Nashville Symphony Reveals Lineup For Artist Spotlight Series

The Nashville Symphony has announced its second Artist Spotlight Series, four curated concerts showcasing individual classical artists and chamber musicians performing a wide range of repertoire in 2024.

Headlining the series are pianist/composer Stewart Goodyear, who pairs works of his own creation with works of Beethoven; GRAMMY®-winning Paul Jacobs performing the great organ works of Bach and Liszt on the Schermerhorn’s Martin Foundation concert organ; Sphinx Virtuosi, the flagship chamber orchestra of exceptional Black and Latinx string players performing works by Jessie Montgomery, Javier Farias, and others; and Peter Otto, the Orchestra’s new Walter Buchanan Sharp Concertmaster, performing works of Johannes Brahms, Ottorino Resphigi, and Clara Schumann.

Learn more about the full lineup below!

Stewart Goodyear Plays Beethoven and Goodyear

Sunday, February 18, 2024 at 7:30 PM

Pianist Stewart Goodyear, a virtuoso performer and prolific composer, juxtaposes original works of his own creation with some of the most well-known and beloved works of Beethoven, a composer who he has described as his spiritual father since he was three years old, and “who possesses me more than any other composer when I perform in concert.” Goodyear’s Rhapsody, an elegy for a loved one, is between Beethoven’s “Tempest” and “Moonlight” sonatas, two sonatas that depict the very human feelings of sorrow and unrest. His Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, a virtuosic showpiece, is programmed alongside Beethoven’s Andante Favori and the “Appassionata” sonata, a work that is both a thrilling masterpiece as well as brilliant depiction of defiance.

Program:

Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 17 in D minor “Tempest”
Stewart Goodyear: Rhapsody
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor “Moonlight”
Stewart Goodyear: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
Ludwig van Beethoven: Andante Favori
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata”

Paul Jacobs: The Great Organ Works of Bach and Liszt

Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 7:30 PM

GRAMMY® Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs returns to the Schermerhorn to put the mighty Martin Foundation Concert Organ through its paces. As a frequent and favorite guest soloist with the Nashville Symphony, Jacobs returns for a powerhouse program of J.S. Bach and Liszt.

Program:

Johann Sebastian Bach:
Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV
Trio Sonata in E Minor, BWV 528
I. Adagio-Vivace
II. Andante
III. Un Poco Allegro
Arioso from Cantata, BWV 156
Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543

Franz Liszt: Fantasia and Fugue on ‘Ad Nos, Ad Salutarem Undam’

Peter Otto in Recital

Monday, June 24, 2024 at 7:30 PM

Peter Otto, the Nashville Symphony’s new Walter Buchanan Sharp Concertmaster performs works for violin by Johannes Brahms, Krzysztof Penderecki, Ottorino Respighi, and Clara Schumann. Otto is a graduate of The Juilliard School and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Rostock, Germany. His honors include top prizes in the Max Rostal Competition in Berlin and the Kingsville Young Performers Competition in Texas. His teachers have included Christiane Hutcap, Vera Kramarova, and Lewis Kaplan, with other significant musical influences being Roman Nodel, Igor Ozim, and Felix Galimir.

Sphinx Virtuosi

Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at 7:30 PM

The Sphinx Virtuosi is a dynamic and inspiring professional self-conducted chamber orchestra that serves as the flagship performing entity of the Sphinx Organization – the leading social justice non-profit dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Comprising 18 accomplished Black and Latinx artists, the Sphinx Virtuosi are evolving and transforming the face of classical music through artistic excellence, pioneering programming, and impassioned community engagement.

Inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes and Julia Alvarez, Sphinx’s Schermerhorn program showcases the beauty and tradition of excellence inherent in classical music created and performed by Black and Latinx composers for many generations. Sphinx seeks to uplift spirits through sharing the sounds that inspire us and transcend the boundaries of time, history, and struggle.

Program:

Quenton Blache: Habari Gani*
Javier Farias: Abran Paso*
Adolphus Hailstork: from Sonata da Chiesa
Dona Nobis Pacem
Exultate
Andrea Casarrubios: Herencia*
Jessie Montgomery: Divided with Tommy Mesa
Coleridge Taylor Perkinson: Sinfonietta No. 2, “Generations”

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