The National Symphony Orchestra Presents Three Classical Programs In June

The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) concludes its 2021-2022 Classical series with three subscription concert programs this June, featuring the NSO debuts of conductor Kazuki Yamada and pianist Stewart Goodyear and the Orchestra's final season concert at Capital One Hall. Individual tickets are available for purchase on the Kennedy Center's website.

From June 2-4, Music Director Gianandrea Noseda conducts the first NSO performances of his countryman Nino Rota's Ballet Suite from Federico Fellini's film La Strada. Rota collaborated with the iconic Italian director on more than a dozen films, also penning the scores for 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita. Paired with Rota's suite are Alexander Borodin's Symphony No. 2 and Polovtsian Dances from his opera Prince Igor.

On June 9 and 11, pianist Emanuel Ax-who won his eighth Grammy Award just this year- returns to the NSO as soloist in Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4. Led by conductor Marek Janowski-who was praised by the Washington Post for his "urgent, variegated interpretations" in his previous NSO appearance-the program also includes Johannes Brahms' Tragic Overture and Serenade No. 2. An early work too rarely performed by modern orchestras, the Serenade was dedicated to Brahms' dear friend and fellow pianist and composer, Clara Schumann. The same program travels to Capital One Hall in Tysons, Virginia on June 10.

The NSO's 2021-2022 Classical series concludes June 16-18 with conductor Kazuki Yamada and pianist Stewart Goodyear, both making their NSO debuts. Yamada leads a program of Russian Romantic works, including Alexander Glazunov's Concert Waltz No. 2; Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2; and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring Goodyear as the soloist.

NSO CLASSICAL CONCERTS IN JUNE 2022

Thursday, June 2, 2022 at 7 p.m.

Friday, June 3, 2022 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 8 p.m.

National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor

Nino Rota La Strada-Ballet Suite

Alexander Borodin Symphony No. 2

Alexander Borodin Polovtsian Dances

Gianandrea Noseda conducts the first NSO performances of Italian composer Nino Rota's Suite from Fellini's film La Strada. Rota's ballet suite is paired with two works by 19th-century composer Alexander Borodin, whose evocative compositions were often adapted for musical theater. Rota won an Academy Award for The Godfather II score and Borodin was posthumously awarded a Tony Award for the musical Kismet.

Thursday, June 9, 2022 at 7 p.m.

Friday, June 10, 2022 at 8 p.m. - At Capital One Hall
Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 8 p.m.
National Symphony Orchestra

Marek Janowski, conductor

Emanuel Ax, piano

Johannes Brahms Tragic Overture

Johannes Brahms Serenade No. 2

Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4

Eight-time Grammy Award winner Emanuel Ax's performances are "never less than spellbinding" (The New York Times). Do not miss your chance to experience his unsurpassed virtuosity in Beethoven's most introspective piano concerto.

Conductor Marek Janowski also leads the NSO in Brahms' Tragic Overture and Second Serenade, an early orchestral work dedicated to composer and pianist Clara Schumann, whose friendship and musical abilities greatly influenced him.

Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 7 p.m.

Friday, June 17, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. - Coffee Concert
Saturday, June 18, 2022 at 8 p.m.
National Symphony Orchestra
Kazuki Yamada, conductor
Stewart Goodyear, piano

Alexander Glazunov Concert Waltz No. 2

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2

Acclaimed Japanese conductor Kazuki Yamada, incoming Chief Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, leads the NSO in Rachmaninoff's mighty Second Symphony-a hauntingly beautiful journey from darkness to triumph. The program also spotlights Canada's premiere pianist Stewart Goodyear in Tchaikovsky's hugely popular Piano Concerto No. 1.

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