It's almost time for the new classical music scene to begin in New York City. After my summer respite, I'm very much looking forward to attending events at the Met Opera, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. I'm fortunate enough to live within walking distance of these venues and do my best to take advantage of the wealth of resources so close at hand. As the world outside New York City is increasingly overtaken by anti-intellectualism and xenophobia, it's more important than ever that we all do what we can to preserve our cultural heritage.
First, I'll be attending eight operas on my subscription to the Met. The series begins with a performance of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte conducted by Music Director Emeritus James Levine. To my mind, no other conductor has consistently demonstrated such a deep understanding of Mozart's genius as he. Over the years, Maestro Levine has been my guide not only to the great Da Ponte operas but also to less frequently performed works. In past seasons these included productions of Idomeneo and Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Although he has stepped down from his position as Music Director, Maestro Levine will still be leading a number of performances this coming season and will be paying particular attention to Verdi's works, including the Requiem, Il Trovatore, and Luisa Miller, the last featuring the great Plácido Domingo in yet another of his autumnal baritone roles. In addition to these masterpieces, I'll also be seeing two works by Massenet - Thaïs and Cendrillon. I've always considered Massenet an underappreciated composer and so am greatly looking forward to hearing these. Rounding out the season, I'll be also be attending performances of Cavaleria Rusticana/Pagliacci and Strauss's Elektra, the last conducted by the Met's new Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
At Carnegie Hall, the emphasis will be on orchestral performances. Perhaps the most intriguing of these will come in March when Kirill Petrenko, the new Music Director of the Berliner Philharmoniker, will lead the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in a performance of Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony and Brahms's Double Concerto. Other noteworthy performances will include Zubin Mehta leading the Israel Philharmonic in Mahler's No. 3, Gustavo Dudamel conducting Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique with the Vienna Philharmonic, Ricardo Muti leading the Chicago Symphony in Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique, Andris Nelsons conducting Act II of Tristan with the Boston Symphony, and Daniil Trifonov at the piano with the Kremerata Baltica in an all-Chopin program. I've also renewed my subscription to the Met Orchestra's three end of season performances, perhaps the most exciting of which will be the final evening when James Levine will lead Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate and Mahler's No. 4. But not all the performances I'll attend at Carnegie Hall will be orchestral. Later in the season, I'll also hear both Mitsuko Uchida and András Schiff in solo piano recitals at Stern Auditorium.
I'll be hearing still more orchestral performances at David Geffen Hall as part of Lincoln Center's Great Performers series. This is actually one of the best orchestral series available anywhere, but for some reason it doesn't receive the attention it deserves. Not only will I hear Iván Fischer lead the Budapest Festival Orchestra in Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 and Gustavo Dudamel conduct Beethoven's No. 9 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but I'll also see Simon Rattle, in his New York debut as Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra, conduct two concerts devoted entirely to Mahler's music. In the first he'll lead the orchestra in the composer's Symphony No. 9 and in the second Das Lied von der Erde.
In addition to all these, I also hope to attend any number of chamber music recitals given by the Jupiter Players and the immensely talented musicians at the Juilliard School.
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