The Orchestra Now Announces 2018-19 Performance Season
By: Julie Musbach May. 30, 2018
The Orchestra Now (TON), the visionary orchestra and master's degree program founded in 2015 by Bard College president and conductor, educator, and music historian Leon Botstein, will open its fourth season on September 15, 2018. Five individual series and two special events will present 17 different programs offering innovative combinations of familiar and lesser-known repertoire through May 19, 2019. To date, the young members of TON have performed close to 100 concerts for more than 35,000 New Yorkers.
Highlights of the 2018-19 season include four U.S. premieres: Joachim Raff's De Profundiswith soprano Elizabeth de Trejo and Lera Auerbach's De Profundis (Violin Concerto No. 3) with soloist Vadim Repin at Carnegie Hall on May 2, 2019 and at Bard College's Fisher Center on April 27 & 28, 2019; Stephen O'Malley's Un Vide dans le Ciel, to be performed at the 2018 Basilica Soundscape Music + Art Festival on September 15, 2018; and Tan Dun's Cello Concerto: Intercourse of Fire and Water at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall onNovember 11, 2018. TON will also give the NY premiere of American abstract composer Morton Feldman's rarely-heard ensemble work Orchestra at The Metropolitan Museum of Art onMay 19, 2019. In addition to Tan Dun, guest conductor Fabio Luisi will also take the podium atTON's Rose Theater series. The Zurich Opera music director and former Metropolitan Opera principal conductor will conduct Brahms' Symphony No. 2 and Grieg's Piano Concerto, performed by Italian pianist Alessandro Taverna. TON's primary conductors are music director Leon Botstein and associate conductor James Bagwell. The Fisher Center series at Bard College will offer programs ranging from Copland's Lincoln Portrait to evenings focused on the romantic heroes of Wagner and R. Strauss. The eminent Carnegie Hall series will include one evening featuring Lili Boulanger's De Profundis, a remarkable work by a composer whose extraordinary talents were never fulfilled due to her early death; and another program spotlighting the great Russian composers Rimsky-Korsakov and Glière. The top-selling Sight & Sound series at The Metropolitan Museum of Art will return with three performances exploring the parallels between orchestral music and the visual arts, including a coupling of Mahler's Kindertotenliedersung by baritone Michael Anthony McGee, with the artworks of Klimt, Schiele, and Picasso. FREE concerts will be offered in New York City and beyond, including two at Peter Norton Symphony Space in Manhattan: one with TON's associate conductor James Bagwell, and the other with TON's resident conductor Zachary Schwartzman. Bagwell will also lead two free concerts at Hudson Hall in Hudson, NY. The engaging programming of these performances is a great opportunity for families to experience their first orchestral performance and attract a new generation to the joys of classical music.
Two special events will offer the U.S. premiere of Stephen O'Malley's Un Vide dans le Ciel at the 2018 Basilica Soundscape Music + Art Festival and an all-Karol Rathaus program led by Leon Botstein, featuring the works of the European composer who was exiled by the Nazis at LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College on February 24, 2019. This concert is part of a Rathaus Festival organized by the Aaron Copland School of Music.
"I am particularly proud that our first class of 21 graduate students just completed their three-year TON training this season," said music director Leon Botstein. "It's exciting to see these talented young artists take the knowledge and newly polished skills of TON's Master's Degree Program out into the musical world at large. Some have already been asked to play with prestigious American orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Baltimore Symphony. Others are going on to fill seats in symphonies in Europe, are founding their own ensembles, or will pursue doctoral degrees. All of these activities fulfill the ultimate goal of TON, which is to support the crucial need for artists that inspire new audiences with a shared sense of adventure."
Additional highlights are the second season of the Orchestra's successful broadcast series on WMHT-FM, the NPR classical music radio station of upstate New York, featuring the programs of the Fisher Center series. Underscoring the quality of TON's performances, the Ensemble's first recording, Ferdinand Ries: Piano Concertos No. 8 & 9 with Piers Lane, was just released on the Hyperion label on April 27, 2018. The Orchestra's October 14, 2017 performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall of Anton Rubinstein's Piano Concerto No. 4 and Caprice Russe, with pianist Anna Shelest and conductor Neeme Järvi, will be released on Sorel Classics on July 6, 2018, distributed by Naxos. The Orchestra will also be performing in a celebration of Chinese composers, presented in partnership with the Beijing Conservatory, at Carnegie Hall and David Geffen Hall. More details on that concert will be announced at a later date.
This season TON welcomes a new class of 25 young musicians, for a total of over 70 members in all. In addition to the United States, TON musicians hail from many countries around the world, including Bulgaria, China, France, Hungary, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Peru, Poland, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Venezuela. All TON musicians accepted into the curriculum take a three-year Master of Music Degree Program in Curatorial, Critical, and Performance Studies. Hundreds of candidates vie for the opportunity to rehearse, perform, and study with Bard College faculty, guest scholars, and performing artists, surrounded by the intellectual atmosphere of a liberal arts college uniquely suited to the task, at one of America's most forward-thinking classical music centers.
Carnegie Hall SERIES, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
The Orchestra Now returns to Carnegie Hall with Leon Botstein for a season showcasing under-performed masterworks. Highlights include the U.S. premieres of Joachim Raff's Psalm 130: De Profundis and Lera Auerbach's De Profundis (Violin Concerto No. 3) with internationally acclaimed violinist Vadim Repin, and a program devoted to Russian music.
Russian Evolution: From Rimsky-Korsakov to Glière
Friday December 14, 2018 at 7:30 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 1
Reinhold Glière: Symphony No. 3, Ilya Muromets
In this evening, the Orchestra focuses on the drama of Russian music. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote much of his first symphony while serving in the Russian navy, and actually appeared onstage in uniform at the work's 1865 premiere. Many Russian folk and oriental melodies can be heard in the piece, and nationalists dubbed it the "First Russian Symphony." Reinhold Glière's expansive Symphony No. 3, Ilya Muromets, is based on the life of one of Russia's most famous mythical heroes. Highly respected for his values, he is the only such character to have been canonized by Russia's Orthodox Church. Glière was a true believer in the pre-revolutionary national Russian school and hence, his embrace of traditional forms made him a favorite of Soviet authorities.
De Profundis: Out of the Depths
Thursday May 2, 2019 at 7 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Vadim Repin, violin
Elizabeth de Trejo, soprano
Bard Festival Chorale
A co-presentation with the Trans-Siberian Art Festival
Virgil Thomson: De Profundis
Joachim Raff: Psalm 130: De Profundis (U.S. Premiere)
Lera Auerbach: De Profundis (Violin Concerto No. 3) (U.S. Premiere)
Lili Boulanger: Psalm 130: Du fond de l'abîme (De Profundis)
This program presents settings by four composers of Psalm 130, which reads "Out of the depths, Oh Lord, have I cried unto thee." The performance opens with a piece by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Virgil Thomson, who wrote his interpretation of De Profundis in 1921 while still a student at Harvard. Joachim Raff's rarely-heard masterpiece was written for soprano, eight-part choir, and orchestra. Dedicated to Franz Liszt, it is often viewed as a reconciliation offering to the famous pianist/composer, with whom Raff had a sometimes-contentious relationship. Russian-born poet and composer Lera Auerbach's version of Psalm 130 was originally commissioned by the Trans-Siberian Art Festival for founder and artistic director Vadim Repin, who performs its American premiere at this concert. The Festival shares its values with TON and Leon Botstein: to build cultural, social, and geographical bridges across continents through the arts and music education.
The evening closes with a noteworthy program highlight by an extremely gifted but lesser-known musician. Lili Boulanger's rendering of Psalm 130 reveals a sophisticated toolkit of compositional skills for such a young artist. Composed at the early age of 22, the piece is dedicated to the memory of Boulanger's father. Her tragic life was cut short only a year later.
Tickets start at $25, available in early August. Tickets may be purchased online at carnegiehall.org, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800, or in person at the Carnegie Hall box office at 57th and Seventh.
ROSE THEATER SERIES
In Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall, The Orchestra Now presents two concerts with music ranging from Brahms' Second Symphony to the U.S. premiereof renowned composer, conductor, visual artist, and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun's Cello Concerto: Intercourse of Fire and Water. This program also includes another Tan Dun work: Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds, commissioned by Carnegie Hall in 2015 for the National Youth Orchestra of the United States. The music draws on forms from East and West, ancient and modern, and incorporates birdsong produced by smartphone. The March 26performance will be led by the distinguished guest conductor Fabio Luisi, music director of the Zurich Opera and principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. The concert features Alessandro Taverna in Grieg's Piano Concerto.
Tan Dun & Respighi's Pines of Rome
Sunday November 11, 2018 at 3 pm
Tan Dun, conductor
Smetana: Vltava (The Moldau) from Má Vlast (My Country)
Tan Dun: Cello Concerto: Intercourse of Fire and Water (U.S. Premiere)
Tan Dun: Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds
Respighi: Pines of Rome
The soloist will be announced at a later date.
Fabio Luisi Conducts Brahms' Second Symphony
Tuesday March 26, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Fabio Luisi, conductor
Alessandro Taverna, piano
Grieg: Piano Concerto
Brahms: Symphony No. 2
Tickets from $25, available in early August. Tickets may be purchased online at jazz.org, by calling CenterCharge at 212.721.6500, or in person at the Jazz at Lincoln Center box office on the ground floor of the Time Warner Center, Broadway at 60th Street.
SIGHT & SOUND SERIES AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
TON's frequently sold-out Sight & Sound series at The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present three concerts from September 2018 through May 2019. Soloists in the series feature baritone Michael Anthony McGee, top prize winner at the Opera Index Competition; and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, pianist Orion Weiss. TON, with conductor and music historian Leon Botstein, explores the parallels between orchestral music and the visual arts. A discussion is accompanied by musical excerpts performed by The Orchestra Now and on-screen artworks, followed by a full performance and audience Q&A.
Mahler & The Feminine Ideal
Sunday September 30, 2018 at 2 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Michael Anthony McGee, baritone
Mahler's Kindertotenlieder and the artwork of Klimt, Schiele, and Picasso
Like many of his time, Gustav Mahler was obsessed with the image of femininity and its reality. During this era, painters, writers, and composers depicted women both as elevated aspirations for redemption as well as objects of lust. No generation of artists and thinkers, including Freud, Klimt, and Arthur Schniztler, spent more time concerned with the ethics and aesthetics of gender and sexuality. Mahler's Kindertotenlieder evokes the composer's complicated personal life, especially in relation to the idealization of the family, and the reality of life with his infamous wife Alma. A composer in her own right, Mahler forbid her to continue writing after their marriage, a decision that caused marital problems.
Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Obsession: Nudes by Klimt, Schiele, and Picasso from the Scofield Thayer Collection, on view at The Met Breuer July 3-October 7, 2018.
Chopin, Delacroix & The Romantic Impulse
Sunday November 18, 2018 at 2 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Orion Weiss, piano
Chopin's Variations on "Là ci darem la mano," Berlioz's Waverley Overture, and the artwork of Delacroix
The French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix, a contemporary of Berlioz, was passionate about music. In his later years he became close to Chopin and developed a fascination with Mozart. The romantic impulse embodied in their art can be seen through the lens of two profoundly different but equally innovative approaches to beauty and the sublime.
Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Delacroix, on view at The Met Fifth AvenueSeptember 17, 2018-January 6, 2019.
Abstraction in Music & Art
Sunday May 19, 2019 at 2 pm
Webern's Six Pieces for Orchestra, Feldman's Orchestra (NY Premiere), and the artwork of the Abstract Expressionists
Painters have often been inspired by music as the ultimate abstract art form. One of the early abstract painters, Kandinsky, was so moved by music that he attempted to compose. Musical abstraction started with the radical modernist Anton Webern, freeing the form from the conventions of late Romanticism. At the height of the movement's popularity in America, experimental composer Morton Feldman mirrored Kandinsky and took his inspiration from abstract visual art. One of his lesser-known early orchestral works, Orchestra, receives its New York premiere at this performance.
Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Epic Abstraction: Pollock to Herrera, on view at The Met Breuer opening November 2018.
Tickets from $30, series from $75, bring the Kids for $1. Subscriptions and single tickets available now online at metmuseum.org/sightandsound, by calling The Met at 212.570.3949, or in person at The Great Hall Box Office at The Metropolitan Museum of Art at 5th Ave and 82ndSt.
THE FISHER CENTER SERIES AT BARD COLLEGE, Sosnoff Theater
The Orchestra Now's residency at Bard College's Fisher Center renews with eleven performances of six different programs, all conducted by music director Leon Botstein. Repertoire will feature Brahms' Violin Concerto with Zhen Liu, a winner of the 2017 Bard College Conservatory Concerto Competition, which is dedicated to discovering and launching the careers of gifted musicians; a program of 20th-century music by Copland, Carter, Ives, and Piston; and a performance of Verdi's much-loved Requiem with members of the Bard Conservatory Orchestra, the Bard College Chamber Singers, and the Bard Festival Chorale, directed by James Bagwell. Soloists in the series include violinist Vadim Repin and sopranoElizabeth de Trejo.
Brahms & England
Saturday October 6, 2018 at 8 pm
Sunday October 7, 2018 at 2 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Zhen Liu, violin
Joseph Joachim: Hamlet Overture
Brahms: Violin Concerto
Elgar: Symphony No. 1
Copland's Lincoln Portrait
Saturday November 3, 2018 at 8 pm
Sunday November 4, 2018 at 2 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Ives: Decoration Day from the Holidays Symphony
Carter: Concerto for Orchestra
Piston: Symphony No. 2
Copland: Lincoln Portrait
Russian Evolution: From Rimsky-Korsakov to Glière
Wednesday December 12, 2018 at 7 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 1
Reinhold Glière: Symphony No. 3, Ilya Muromets
This concert will be repeated at Carnegie Hall on December 14.
The Romantic Hero
Saturday February 9, 2019 at 8 pm
Sunday February 10, 2019 at 2 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Wagner: Siegfried's Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung
Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini
R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life)
Verdi's Requiem
Saturday April 6, 2019 at 8 pm
Sunday April 7, 2019 at 2 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Verdi: Requiem
Members of the Bard Conservatory Orchestra, the Bard College Chamber Singers,
and the Bard Festival Chorale
De Profundis: Out of the Depths
Saturday April 27, 2019 at 8 pm
Sunday April 28, 2019 at 2 pm
Leon Botstein, conductor
Vadim Repin, violin
Elizabeth de Trejo, soprano
Bard Festival Chorale
A co-presentation with the Trans-Siberian Art Festival
Virgil Thomson: De Profundis
Joachim Raff: Psalm 130: De Profundis (U.S. Premiere)
Lera Auerbach: De Profundis (Violin Concerto No. 3) (U.S. Premiere)
Lili Boulanger: Psalm 130: Du fond de l'abîme (De Profundis)
This concert will be repeated at Carnegie Hall on May 2.
Tickets from $25 (series from $63.75). Subscriptions are on sale now, single tickets will be available in early August. Tickets may be purchased online at fishercenter.bard.edu, by calling the box office at 845.758.7900, or in person at the Fisher Center box office in the lobby of Sosnoff Theater.
FREE CONCERTS SERIES
TON continues its series of free concerts at multiple venues in New York City and beyond, providing families with an opportunity to attend their first orchestral performance and expose a new generation to classical music. TON's performances this season will include four performances with guest conductors James Bagwell, TON's associate conductor; and Zachary Schwartzman, TON's resident conductor, music director of the Blue Hill Troupe, and assistant conductor of the ASO. The December 2 concert features tenor Eric Carey, a winner of the 2017 Bard College Conservatory Concerto Competition, which is dedicated to discovering and launching the careers of gifted musicians.
Dvorak's Sixth Symphony
Sunday December 2, 2018 at 4 pm at Peter Norton Symphony Space
James Bagwell, conductor
Eric Carey, tenor
Emmanuel Chabrier: España
Britten: Les illuminations
Dvorak: Symphony No. 6
Beethoven & Mozart
Friday Dec 21, 2018 at 7 pm at Hudson Hall
James Bagwell, conductor
Corelli: Christmas Concerto
Mozart: Sinfonia concertante
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2
Pictures at an Exhibition
Sunday January 27, 2019 at 4 pm at Peter Norton Symphony Space
Zachary Schwartzman, conductor
Lyadov: The Enchanted Lake
Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite
Ravel: La Valse
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Ravel)
Schubert's Fifth Symphony
Sunday Apr 14, 2019 at 3 pm at Hudson Hall
James Bagwell, conductor
Mozart: The Abduction from the Seraglio Overture
Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga: Symphony in D
Schubert: Symphony No. 5
Tickets: These concerts are FREE, no tickets necessary. RSVPs can be made one month before each concert at theorchestranow.org or by calling The Orchestra Now at 646.237.5034.
For more information, visit theorchestranow.org.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Saturday September 15, 2018
Basilica Soundscape 2018 Music + Art Festival
James Bagwell, conductor
Stephen O'Malley: Un Vide dans le Ciel (U.S. Premiere)
Presented by Basilica Hudson and The Creative Independent, Basilica SoundScape features live concert performances, conceptual sound performances, author readings, installations, collaborations, curated local vendors and artisans, on-site activities, and more, creating an immersive, innovative weekend of art, music, and culture. Basilica SoundScape features a lineup of some of the most innovative and genre-pushing musicians, visual artists and writers working today, with unique collaborations across disciplines.
Basilica SoundScape will feature the U.S. premiere of Un Vide dans le Ciel, a major 35-minute, three-movement work for large symphony orchestra written by Stephen O'Malley (co-founder of the group Sunn O))) ) and orchestrated together with Eyvind Kang. Un Vide dans le Ciel was originally commissioned by Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for their 2016 New Music Festival. SoundScape will be the second public performance worldwide.
Tickets for the festival from $40 on sale now at basilicahudson.org.
Sunday February 24, 2019 at LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College
Karol Rathaus Festival
Leon Botstein, conductor
Daniel Wnukowski, piano
All-Rathaus Program
Louisville Prelude
Piano Concerto
Merchant of Venice Suite
Symphony No. 2
This performance is a part of the Karol Rathaus festival organized by the Aaron Copland School of Music, which will also include public lectures, master classes and a concert of chamber music.
Details and tickets will be available at kupferbergcenter.org.
The Orchestra Now
The Orchestra Now (TON) is a group of over 70 vibrant young musicians from 15 different countries around the globe: the United States, Bulgaria, China, France, Hungary, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Peru, Poland, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Venezuela. All share a mission to make orchestral music relevant to 21st-century audiences. Hand-picked from hundreds of applicants from the world's leading conservatories - including The Juilliard School, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Royal Conservatory of Brussels, and the Curtis Institute of Music - the members of TON are not only rousing audiences with their critically acclaimed performances, but also enlightening curious minds by presenting on-stage introductions and demonstrations at concerts, offering program notes written from the musicians' perspective, and connecting with patrons through one-on-one discussions during intermissions. To date, members of TON have earned positions with orchestras across the United States and in Europe. Some play regularly with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Baltimore Symphony.
Conductor, educator, and music historian Leon Botstein founded TON in 2015 as a master's degree program at Bard College, where he also serves as president. The Orchestra is in residence at Bard's Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, offering multiple concerts there each season as well as participating in the annual Bard Music Festival. The Orchestra also performs numerous concert series at major venues in New York, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as a schedule of free performances across New York City boroughs. TON has collaborated with many distinguished conductors, including Fabio Luisi, Neeme Järvi, Gerard Schwarz, and JoAnn Falletta.
For upcoming activities and more detailed information about the musicians, visit theorchestranow.org.
Leon Botstein brings a renowned career as both a conductor and educator to his role as music director of The Orchestra Now. He has been music director of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992, artistic co-director of Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival since their creation, and president of Bard College since 1975. He was the music director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra from 2003-2011 and is now conductor laureate. This year he has assumed artistic directorship of Campus Grafenegg and Grafenegg Academy in Austria. Mr. Botstein is also a frequent guest conductor with orchestras around the globe, has made numerous recordings, and is a prolific author and music historian. He is the editor of the prestigious The Musical Quarterly and has received many honors for his contributions to music.More info online at LeonBotstein.com.
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