Dmitri Shostakovich News

“To be blunt, Sergei is not a nice guy,” says tenor Brandon Jovanovich, talking about his current role at the Metropolitan Opera in Dmitri Shostakovich's LADY MACBETH OF MTENSEK. “He's the kind of fellow who's jovial and friendly one minute…and then you hear he's robbed a store. He uses and abuses people--we all know someone like that, don't we?” he adds, laughing.

Indulge yourself with this intoxicating program from Russia and the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra's seeason opener this weekend, November 8 and 9. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, op. 23 in B-flat minor sits at the top of the concerto repertory, and guest pianist Angelo Rondello will dazzle audiences with his energy and technical flair. Vasily Kalinnikov's life was cut short by illness but not before he wrote his magnificent Symphony No. 1 in G minor. If you are a fan of Tchaikovsky's symphonies then you will love this hidden jewel from the Russian repertory. Dmitri Shostakovich's Festive Overture will open the program with rousing brass fanfares and spectacular color.

Principal Conductor Pablo Heras-Casado returns to Carnegie Hall tonight, November 6 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, leading Orchestra of St. Luke's in the first of three Carnegie Hall concerts this season as part of the orchestra's 40th anniversary celebration.

Texas Performing Arts presents an evening of reflection and renewal as The World at War commemorates both the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I and the 75th anniversary of the start of World War II through music, images, and words. The concert is set for Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 8 p.m. at Bass Concert Hall.

Vladimir Jurowski, Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage tonight, Thursday, October 16 at 8:00 p.m. to lead the orchestra in a program that includes Magnus Lindberg's Chorale; Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 65; and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 featuring pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.

Jaap van Zweden - music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic as well as former concertmaster of Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra - will return to the New York Philharmonic for the first time since his debut in April 2012 to conduct two weeks of concerts. In the first program, Mr. van Zweden will conduct Mozart's Sinfonia concertante for Violin and Viola, featuring Acting Concertmaster Sheryl Staples and Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps, and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8, Thursday, November 20, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 21 at 2:00 p.m.; and Saturday, November 22 at 8:00 p.m.

Indulge yourself with this intoxicating program from Russia and the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra's seeason opener on November 8 and 9. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, op. 23 in B-flat minor sits at the top of the concerto repertory, and guest pianist Angelo Rondello will dazzle audiences with his energy and technical flair. Vasily Kalinnikov's life was cut short by illness but not before he wrote his magnificent Symphony No. 1 in G minor. If you are a fan of Tchaikovsky's symphonies then you will love this hidden jewel from the Russian repertory. Dmitri Shostakovich's Festive Overture will open the program with rousing brass fanfares and spectacular color.

Principal Conductor Pablo Heras-Casado returns to Carnegie Hall on Thursday, November 6 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, leading Orchestra of St. Luke's in the first of three Carnegie Hall concerts this season as part of the orchestra's 40th anniversary celebration.

Vladimir Jurowski, Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Thursday, October 16 at 8:00 p.m. to lead the orchestra in a program that includes Magnus Lindberg's Chorale; Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 65; and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 featuring pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.

New York Festival of Song announces 2014-15 season. Four Great Series Return Classic: NYFOS MAINSTAGE at Merkin Concert Hall (4 concerts) Future: NYFOS NEXT at Opera America's National Opera Center (3 concerts) Cabaret: NYFOS AFTER HOURS at Henry's Restaurant (3 concerts) Mentoring: NYFOS EMERGING ARTISTS at North Fork, Juilliard, Caramoor (3 concerts)

Houston Grand Opera capped a financially and artistically successful 2013–14 season by presenting Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger —the Polish-Jewish composer's long-suppressed Holocaust opera—to wide acclaim at New York's Park Avenue Armory as part of the Lincoln Center Festival, July 10–13. Earlier this year, HGO gave the American premiere of the work in Houston with the same cast. There was special praise for the production and performances, conducted by HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers. New York magazine described David Pountney's staging as “a multi-story set so vivid you can practically smell the machine oil and coal smoke,” while the Financial Times said: “The production, imported from Houston, is imposing in every way.” The New York Times called the cast “flawless,” adding: “The conductor, Patrick Summers, drew a surging, textured, richly detailed performance of this challenging score (lasting three hours) from the inspired musicians of the Houston Grand Opera.” WQXR's Operavore summed up the import of the performances: “The Passenger shows how a Holocaust opera can hold the stage while examining important, complex issues—and could certainly point the way for future composers to deal with such important but delicate subject matter.”

On Friday, July 25, 2014, students from Princeton Ballet School's Summer Intensive will be dancing in the program's culminating performance. The show, entitled An Evening of Dance, will take place at the Berlind Theatre in the McCarter Theatre Center at 6:30pm.

Pacific Northwest Ballet opens its Box Office for 2014-2015 ticket sales on Monday, July 21. As is its tradition, PNB is offering a special money-saving deal for early-bird ticket-buyers, to celebrate the company's 42nd season: Pay no service fees on tickets purchased thru July 31.* Tickets (as well as money-saving subscriptions) may be purchased either by phone (206.441.2424), online (PNB.org) or in person at the PNB Box Office, 301 Mercer Street at Seattle Center.

Houston Grand Opera's U.S. premiere of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger- the long-suppressed Holocaust opera that Shostakovich declared 'a perfect masterpiece'- earned virtually universal acclaim earlier this year. The Chicago Tribune declared The Passenger to be an 'engrossing, thought-provoking experience,' while the Houston Chronicle praised the presentation for 'ingenious storytelling, potent music, commanding performances and vivid, fast-paced staging.' Now HGO brings the David Pountney production of The Passenger for its New York premiere in three performances- today, July 10, 12, 13 -at the Park Avenue Armory as part of the 2014 Lincoln Center Festival.

Houston Grand Opera's U.S. premiere of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger— the long-suppressed Holocaust opera that Shostakovich declared “a perfect masterpiece”— earned virtually universal acclaim earlier this year. The Chicago Tribune declared The Passenger to be an “engrossing, thought-provoking experience,” while the Houston Chronicle praised the presentation for “ingenious storytelling, potent music, commanding performances and vivid, fast-paced staging.” Now HGO brings the David Pountney production of The Passenger for its New York premiere in three performances— July 10, 12, 13 —at the Park Avenue Armory as part of the 2014 Lincoln Center Festival. Pountney's staging was inspired, in part, by the soaring space of Park Avenue Armory's massive Wade Thompson Drill Hall, where he produced Zimmerman'sDie Soldaten for Lincoln Center Festival in 2008. HGO artistic and music director Patrick Summers will conduct the HGO Orchestra and Chorus; reviewing the Houston performances, the Wall Street Journal praised Summers for the way he “shaped the evening with enormous care.” The Dallas Morning News commended all the singers – headed by mezzo-soprano Michelle Breedt in the title role – by saying: “Top to bottom, the cast is excellent.”

Houston Grand Opera's U.S. premiere of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger-the long-suppressed Holocaust opera that Shostakovich declared "a perfect masterpiece"-earned virtually universal acclaim earlier this year

The New York Philharmonic will present its 11th season of Summertime Classics, July 2-6, 2014, featuring five themed concerts with Bramwell Tovey, who has been the host and conductor of the series since its founding in 2004. On the first program, July 2-3, 2014, titled 'Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Friends,' the New York Philharmonic will perform Shostakovich's Festive Overture; Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1, with pianist Joyce Yang as soloist; Musorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain; Rachmaninoff's arrangement of his own Vocalise; and Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker, and Marche slave. The second program, July 4-6, 2014, titled 'Star-Spangled Celebration,' will feature the New York Philharmonic and United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps - 'The Commandant's Own,' which is celebrating its 80th-anniversary year - in a program that includes Copland's Clarinet Concerto, with Associate Principal Clarinet Mark Nuccio as soloist, and Fanfare for the Common Man; Gershwin's 'Strike Up the Band' from Strike Up the Band; Sousa marches; and more. In these performances Major Brian Dix, director and commanding officer of 'The Commandant's Own,' will share conducting duties with Bramwell Tovey.

A bold company with a strong Jacob's Pillow history including five engagements since 2005, Trey McIntyre Project will make its final appearance as a fulltime dance ensemble today, June 25-29 in the Ted Shawn Theatre.

This summer the Music Institute of Chicago's prestigious Trio Solaris, comprised of the Institute's top Fellow Laureates, will travel to the internationally renowned Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts, to perform live alongside Trey McIntyre Project (TMP) in The Vinegar Works: Four Dances of Moral Instruction, a Harris Theater-commissioned work. Trey McIntyre Project will present its final six performances at Jacob's Pillow, today, June 25-June 29, in a program that will include The Vinegar Works and Mercury Half-Life, a ballet set entirely to the music of rock band Queen Thanks to the generous support of a Harris Theater benefactor, all travel-related costs for the members of Trio Solaris will be covered during the trip.