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Harris Theater Announces 2014-15 Music Season

By: May. 15, 2014
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The Harris Theater for Music and Dance today announced a broad spectrum of music performances for the 2014-2015 Harris Theater Presents season, one of the most ambitious music offerings to date, featuring many of today's leading musicians, ensembles, and organizations from around the world.

The 2014-2015 music season at the Harris will include historic premieres from two international ensembles: the tour launch and North American debut of Italian opera house Teatro Regio Torino of Turin, Italy, led by Music Director Maestro Gianandrea Noseda, in a concert production of Gioachino Rossini's rarely performed opera William Tell- marking the first time an Italian opera house will tour an opera in concert form in North America; and direct from Mexico City, the Orquesta Sinfo?nica del Estado de Me?xico (National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico) with Maestro Enrique Ba?tiz, co-presented by the Harris Theater and the National Museum of Mexican Art, performing a unique Spanish festival program celebrating Latino heritage in their Chicago debut.

The Harris is also thrilled to present pianist and Avery Fischer Career Grant recipient Inon Barnatan in his first-ever Chicago solo recital concert; and the Sphinx Virtuosi returns to the Harris with a special Eat + Drink to the Beat program honoring a musical milestone in American history. Experimental performance artist Laurie Anderson makes her third appearance at the Harris Theater, now with a new multimedia project created in collaboration with the San Francisco- based Kronos Quartet in a Chicago premiere. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will begin its second three-year artistic residency at the Theater in 2014-2015 with an expanded five-concert series, including the city's newest holiday tradition, the entire Bach Brandenburg Concertos, performed by some of the world's most important chamber musicians. CMS concludes 2014-2015 with a unique collaborative concert with the nine-time Grammy Award-winning Emerson String Quartet, featuring newly appointed cellist Paul Watkins.

"As audiences know, music at the Harris Theater is a singular experience," said Michael Tiknis, the Harris Theater's President and Managing Director. "We're celebrating many firsts in 2014-2015, one of which is sure to be a highlight of Chicago's music season, along with an expanded residency with one of the world's premier organizations, and a must- see collaboration between two music legends. We look forward to hearing all these magnificent artists in concert, enhanced by the unique acoustics as only the Harris can provide. "

See a full listing of Harris Theater Presents 2014-15 music performances below.

2014-2015: Hear The Music.

Inon Barnatan
Monday, November 3, 2014, 7:30PM Chicago solo recital debut

With an uncompromising technique and soul-stirring virtuosity, Israeli pianist and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Inon Barnatan performs in his Chicago solo recital debut this fall, followed by a performance as a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center later in the season. Barnatan, appointed by the New York Philharmonic as its first Artist-in- Association in 2013, has been lauded around the world, both in concert and for his critically

acclaimed recordings of works by Beethoven and Schubert. Considered a musical prodigy when he was just 3 years old and making his orchestral debut at 11, Barnatan has performed in concert with the Cleveland, Houston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco Symphony orchestras, along with solo recitals at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Teatro Regio Torino with Maestro Gianandrea Noseda, Music Director & Conductor
William Tell
Featuring soprano Angela Meade, tenor John Osborn, and baritone Fabio Capitanucci

Wednesday, December 3, 2014, 7PM North American debut

A highlight of the 2014-2015 Harris Theater Presents season, Teatro Regio Torino of Turin, Italy, launches its first-ever North American tour in Chicago at the Harris Theater with a rare concert production of Gioachino Rossini's William Tell. Rossini's grand opera has not been heard in Chicago since 1986, when the Lithuanian Opera Company of Chicago last performed it. Now, one of Italy's oldest and most venerable opera companies, under the leadership of internationally acclaimed Music Director Gianandrea Noseda, celebrates its North American debut with Rossini's last and most famous work, chronicling the adventures of a 15th century Swiss folk hero and his legendary expertise with a crossbow. Teatro Regio Torino's four-stop tour-with performances in Chicago, Ann Arbor, Toronto, and New York's Carnegie Hall-marks the first time an Italian opera house will tour an opera in concert form in North America. The December 3 production will feature soprano Angela Meade as Matilde, tenor John Osborn as Arnoldo, and baritone Fabio Capitanucci in the title role of Guglielmo Tell.

Sphinx Virtuosi

Eat + Drink to the Beat

Wednesday, October 22, 2014, 5:30PM
Tribute program honoring centennial of the Star Spangled Banner

The 2014 Sphinx Virtuosi tour, Americana, features works by American composers with the highlight of the program being a new commission by Sphinx Virtuosi Composer-In- Residence, Jessie Montgomery. Her new work, Banner!, is a jubilant celebration of the

centennial of the Star Spangled Banner. The Sphinx Virtuosi and its award-winning ensemble of young African American and Latino string players make their Eat + Drink to the Beat debut in October. The Sphinx Virtuosi has garnered critical acclaim for its regular performances at New York's Carnegie Hall and for its diverse range of classical repertoire.

Orquesta Sinfo?nica del Estado de Me?xico with Maestro Enrique Ba?tiz Featuring soloists Alfonso Moreno and Irina Chistiakova
Friday, February 27, 2015, 7:30PM
Chicago debut

One of Mexico's most esteemed classical music ensembles, the award-winning Orquesta Sinfo?nica del Estado de Me?xico (National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico), co-presented by the Harris Theater and the National Museum of Mexican Art, celebrates the rich history of its home country in its Chicago debut. In a riveting program featuring works by Enrique Granados, Joaqui?n Rodrigo, Manuel Ponce, and Manuel de Falla, the orchestra will be joined by Alfonso Moreno-one of the greatest interpreters known to the world of classical guitar-and piano soloist Irina Chistiakova. Celebrated conductor Enrique Ba?tiz leads this exceptional cultural treasure in works celebrating a rich foundation of musical heritage. Ba?tiz is a former guest with the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and principal guest conductor with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Program: Granados Rodrigo Ponce

de Falla

Three Spanish Dances
Concierto de Aranjuez
Piano concerto Romantic
Noches en los Jardines de Espan?a

Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet

Landfall

Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 7:30PM Chicago premiere

The beguiling genius of experimental multimedia artist Laurie Anderson returns to the Harris Theater for the third time since her Harris Theater debut in 2008. Anderson teams with the legendary San Francisco-based Kronos Quartet for the first time in Landfall, a collection of works composed on hyper violin and

adapted to the string quartet, inspired by the events of Hurricane Sandy. This avant-garde collaboration, co- commissioned by Stanford University's performing arts presenter, Stanford Live, draws on Anderson's experience during the storm with wry intelligence and ominous foreshadowing of one of the most devastating natural disasters in New York's history. Anderson and Kronos Quartet's magnificent dreamscape touches on the unpredictable bonds forged between strangers, and the power of hope in the face of adversity.

2014-2015 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Dvor?a?k, Chausson, and Schubert

Monday, November 17, 2014, 7:30PM

Musicologist Alfred Einstein wrote that the "Trout" Quintet is music "we cannot help but love." Schubert's timeless masterpiece is paired with great Romantic works by Dvor?a?k and Chausson.

Program:
Dvor?a?k Selections from Cypresses (Echo of Songs) for String Quartet, B. 152 (1865)
Dvor?a?k Nocturne for Two Violins, Viola, Cello, Bass (1870, rev. 1875)
Chausson Trio in G minor of Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 3 (1881)
Schubert Quintet in A major for Piano, Viola, Cello, and Bass, D. 667, Op. 114, "Trout" (1819)

Musicians:
Inon Barnatan, piano • Ani Kavafian, violin • Areta Zhulla, violin • Lawrence Power, viola • Nicholas Canellakis, cello • Gary Hoffman, cello • David Grossman, double bass

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Brandenburg Concertos

Thursday, December 18, 2014, 7:30PM

Chicago's newest holiday tradition is back for a second year. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performs the complete Bach Brandenburg Concertos. Called a "holiday staple" by The New York Times, this festive performance is not to be missed.

Program:
Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046 (1720) Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 (1720) Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 (1720) Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049 (1720) Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 (1720) Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major, BWV 1051 (1720)

Musicians:
John Gibbons, harpsichord • Benjamin Beilman, violin/viola • Aaron Boyd, violin • Sean Lee, violin • Daniel Phillips, violin • Lily Francis, viola • Lawrence Dutton, viola • Timothy Eddy, cello • Eileen Moon, cello • Paul Watkins, cello • Timothy Cobb, double bass • Sooyun Kim, flute • Robert Langevin, flute • Randall Ellis, oboe • James Austin Smith, oboe • Stephen Taylor, oboe • Marc Goldberg, bassoon • Julie Landsman, horn • Julia Pilant, horn • David Washburn, trumpet

Program: Z?ivkovic Nancarrow

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Drumming

Thursday, February 5, 2015, 7:30PM

In an exhilarating program that is both sonically and visually captivating, gems of the percussion repertoire take center stage, including Thierry de Mey's mesmerizing Musiques de tables, John Cage's ethereal In a Landscape, and Barto?k's riveting Sonata.

"Meccanico" from Trio per uno for Percussion Trio (1995, 1999)
Piece for Tape arranged for Solo Percussion (arr. Dominic Murcott) (1950s)

Musiques de Tables for Percussion Trio (1987)
In a Landscape for Solo Marimba (trans. Ian Rosenbaum) (1948) Rain Tree for Percussion Trio (1981)
Drumming: Part I for Percussion Quartet (1970-71)

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Romantic Piano Quartets

Monday, March 2, 2015, 7:30PM

Bold, lush, and exquisite piano quartets by Mahler, Schumann, and Brahms comprise this unforgettable program. The stellar cast includes CMS Artistic Directors David Finckel and Wu Han, the dynamic violinist Daniel Hope, and viola virtuoso Paul Neubauer.

Program:
Mahler Quartet in A minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello (1876-78) Schumann Quartet in E-flat major for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 47 (1842) Brahms Quartet No. 1 in G minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 25 (1862)

Musicians:
Wu Han, piano • Daniel Hope, violin • Paul Neubauer, viola • David Finckel, cello

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center with Emerson String Quartet
Mozart, Liebermann, and Tchaikovsky
Wednesday, May 20, 2015, 7:30PM

Chicago performance debut of the new Emerson String Quartet; CMS co-commission

Chicago will get its first opportunity to hear the new Emerson String Quartet, now with newly appointed cellist Paul Watkins, marking the quartet's first membership change in more than three decades. Watkins replaces former Emerson String Quartet member and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Co-Artistic Director David Finckel, one of today's foremost classical cellists. Described by Fortune magazine as "arguably the world's best group of chamber musicians," the quartet performs alongside members of CMS in a co-commission project, celebrating works by Mozart, Liebermann, and Tchaikovsky in the final performance CMS' expanded 2014-2015 season.

Program:
Mozart Quintet in E-flat major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello, K. 614 (1791)

de Mey Cage Takemitsu Reich Barto?k

Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion (1937)
Gilbert Kalish, piano • Wu Han, piano • Victor Caccese, percussion • Christopher Froh, percussion • Ayano Kataoka,

Musicians:
percussion • Ian David Rosenbaum, percussion

Liebermann New quartet (2014, Chicago premiere, CMS co-commission)
Tchaikovsky Sextet for Two Violins, Two Violas and Two Cellos, Op. 70, "Souvenir de Florence" (1890)

Musicians:
Emerson String Quartet (Eugene Drucker, violin • Philip Setzer, violin • Lawrence Dutton, viola • Paul Watkins, cello) • Paul Neubauer, viola • Colin Carr, cello

••• All programs, prices, and dates are subject to change. •••

Harris Theater for Music and Dance: The Harris Theater's mission is to partner with an array of Chicago's emerging and midsize performing arts organizations to help them build infrastructure and achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability. Opened on November 8, 2003, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance was the first multi-use performing arts venue to be built in the Chicago downtown area since 1929. Today the Theater continues to host the most diverse offerings of any venue in Chicago, featuring the city's world-renowned music and dance institutions and the Harris Theater Presents series of acclaimed national and international artists and ensembles.

To learn more about the Harris Theater, visit HarrisTheaterChicago.org. Call the Box Office at 312.334.7777 to request a brochure or additional information. The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago's state-of-the art 1,525-seat performance venue, can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.



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