Bernard Labadie Makes First NYC Appearance With Orchestra Of St. Luke's

The second of Orchestra of St. Luke's Carnegie Hall series concerts this season takes place on Thursday, December 7 at 8PM in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. Leading the Ensemble in a program of works by Kraus, Mozart, and Beethoven is Bernard Labadie making his Orchestra of St. Luke's New York City debut as the Principal Conductor Designate. Bernard Labadie's appointment as Principal Conductor of OSL was announced in May 2017 and he will officially assume the post at the start of the ensemble's 2018/2019 season.

The December 7 program opens with a rarely performed work by Mozart's contemporary Joseph Martin Kraus. His stirring Olympie Overture, filled with sweeping themes, is the longest of seven movements he composed as incidental music in 1791 for a Swedish production of Voltaire's play of the same name. Mozart's final symphony, the "Jupiter," (so named, for its magisterial use of trumpets and timpani, by a contemporary impresario and critic) envelops the listener in the grandeur of its opening movement, tenderness in its Andante, grace and wit in the Menuetto, and propulsive joy in its finale. The antecedents to the athletic violin concertos of the Romantic era are found in Beethoven's masterpiece Violin Concerto - the closing work on the program - which is more opulently orchestrated and features a solo part unlike anything that came before it. The soloist - in his Orchestra of St. Luke's - is recently announced Musical America 2018 Instrumentalist of the Year, Augustin Hadelich, whom The New Yorker called "a virtuoso out of the Golden Age."

Thursday, December 7, 2017, 8PM

Labadie Conducts Mozart's "Jupiter"

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

Orchestra of St. Luke's
Bernard Labadie, Conductor
Augustin Hadelich, Violin

KRAUS Olympie Overture
MOZART Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter"
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto

TICKETS: Priced from $16.50 to $95. Call 212.247.7800 or visit CarnegieHall.org

The Orchestra's final Carnegie Hall subscription series concert takes place on February 15 and featuresRobert Spano conducting, mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor, and pianist Jeremy Denk.

OSL's 43rd season offers an adventurous range of orchestral and chamber music, with more than 80 performances in close to 20 venues across all five boroughs, including more than 30 free performances, school concerts, and community events.

For Orchestra of St. Luke's full 2017-2018 Season, visit OSLmusic.org.

About Augustin Hadelich, Violin

Consistently cited for his phenomenal technique, poetic sensitivity, and gorgeous tone, Augustin Hadelich is being heralded as one of the great violinists of our time. Hadelich's career took off when he was named Gold Medalist of the 2006 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Since then, he has garnered an impressive list of honors, including an Avery Fisher Career Grant (2009); a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in the UK (2011); Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award (2012); and the inaugural Warner Music Prize (2015). He was just named the 2018 Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America.

Hadelich's 2017/2018 season is highlighted by a return to the Boston Symphony in January 2018 for the Ligeti Concerto with Thomas Adès conducting. For this performance, he will play the U.S. premiere of Adès's new cadenza for the concerto. Also on this season's schedule are appearances with San Francisco Symphony, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Detroit, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Seattle, St. Louis, and Utah. Abroad, the violinist will appear with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish National Radio Orchestra, Lahti Symphony/Finland, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, The Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León/Spain.

Augustin Hadelich is the winner of a 2016 Grammy Award for "Best Classical Instrumental Solo" for his recording of Dutilleux's Violin Concerto, L'arbre des songes, with the Seattle Symphony under Ludovic Morlot (Seattle Symphony MEDIA). A prolific recording artist, Mr. Hadelich's new disc of the complete Paganini Caprices for Warner Classics will be released in early 2018.

About Bernard Labadie, Principal Conductor Designate

Widely recognized as one of the world's leading conductors of Baroque, Classical, and Early-Romantic repertoire, Bernard Labadie made his debut as Principal Conductor Designate of Orchestra of St. Luke's at the Caramoor Summer Music Festival on July 2 leading the OSL in an all-Mozart program.

Maestro Labadie's 2017 conducting engagements feature debuts with the Norwegian and Vienna Chamber Orchestras, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Orchestre National de Lyon, and appearances with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne.

French Canadian Labadie founded the celebrated chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy in 1984 and built it to international renown. He stepped down in 2014 from his 30-year tenure as Music Director to pursue wider interests. Labadie is a regular guest conductor with all the major North American orchestras and has appeared locally with the New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera, and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. His notable European engagements include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and frequent assignments with period-instrument orchestras including Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, The English Concert, and Collegium Vocale Gent Orchestra. An eminent opera conductor, Maestro Labadie has served as Artistic Director of Opéra de Québec and Opéra de Montréal. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut during the 2009/2010 season with Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

Bernard Labadie's extensive discography comprises many critically acclaimed recordings on the Dorian, ATMA, and Virgin Classics labels, including a collaborative recording of Mozart's Requiem with Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec, which received Canada's Juno Award.

About Orchestra of St. Luke's and St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) began in 1974 as a group of virtuoso musicians performing chamber music concerts at Greenwich Village's Church of St. Luke in the Fields. Now in its 43rd season, the Orchestra performs diverse musical genres at New York's major concert venues, and has collaborated with artists ranging from Renée Fleming and Joshua Bell to Bono and Metallica. In the fall of 2018, internationally celebrated expert in 18th-Century music, Bernard Labadie, will join the Orchestra as Principal Conductor, continuing the Orchestra's long tradition of working with proponents of historical performance practice. OSL's signature programming includes a subscription series presented by Carnegie Hall, now in its 31st season; an annual month-long collaboration with Paul Taylor American Modern Dance at Lincoln Center; an annual summer residency at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts; and a chamber music festival featuring appearances at The Morgan Library & Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center. The Orchestra has participated in 118 recordings, four of which have won Grammy Awards, has commissioned more than 50 new works, and has given more than 175 world, U.S., and New York City premieres. Nearly half of OSL's performances each year are presented free of charge through its education and community programs, reaching over 11,000 New York City public school students. Additionally, OSL provides free instrumental coaching and presents student performances through its Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's and its Mentorship Program for Pre-Professional Musicians. OSL built and operates The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Hell's Kitchen, New York City's only rehearsal, recording, education, and performance space expressly dedicated to classical music. The Center serves more than 500 ensembles and more than 30,000 musicians each year. For more information, visit OSLmusic.org