Sir Simon Rattle to Launch Two-Year Perspectives Series at Carnegie Hall

Esteemed conductor Sir Simon Rattle, who has appeared at Carnegie Hall nearly 40 times since his debut in 1976, launches his two-year Perspectives series at the Hall this November. Presenting what he calls an "extraordinary journey," this season Sir Simon leads the Berliner Philharmoniker in all nine Beethoven symphonies in five concerts over five consecutive days from November 17-21, all at 8:00 p.m.

"For orchestra, conductor, and audience," Sir Simon says of the Beethoven symphonies, "if you've heard these pieces over five days you really get an idea of how the entire 19th century was made-how it was taken from one place and moved to another by the force and genius of one man."

Sir Simon begins his Beethoven symphony cycle with Nos. 1 and 3 on Tuesday, November 17. He continues with the Leonore Overture No. 1 and symphonies Nos. 2 and 5 on Wednesday, November 18; Nos. 8 and 6 on Thursday, November 19; and Nos. 4 and 7 on Friday, November 20. For the last concert on Saturday, November 21, Sir Simon conducts Symphony No. 9 with soloists including soprano Annette Dasch, mezzo-soprano Eva Vogel, tenor Christian Elsner, and bass Dimitry Ivashchenko, along with the Westminster Symphonic Choir.

"To do Beethoven symphonies is hard enough," Sir Simon continues, "but to do a cycle of Beethoven symphonies is something very different. It's at the center of music. It's such a journey through [Beethoven's] life. And of course it's clearly the same composer who's written the First and who's written the Ninth, but the distance between them is really astonishing...You can also see someone building a whole edifice that will support the music of the next 150 years."

Details about Sir Simon's Perspectives events in the 2016-2017 season are to be announced. For more information, visit carnegiehall.org/rattle.

In celebration of the Berliner Philharmoniker's Beethoven symphony cycle, Carnegie Hall presents a Discovery Day on Sunday, November 15 at 1:00 p.m. in Weill Recital Hall. The afternoon features a keynote lecture with Harvard Professor of Music Thomas Forrest Kelly followed by a piano performance of movements from Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 4, and 5 by Gregory DeTurck and Tanya Gabrielian. The performance is followed by a dramatic reading and a panel discussion with musicians from the Berliner Philharmoniker-violist Ulrich Knörzer, horn player Fergus McWilliam, and bass player Peter Riegelbauer. Moderating this special event is Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen.

In addition, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute welcomes five musicians of the Berliner Philharmoniker who will lead master classes for alumni from the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America in the Resnick Education Wing. Master class leaders include first concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley, first principal second violin Christian Stadelmann, first principal viola Máté Sz?cs, first principal cello Ludwig Quandt, and horn player Sarah Willis.

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