Friday, February 8, 2019

Carnegie Hall Announces 2019 - 2020 Season

Last week Carnegie Hall announced its scheduled concerts and recitals for the 2019 - 2020 season and began processing renewal requests from current subscribers.  Various incentives - a complimentary cd featuring Daniil Trifonov performing Rachmaninoff Concerti Nos. 2 and 4 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and a chance to win a free subscription - are offered to those who renew before February 15th.

The upcoming season should be particularly exciting as the Hall will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth.  There will be many opportunities to hear the immortal composer's music throughout the coming months.

The season's "Perspective" artists will feature several outstanding musicians.  Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato will appear in several recitals including a performance of Schubert's Winterreise as well as a rendtion of Berlioz's La mort de Cléopâtre with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; African vocalist Angélique Kidjo will sing in several concerts including one that celebrates her homeland Benin's independence; conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner will lead the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique in several concerts of Beethoven's symphonies; and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin will take the helm of three orchestras including the Met Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

It's not possible to list all the wonderful events that will be taking place every week of the season, so I'll only mention those that I am most looking forward to attending.  In no particular order, these include soprano Diana Damrau singing Strauss's Four Last Songs with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; pianist Mitsuko Uchida performing Mozart's Concerti Nos. 17 and 22 with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra; pianist Sir András Schiff performing Beethoven sonatas; conductor Daniel Barenboim leading the Vienna Philharmonic on Mahler No. 9; conductor Michael Tilson Thomas leading the San Francisco Symphony on Mahler No. 6; and Harry Bicket leading the English Concert in a concert performance of Handel's Rodelinda.  For me, though, the true highlight of the season will come in April when conductor Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony in a concert performance of Act III of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with a cast that features renowned tenor Jonas Kaufmann.

With so much great music on hand, I strongly urge anyone with a love of classical music to attend as many of these events as possible.  I've already renewed all the four series to which I currently subscribe.  Subscriptions should be offered to the general public sometime in March while individual tickets will go on sale in the latter part of August.  Contact Carnegie Hall for details.

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