CSO's 2011-2012 Season Star-Studded
In one of the more
glorious holding actions outside the sports arena, the Cincinnati Symphony
Orchestra has lined up a team of all stars to head its 2011-12 season.
Co-creative directors for the first season without a music director since the death of Thomas Schippers over 30 years ago, will be none other than conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, pianist Lang Lang and composer Philip Glass. Each artist has planned and will participate in a segment of the new season.
The Spanish maestro, recently named
Musical America’s 2011 Conductor of the Year, has assembled the CSO’s
ten-concert “Grand Masterworks” series, and will lead concerts Sept. 22 and 24
and Nov. 11 and 12 at Music Hall.
Lang Lang, who spiked
the CSO’s 2009-2010 season with a sold-out opening concert, will head the
five-concert “ Ascent Series,” and will return twice as soloist: Jan. 27
and 28, 2012 with the Liszt First Piano Concerto, and May 4 and 5, 2012 with
Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3.
Philip Glass -- a
household name when few contemporary composers can claim that distinction --
has put together the five-concert “Boundless Series,” and will be in residence
in Cincinnati for two two-week periods. During that time, his Cello
Concerto No. 2 will receive its world premiere with cellist Matt Haimovitz and
the CSO led by guest conductor Dennis Russell Davies (March 30 and 31, 2012)
and his Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpani and Orchestra will receive its CSO
premiere led by guest conductor Julian Kuerti (Sept. 30 and Oct. 1).
Soloists will be CSO timpanists Patrick Schleker and Richard Jensen.
If that weren’t enough
to having people clamoring for tickets, the CSO will open the new season with a
legend, violinist/conductor Itzhak Perlman, in his first visit to Cincinnati in
16 years. That concert, a one-night only, non-subscription gala on Sept.
10 at Music Hall, will be an added inducement to subscribe: all who subscribe
to 10 or more concerts during the 11-12 season will receive a complimentary
ticket to hear Perlman, who will perform and conduct Bach’s Violin Concerto No.
1.
(The impact of this lineup could be measured at this weekend’s CSO concerts by the audible gasp that went up in the audience when CSO president Trey Devey’s announced the new season lineup.)
The music director post, being vacated by Paavo Järvi this season, will be very much on everyone’s minds as the 11-12 season unfolds. It will be beauty contest of sorts, with guest conductors such as:
Kristjan Järvi, 38 (a favorite with CSO audiences and players since conducting "Nixon in China" for Cincinnati Opera in 2007, has returned to the CSO twice, former chief conductor of the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra, brother of Paavo Järvi)
Julian Kuerti, 33 (in his final season as assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony, this will be his third visit)
John Storgårds, 47 (chief conductor, Helsinki Philharmonic, impressive CSO debut in April, 2010)
Xian
Zhang, 38 (meteoric rise from assistant professor at the University of
Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music to winner of the Maazel/Vilar
Conductors Competition and associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic)
Add to those: the eminent Chinese conductor Long Yu (music director of the Shanghai Symphony, principal conductor, China Philharmonic); Americans Michael Francis (protégé of superstar conductor Valery Gergiev), Andrew Grams (former assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra), Pinchas Steinberg (CSO violin alumnus, former music director of the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande) and Dennis Russell Davies (music director of the Basel Symphony).
Also: Spanish conductors Juanjo Mena (music director of the BBC Philharmonic) and Pablo Heras Casado (winner of the Lucerne Festival Competition); Italian Nicola Luisotti (music director of San Francisco Opera); Slovakian Juraj Valcuha (music director of the RAI Orchestra of Turin); German Jun Märkl (conductor of Japan’s first Wagner “Ring” cycle); Costa Rican Giancarlo Guerrero (music director of the Nashville Symphony); and French conductors Ludovic Morlot (newly appointed music director of the Seattle Symphony) and Stephane Deneve (music director of the Stuttgart Radio and Scottish National Orchestras).
And who’s on
first? Guest artists are also a starry bunch, with pianists Emanual Ax,
Terrence Wilson and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinists Christian Tetzlaff, Midori
and Nicola Benedetti and the popular chamber ensemble eighth blackbird.
Five of the CSO’s own musicians will be featured as well: concertmaster Timothy Lees, principal cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn, principal trumpet Robert Sullivan and timpanists Schleker and Jensen.
Handel’s “Messiah” will return Dec. 18 with the May Festival Chorus directed by Robert Porco. And continuing the orchestra’s “mini-festival” formats, a two-week Russian Festival in November, with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1, Rimsky-Korsakoff’s “Sheherazade” and, blockbuster to end all blockbusters, Prokofiev’s powerful cantata “Alexander Nevsky,” again with the May Festival Chorus.
In addition to Glass’
Cello Concerto (a world premiere), there will be several CSO premieres during
the season, including Astor Piazzolla’s “Sinfonia Buenos Aires,” Jennifer
Higdon’s “On a Wire” with soloists eighth blackbird, Tan Dun’s Overture,
“Dragon and Phoenix,” Miklos Rozsa’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Cello and
Orchestra (with Lees and Finkelshteyn) and, intriguingly, Tan Dun’s “Internet”
Symphony No. 1, “Eroica” (stay tuned). To be announced for Jan. 13 and 14
is a Sphinx Consortium commission by James Lee III.
There will be a new format for the CSO’s Sunday matinee series. Based on audience feedback, the programs will be full-length beginning at 2 p.m. and will be preceded by “Classical Conversations” (a regular feature of Friday and Saturday concerts). Ticket prices will be 25% off for adults and $5 for children 18 and under. There will be three “Sundays at the Symphony” next season, Nov. 13 and Feb. 12 and April 15, 2012.
The new conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, John Morris Russell, will lead the annual New Year’s Eve concert and ball on December 31.
Renewals will go out to CSO subscribers this week. Ticket prices are: $200-$1,455 for all 20 concerts; $150-$1,091.25 for 15; $100-$775 for 10; $50-$412.50 for five; and $30-$209.25 for the three-concert “Sundays at the Symphony” series. Vouchers, good for any 10 concerts, are $327.50 (gallery) and $437 .50 (orchestra and balcony). Vouchers for any 5 concerts are $199.50 and $277.50. Deadline to renew is Feb. 28.
Tickets for New Year’s Eve and “Messiah” start at $10. Tickets for Itzhak Perlman start at $65 and are free to subscribers to 10 or more concerts.
Single tickets go on sale to subscribers Aug. 3-9 and to the general public on Aug. 10.
For information or to subscribe, call (513) 381-3300 or visit www.cincinnatisymphony.org
The 2011-2012 CSO Season
Sept. 10 (non-subscription). Bach, Violin Concerto No. 1. Mozart, Symphony No. 25. Bach, Air from Suite for Orchestra No. 3. Dvorak, Symphony No. 8. Itzhak Perlman, violin/conductor.
**Sept. 22 and 24. Mozart, Violin Concerto No. 5 (“Turkish”). Mahler, Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”). Nicola Benedetti, violin. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor.
****Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Copland, “Fanfare for the Common Man.” Philip Glass, Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpani and Orchestra. Rachmaninoff, “The Isle of the Dead.” Stravinsky, “The Firebird” Suite (1919). Patrick Schleker, Richard Jensen, timpani. Julian Kuerti, conductor.
***Oct. 14 and 15. Piazzolla,
“Sinfonia Buenos Aires.” Ravel, “Sheherazade.” Bernstein, Symphonic Dances from
“West Side Story.” Ravel, “Bolero.” Nicole Cabell, soprano. Giancarlo Guerrero,
conductor.
****Nov. 4 and 5. Haydn. Symphony No. 86. Khachaturian, Violin Concerto. Stravinsky, “The Rite of Spring.” Mikhail Simonyan, violin. Kristjan Järvi, conductor.
*Nov. 11-13. Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 23. Rimsky-Korsakov, “Sheherazade.” Terrence Wilson, piano. Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor.
**Nov. 17 and 19. Prokofiev,
“Alexander Nevsky.” Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 1 (“Winter Dreams”). Elena
Zhidkova, mezzo-soprano. May Festival Chorus, Robert Porco director.
Pinchas Steinberg, conductor.
***Dec. 2 and 3. Rimsky-Korsakov,
“The Snow Maiden.” Dvorák, Violin Concerto. Tchaikovsky, “Swan Lake” Suite. Ray
Chen, violin. Andrew Grams, conductor.
Dec. 18 (non-subscription). Handel, “Messiah.” May Festival Chorus, Robert Porco director.
Dec. 31 (non-subscription). New
Year’s Eve concert. John Morris Russell, conductor, Cincinnati Pops
**Jan. 5 and 7. Schumann, “Manfred”
Overture. Mozart, Piano
Concerto No. 22. Prokofiev, Symphony No. 5. Emanuel Ax, piano. Pablo
Heras-Casado, conductor.
****Jan. 13 and 14. James Lee, III. Premiere
(Sphinx Commission). Jennifer Higdon, “On a Wire.” Ravel, “Daphnis et Chloe”
Suites 1 and 2. eighth blackbird, soloists. May Festival Chorus, Robert Porco
director. Juanjo Mena, conductor.
***Jan. 27 and 28. Wagner, Overture
to “The Flying Dutchman.” Liszt, Piano Concerto No. 1. Brahms, Symphony No. 4.
Lang Lang, piano. Jun Märkl, conductor.
*Feb. 3 and 4. Brahms, "Academic Festival" Overture. Szymanowski, Violin Concerto No. 1. Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica"). Christian Tetzlaff, violin. John Storgårds conductor.
**Feb. 9, 11 and 12. Tchaikovsky, "Romeo and Juliet" Overture-Fantasy. Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 20. Schumann (arr. Mahler), Symphony No. 4. David Fray, piano. Xian Zhang, conductor.
*Feb. 24 and 25. Liszt, "From the Cradle to the Grave." Schumann, Piano Concerto. Beethoven, Symphony No. 6 ("Pastoral"). Jonathan Biss, piano. Ludovic Morlot, conductor.
***March 2 and 3. Tan Dun, Overture: "Dragon and Phoenix" from "Heaven Earth Mankind," 1997. Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto. Dvorak, Symphony No. 7. Henning Kraggerud, violin. Michael Francis, conductor.
*March 23 and 24. Sibelius, Violin Concerto. Berlioz. "Symphonie fantastique." Midori, violin. Pinchas Steinberg, conductor.
****March 30 and 31. Philip Glass, Cello Concerto No. 2 (world premiere). Bruckner, Symphony No. 6. Matt Haimovitz, cello. Dennis Russell Davies, conductor.
**Apr. 12, 14
and 15. Ravel, "Le Tombeau de Couperin." Saint-Saens, Piano Concerto
No. 5. Roussel, Symphony No. 3. Ravel, "La Valse." Jean-Yves
Thibaudet, piano. Stephane Deneve, conductor.
*Apr. 27 and
28. Webern, Passacaglia. Shostakovich, Piano Concerto No. 1. Rachmaninoff,
Symphony No. 3. Lise de la Saile, piano. Robert Sullivan, trumpet. Juraj
Valcuha, conductor.
***May 4 and 5.
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 ("Pathetique"), Tan Dun,
"Internet" Symphony No. 1, "Eroica." Prokofiev, Piano
Concerto No. 3. Lang Lang, piano. Long Yu, conductor.
*"Masterworks"
A series (5 concerts)
**"Masterworks" B series (5 concerts)
***"Ascent" series (5 concerts)
****"Boundless" series (5 concerts)
"Sundays at the Symphony" (3 concerts) are Nov. 13, Feb. 12 and Apr. 15.
Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Fridays, 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at Music Hall.
To subscribe, call (513) 381-3300, or visit www.cincinnatisymphony.org