Paavo Järvi's Farewell Season in Cincinnati

 The 2010-2011 Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra season at Music Hall has “special” written all over it.  There will be:

A gala opening concert in September featuring soprano Kathleen Battle.

Yo-Yo Ma

A gala concert in May featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Five commissioned fanfares.

A cluster of starry guest artists, including violinist Hilary Hahn and Vadim Repin, pianists Andre Watts,  Peter Serkin, Yefim Bronfman , Barry Douglas, Jeffrey Kahane and Awadagin Pratt and a dozen guest conductors, among them Sir Roger Norrington, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Hugh Wolff , Peter Oundjian, Hans Graf, Carlos Kalmar, Louis Langree and Roberto Abbado (nephew of Claudio Abbado).  Langree and Abbado will be making their CSO debuts.

What is going on here?

Paavo Järvi

Not only is it music director Paavo Järvi's 10th anniversary season.  It is also his last.  When Järvi becomes music director of the Orchestre de Paris in September, 2010, he will head four orchestras, the CSO, Orchestre de Paris, Frankfurt Radio Symphony and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.  It will show in his final season in Cincinnati.

Järvi will conduct eight of the season's 20 concerts (down from 22 this season and 24 the season before, but to be filled in with services to Cincinnati Ballet, CSO representatives said).

Järvi will also conduct  the May 3 gala with Yo Yo Ma.  There is just no room for more in his busy international schedule.
His time in Cincinnati will be well spent.
 

• He will open the season Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 with an all Richard Strauss program, including “Also sprach Zarathustra,”  the Suite from “Der Rosenkavalier” and songs for soprano and orchestra with Battle.
  

• He will return December 17 and 18 with Hahn (Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, the “Turkish”) and works by Bartok (Divertimento, 1929), Britten (Simple Symphony) and Stravinsky ("Pulcinella" Suite).

He will conduct seven concerts in 2011:

• Jan. 28 and 29 (Faure’s Requiem and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with Watts)

• Feb. 3 and 5  (Mahler’s Symphony No. 7)

• Feb. 18, 19 and 20  (Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Repin)

• March 25 and 26 (Messiaen's "Turangalila" Symphony)

• May 3 (farewell gala with Yo-Yo Ma, an all-Dvorak program including the Cello Concerto and Symphony No. 9, "New World")

• May 6 and 7 (all-American program with clarinetist Martin Frost in Copland's Clarinet Concerto, plus Bernstein's Three Dance Episodes from "On the Town," Edgar Varese's "Ameriques" and the Fugue from Charles Ives' Symphony No. 4)

• May 13 and 14 (Mahler's Symphony No. 5 and the Piano Concerto by Erkki-Sven Tüür with Pratt)

The five fanfares, commissioned for Järvi's anniversary and also for the 50th anniversary of radio station WGUC FM 90.9, are being written by Jonathan Holland, Jorg Widman, Stewart Goodyear, Charles Coleman and Tüür, with funding by Ann and Harry Santen.  Also a world premiere will be a new work by Daniel Bernard Roumain as part of the Sphinx Commissioning Consortium project (for Black and Latino musicians).

Newcomers to the CSO will be Swedish clarinetist Martin Frost, pianists Markus Groh and Yuja Wang, violinists Augustin Hadelich and Viviane Hagner, cellist Jian Wang. and guest conductors Hannu Lintu and Thomas Dausgaard.  Cynthia Millar will bow in on the Ondes Martenot, a electronic instrument featured in Messiaen's "Turangalila" Symphony.

Sir Roger Norrington and May Festival Chorus director Robert Porco will share a two-week Mozart Festival ("Wolfgang") in November that also will include Haydn's Sinfonia concertante performed by principal players of the CSO.
All five Beethoven's Piano Concertos will be heard during the season performed by Mihaela Ursuleasa, Markus Groh, Jeffrey Kahane, Andre Watts and Barry Douglas, respectively.

There will be an all-Tchaikovsky program led by Peter Oundjian with the Fifth Symphony and Bronfman in the Piano Concerto No. 1 and an all-Beethoven program led by Hans Graf including the Symphony No. 7 and Piano Concerto No. 3 with Kahane.

Other audience favorites on the season roster include Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," Richard Strauss' "Ein Heldenleben," Schubert's Symphony No. 8 ("Unfinished") and Brahms' Symphony No. 1.

The CSO and May Festival Chorus will perform Handel's "Messiah," a big success last month, on a one-time-only concert Dec. 19 (conductor to be announced).  The annual New Year's Eve concert, to be led by guest conductor Thomas Wilkins, will be an all-Gershwin program featuring pianist Michael Chertock in "Rhapsody in Blue."

All concerts are at Music Hall and begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays (with complimentary buffet dinner), 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Fridays, 8 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays (shortened, with no intermission and a "talk back" after the concert with the conductor, guest artist and/or CSO musicians).

Subscriptions are available in packages of 20, 15, 10, 5 and 4, beginning at $200, $150, $100, $50 and $40, respectively (no increase in series prices or single tickets).

Classic Choice vouchers, redeemable in any combination for best available seating at any subscription concert, are available in sets of 6 and 10, beginning at $199.50 and $427.50.  Tickets for the Yo Yo Ma gala begin at $45.  Subscribers who buy two five-concert packages will get the Yo Yo Ma concert free.
 Subscriptions go on sale Jan. 19.  Call the CSO Sales Office at (513) 381-3300, or visit the Music Hall Box Office, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Single tickets begin at $10 and go on sale to subscribers Aug. 4 and the general public Aug. 11.
 
For more information or to request a brochure, call the CSO Sales Office or visit www.cincinnatisymphony.org

The 2010-2011 CSO Season

Sept. 28, Oct. 2. All-Richard Strauss, "Also sprach Zarathustra," Songs for Soprano and Orchestra, "Der Rosenkavalier" Suite. Kathleen Battle, soprano. Paavo Järvi conductor.

Mihaela Ursuleasa

James Gaffigan

Oct. 8, 9. Daniel Bernard Roumain, New Work (Sphinx Commissioning Consortium). Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1. Schubert, Symphony No. 8 ("Unfinished"). Verdi, Overture to "La Forza del destino." Mihaela Ursuleasa, piano. James Gaffigan, guest conductor.

Yuja Wang

Oct. 15, 16. Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsody. Bartok, Piano Concerto No. 2. Brahms/arr. Schoenberg, Piano Quartet, Op. 25. Yuja Wang, piano. Carlos Kalmar, guest conductor.

Barry Douglas

Nov. 5, 6. Arnold Bax, "Tintagel." Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5. Sibelius, Symphony No. 5. Barry Douglas, piano. Thomas Dausgaard, guest conductor.

Sir Roger Norrington

Nov. 12, 13. Mozart Festival "Wolfgang" (week I). Mozart, Divertimento in D, K.136. Haydn, Sinfonia concertante. Mozart, Symphony No. 36 (Linz). Dwight Parry, oboe. William Winstead, bassoon. Timothy Lees, violin. Ilya Finkelshteyn, cello. Sir Roger Norrington, guest conductor.

Nov. 18, 20, 21. Mozart Festival "Wolfgang" (week II). Salieri, Sinfonia in D Major (Il Giorno onomastico). Mozart, Vesperae solennes de confessore, K.339, Exsultate jubilate, K.165, Coronation Mass.  Nov. 21. Salieri and Mozart, except Vesperae solennes. No intermission. Mary Wilson, soprano. Julie Boulianne, mezzo-soprano. Anthony Beck, tenor. Thomas Florio, bass. Mary Festival Chorus. Robert Porco, guest conductor.

Hans Graf

Dec. 3, 4. All-Beethoven. Overture to "The Ruins of Athens," Piano Concerto No. 3, Symphony No. 7. Jeffrey Kahane, piano. Hans Graf, guest conductor.

Hilary Hahn

Dec. 17, 18. Bartok, Divertimento (1939). Mozart, Violin Concerto No. 5, K.219 ("Turkish"). Britten, Simple Symphony, Op. 4. Stravinsky, "Pulcinella" Suite. Hilary Hahn, violin. Paavo Järvi , conductor.

Dec. 19. Special concert. Handel "Messiah." May Festival Chorus. Conductor, soloists tba.

Thomas Wilkins

Dec. 31. Special concert. "Gershwin from New York to Paris." Gershwin, "An American in Paris," selected songs, "Rhapsody in Blue." Michael Chertock, piano. Thomas Wilkins, guest conductor.

Viviane Hagner

Hugh Wolff

Jan. 21, 22, 23. Haydn, Symphony No. 98. Glazunov, Violin Concerto in A Minor. Shostakovich, Symphony No. 9.  Jan. 23, Rimsky Korsakov, Overture to "The Tsar's Bride" in place of Haydn Symphony No. 98. No intermission. Viviane Hagner, violin. Hugh Wolff, guest conductor.

Andre Watts

Jan. 28, 29. Jonathan Holland, Fanfare. Debussy, "Printemps," Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 4. Faure, Requiem. Andre Watts, piano. Jessica Rivera, soprano. Matthew Worth, baritone. May Festival Chorus. Paavo Järvi , conductor.

Feb. 3, 5. Jorg Widman, Fanfare. Mahler, Symphony No. 7. No intermission. Paavo Järvi , conductor.

Vadim Repin

Feb. 18, 19, 20. Liszt, "Mephisto Waltz" No. 1. Sibelius, Violin Concerto. Beethoven, Symphony No. 5. Feb. 20 Liszt omitted. No intermission. Vadim Repin, violin. Paavo Järvi , conductor.

Peter Oundjian

Yefim Bronfman

Feb. 24, 26. All-Tchaikovsky. "Marche Slave," Piano Concerto No. 1, Symphony No. 5. Yefim Bronfman, piano. Peter Oundjian, guest conductor.

Jian Wang

March 10, 12. Brahms, Tragic Overture. Schumann, Cello Concerto in A Minor. Brahms, Symphony No. 1. Jian Wang, cello. Louis Langree, guest conductor.

Stewart Goodyear

March 25, 26. Stewart Goodyear, Fanfare. Bach, Keyboard Concerto in D Minor. Messiaen, "Turangalila" symphonie. Stewart Goodyear, piano. Cynthia Millar, ondes Martenot. Paavo Järvi conductor.

Augustin Hadelich

Apr. 1, 2. Magnus Lindberg, "Feria." Haydn, Violin Concerto No. 1 in C Major. Haydn, Symphony No. 100 ("Military"). Debussy, "Iberia." Augustin Hadelich, violin. Hannu Lintu, guest conductor.

Peter Serkin

Apr. 8, 9, 10. Roussel, "Bacchus et Ariane," Suite No. 2. Stravinsky, Movements for Piano and Orchestra. Stravinsky, Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. Mussorgsky, "Pictures at an Exhibition" (arr. Ravel). Apr. 10. Stravinsky Cappriccio for Piano and Orchestra and Mussorgsky only. No intermission. Peter Serkin, piano. Roberto Abbado, guest conductor.

Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos

Apr. 15, 16. Beethoven, "King Stephen" Overture. Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 2. Strauss, "Ein Heldenleben." Markus Groh, piano. Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, guest conductor.

May 3. All-Dvorak, "Carnival" Overture. Cello Concerto, Symphony No. 9 ("New World"), Yo-Yo Ma, cello. Paavo Jarvi, conductor.

Martin Frost

May 6, 7. Charles Coleman, Fanfare. Bernstein, "On the Town:" Three Episodes. Copland, Clarinet Concerto. Ives/ed. Stokowski. Symphony No. 4 : Fugue ("From Greeland's Icy Mountains"). Varese, "Ameriques." Martin Frost, clarinet. Paavo Järvi , conductor.

Awadagin Pratt

May 13, 14. Erkki-Sven Tüür, Fanfare. Erkki-Sven Tüür, Piano Concerto. Mahler, Symphony No. 5. Awadagin Pratt, piano. Paavo Järvi, conductor.