopin, Scriabin, Messiaen, and others theatrically curated in an homage to artist Joseph Cornell's orrery Celestial Navigation, which invokes the myths, images, and theories once used to explain the predictable yet baffling patterns of the night sky.

Monday, May 22 Program

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

Wednesday, May 24 Program: Celestial Navigations, after Joseph Cornell

Louis Couperin: Pavane in F-sharp minor
Olivier Messiaen: Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jésus, no. 2 "Regard de l'étoile"
Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne in D-flat major, op.27, no. 2
Olivier Messiaen: Vingt regards sur l'enfant Jésus, no. 2 "Regard de l'étoile" [fragment]
Olivier Messiaen: Préludes pour piano, no. 2 "La Colombe"
Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne E minor, op.72, no. 1
Olivier Messiaen: Préludes pour piano, no. 2 "La Colombe" [fragment]
Olivier Messiaen: Prelude (1964)
Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne C-sharp minor, op.27, no. 11
Olivier Messiaen: Prelude (1964) [fragment]
Maurice Ravel: Miroirs, no. 3 "Une barque sur l'océan"
Thomas Ades: Darkness Visible
Franz Schubert: 4 Impromptus, D935/op. 142

TICKETING

Tickets may be purchased by phone through the Armory Box Office at (212) 933-5812, Monday through Friday from 10am to 6pm; and online at armoryonpark.org.

ABOUT STÉPHANE DEGOUT

Stéphane Degout studied at the CNSM, Lyon, and was a member of Opéra de Lyon. He made his operatic debut in 1999 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. Since then, he has sung for the Paris Opéra, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Berlin State Opera, La Monnaie, Theater an der Wien, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Teatro Real, and Bavarian State Opera, and at the Salzburg, Glyndebourne, and Ravinia festivals. His repertoire includes Thésée (Hippolyte et Aricie), Hercule (Alceste), Oreste (Iphigénie en Tauride), Count Almaviva, Valentin (Faust), Raimbaud (Le Comte Ory), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Albert (Werther), Rodrigue (Don Carlos), Chorèbe (Les Troyens), Ford (Falstaff), and the title roles in Hamlet, Eugen Onegin, Monteverdi's Orfeo and Ulisse, and Wozzeck.

His dedication has seen him create numerous operatic roles in works such as Benoît Mernier's La Dispute, Philippe Boesmans' Au Monde and Pinocchio, George Benjamin's Lessons in Love and Violence.

In 2012, he was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. 2012 and 2019 have seen him named Lyrical Artist of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Classique awards.

Stéphane Degout is renowned for his highly sensitive interpretations of French melody and German Lied. He has worked under the guidance of Ruben Lifschitz and has toured internationally. Alongside several DVD opera recordings, he has recorded CDs with B Records (Histoires Naturelles) and Harmonia Mundi (Enfers), Harmonie du Soir and Berlioz' Les Nuits d'Eté, all of which have been awarded; Enfers notably winning at the International Opera Awards 2019. He continues his collaborative streak with Harmonia Mundi and recorded "Epic - Lieder & Balladen" with Simon Lepper and Mein Traum with Ensemble Pygmalion. B Records has recently released his live CD recording of Das Lied von der Erde.

ABOUT CÉDRIC TIBERGHIEN

Cédric Tiberghien is a French pianist who has established a truly international career. He has been particularly applauded for his versatility, as demonstrated by his wide-ranging repertoire, interesting programming, an openness to explore innovative concert formats, and his dynamic chamber music partnerships.

Concerto appearances in the 2022-23 season include his debut with the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra and return visits to NSO Washington (Karina Canellakis) and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. He will also perform Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony with both the Berliner Philharmoniker (Simone Young) and Orchestre National de France (Cristian Macelaru). His recital appearances with Alina Ibrabimova include the Wigmore Hall in London, Sao Paulo, and Philadelphia, and he will perform with Antoine Tamestit in both Madrid and Prague. Tiberghien's solo recitals will include London, Paris, and performances of John Cage's 16 Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano in Australia. The latter is a collaboration with the percussion artist Matthias Schack-Arnott, who is creating a kinetic installation in response to this piece. The project will receive its world premiere performance at the Perth Festival.

Tiberghien's most recent recording includes the Ravel Concertos with Les Siècles/Roth, which has attracted superlative critical acclaim, including the accolade of 'Editor's Choice' in Gramophone Magazine. This CD was released by Harmonia Mundi, for whom Tiberghien is currently recording the complete Beethoven Variations.

As a dedicated chamber musician, Tiberghien's regular partners include violinist Alina Ibragimova, violist Antoine Tamestit, and baritone Stéphane Degout.

ABOUT ALLAN CLAYTON

The flexibility and consistency of Allan Clayton's vocal range, combined with a magnetic stage presence, have led to international acclaim in music from Baroque to contemporary. This breadth is demonstrated in recent title roles, which range from Peter Grimes and Hamlet to Faust and Candide.

He has worked in leading opera houses around the world, singing the title role in the US premiere of Brett Dean's Hamlet for his debut at the Metropolitan Opera; David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Royal Opera House and Bayerische Staatsoper, Ferdinand in Miranda at Paris' Opéra Comique, and in several Barrie Kosky productions for the Komische Oper Berlin, such as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Castor in Castor et Pollux, Jupiter in Semele, and the title role in Candide. His performances as Peter Grimes have led to great critical acclaim at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro Real Madrid, the Met, and the Palais Garnier in Paris. Recent performances include H.K. Gruber's Frankenstein at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne's Garden Opera series with In the Market for Love, an updated version of Offenbach's Mesdames de La Halle, and the role of Jim Mahoney in Barrie Kosky's new staging of Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny for Komische Oper Berlin.

Clayton has appeared at the BBC Proms ten times since his first visit in 2008. His world premiere performance of Gerald Barry's Canada from 2017 was shown as part of the revised 2020 BBC Proms, for which he also sang Britten's Nocturnes in a live broadcast. In recent concerts at Barbican Hall, he has sung in The Dream of Gerontius and Britten's Spring Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder and Sir Simon Rattle respectively, and in Mendelssohn's Elijah with BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo. He has given lied recitals around the world, with repertoire including works such as Schubert's Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin, Vaughan Williams' On Wenlock Edge, and songs by Strauss, Wolf, Duparc, and Tippett. Several composers have written song cycles specifically with his voice in mind, including Mark-Anthony Turnage with Refugee and Josephine Stephenson with Une saison en enfer. An advocate of contemporary music, he has appeared in world premieres of George Benjamin's Written on Skin, Jonathan Dove's The Adventures of Pinocchio, and Gerald Barry's Alice's Adventures Underground. His rich discography ranges from Handel, Mozart, and Beethoven to Liszt, Britten, and Lukaszewski.

ABOUT JAMES BAILLIEU

Described by The Daily Telegraph as "in a class of his own,:' James Baillieu is one of the leading song and chamber music pianists of his generation. He has given solo and chamber recitals throughout the world and collaborates with a wide range of singers and instrumentalists including Benjamin Appl, Jamie Barton, Ian Bostridge, Allan Clayton, Annette Dasch, Lise Davidsen, the Elias and Heath Quartets, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Adam Walker, and Pretty Yende. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Ulster Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, and the Wiener Kammersymphonie.

James Baillieu is a frequent guest at many of the world's most distinguished music venues including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Berlin Konzerthaus, Vienna Musikverein, Barbican Centre, and the Pierre Boulez Saal, amongst others. At the invitation of John Gilhooly CBE OSI, James Baillieu has presented his own programming series at Wigmore Hall. An innovative programmer, he has stewarded many song and chamber music series for the Brighton Festival, BBC Radio 3, Verbier Festival, Bath International Festival, and Perth Concert Hall.

Highlights of the 2022-23 season include a recital with violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen in a program of CPE Bach presented by San Francisco Performances; tour dates across North America; a fully-produced staged presentation of Winterreise with Benjamin Appl at the Gran Teatre del Liceu designed by Spanish painter Antonio López; a pair of recitals with Allan Clayton at Park Avenue Armory; recitals with Lise Davidsen at the Bergen International Festival; a European tour with Veronique Gens; and performances in the UK and Spain with violist Timothy Ridout.

James Baillieu is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music, a coach for the Jette Parker Young Artist Program at the Royal Opera House, and head of the Song Program at the Atelier Lyrique of the Verbier Festival Academy.

ABOUT PAVEL KOLESNIKOV

In 2012 pianist Pavel Kolesnikov became a sensation at the Honens International Piano Competition when he took home the world's largest piano prize. The London-based pianist was born in Siberia into a family of scientists. He studied both the piano and violin for ten years, before concentrating solely on the piano. Following his Wigmore Hall debut in 2014, The Daily Telegraph gave his recital a rare five-star review and called it "one of the most memorable of such occasions London has witnessed for a while."

Celebrated for his imaginative, thought-provoking programming which offers the listener a fresh, often unexpected perspective on familiar pieces, Kolesnikov has given recitals at the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, Carnegie Hall, Berlin's Konzerthaus, the Louvre and Salle Gaveau in Paris, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. In recent years he also performed at La Roque d'Antheron festival, the Musiq3 Festival in Brussels, and the Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse. Kolesnikov is a resident artist at the 2023 Aldeburgh Festival, where he has curated a series of seven concerts.

An avid ensemble player, Kolesnikov regularly performs in piano duo with Samson Tsoy and collaborates with other musicians such as cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, the Hermes String Quartet, and the Calidore String Quartet. In 2019 he performed the complete cycle of Brahms violin and viola sonatas with Lawrence Power. He formed Trio Aventure with Elina Buksha and Aurelien Pascal.

Kolesnikov records for Hyperion, with repertoire ranging from rarely heard harpsichord pieces by Louis Couperin to Tchaikovsky's The Seasons. His Chopin Mazurkas album won the Diapason d'Or de l'annee, and his 6th album, Bach's Goldberg Variations, was released in Autumn 2020. He collaborated with legendary Belgian dancer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker on a new choreographic work based on the Goldberg Variations, which premiered in August 2020 at the Wiener Festwochen and is currently touring the world.

In 2019, together with Samson Tsoy, Kolesnikov started Ragged Music Festival at the Ragged School Museum, the former "ragged school" of Dr Barnardo in London's East End. In the same year Kolesnikov was honoured with the Critics' Circle Young Talent Award 2019 for piano.

ABOUT THE RECITAL SERIES

Park Avenue Armory presents more intimate performances and programs in its acclaimed Recital Series, which showcases musical talent from across the globe in an intimate salon setting. Now celebrating its tenth season, the series has held the debuts of many world-class artists, including: the North American recital debuts of pianist Igor Levit, soprano Sabine Devieilhe, tenor Ilker Arcayürek, baritones Benjamin Appl and Roderick Williams, clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer, and cellist István Várdai; the North American solo recital debuts of tenor Michael Spyres and mezzo soprano Emily D'Angelo; the US Recital debuts of sopranos Barbara Hannigan and Anna Lucia Richter and baritone Thomas Oliemans; and the New York debut of pianist Severin von Eckardstein and the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam.

The Recital Series has programmed the world premieres of Roger Reynolds' FLiGHT performed by the JACK Quartet and Michael Hersch's "...das Rückgrat berstend" performed by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellist Jay Campbell. Actor Charlotte Rampling and cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton gave the US premiere of The Night Dances on the series in 2015, which brought together Benjamin Britten's suites for solo cello and poetry by Sylvia Plath; Wieder-Atherton returned to the Armory in 2017 for the North American premiere of Little Girl Blue, a program that reimagined the music of Nina Simone. New York premieres include: Anna Thorvaldsdottir's In the Light of Air and Shades of Silence performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble; Dai Kujikura's Minina, John Zorn's Baudelaires, and a new arrangement of Messiaen's Chants de terre et de ciel, also performed by ICE; Michael Gordon's Rushes performed by the Rushes Ensemble; Michael Harrison's Just Constellations performed by Roomful of Teeth; David Lang's depart, Gabriel Jackson's Our flags are wafting in hope and grief and Rigwreck, Kile Smith's "Conversation in the Mountains" from Where Flames A Word, Louis Andriessen's Ahania Weeping, Suzanne Giraud's Johannisbaum, David Shapiro's Sumptuous Planet, Benjamin CS Boyle's Empire of Crystal, and Ted Hearne's Animals (commissioned by Park Avenue Armory), all performed by The Crossing under conductor Donald Nally; and John Zorn's Jumalatteret sung by soprano Barbara Hannigan with pianist Stephen Gosling.

Additional notable programs include performances by: baritone Christian Gerhaher with pianist Gerold Huber; the Flux Quartet; tenor Ian Bostridge with pianist Wenwen Du; pianist David Fray; soprano Lisette Oropesa with pianist John Churchwell; countertenor Andreas Scholl with harpsichordist Tamar Halperin; soprano Kate Royal with pianist Joseph Middleton; pipa player Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet; tenor Lawrence Brownlee with pianists Myra Huang and Jason Moran; mezzo soprano Isabel Leonard with pianist Ted Sperling; soprano Nadine Sierra with pianist Brian Wagorn; Rosa Feola with pianist Iain Burnside; cellist Nicolas Altstaedt; tenor Paul Appleby with pianist Conor Hanick; baritone Will Liverman with pianist Myra Huang; mezzo soprano Jamie Barton with pianist and composer Jake Heggie; new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound; French period choir and chamber orchestra Ensemble Correspondances under the direction of harpsichordist and organist Sébastien Daucé; baritone Justin Austin and pianist Howard Watkins; soprano Ying Fang with pianist Ken Noda; and members of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

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