Daniel Harding Leads Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra In Carnegie Hall Concerts

British conductor Daniel Harding returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage to lead Amsterdam's renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in two back-to-back concerts in February as part of the orchestra's spring 2019 US tour.

On Thursday, February 14, 2019 at 8:00 p.m., Maestro Harding leads members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra alongside members of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), in a performance of Schumann's Manfred Overture. The program also includes Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550, and Brahms's Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98.

The following evening-Friday, February 15, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.-pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the RCO's artist in residence during the 2018-2019 season, joins Maestro Harding and the RCO for a performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73, "Emperor," on a program that also includes Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40. The concert opens with the New York premiere of Eiréné by French composer Guillaume Connesson.

The February 15 concert will be broadcast live on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York as part of the Carnegie Hall Live radio broadcast and digital series, also heard by listeners worldwide via wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr. Produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall and co-hosted by WQXR's Jeff Spurgeon and Clemency Burton-Hill, select Carnegie Hall Live broadcasts featured throughout the season include special digital access to the broadcast team from backstage and in the control room, connecting national and international fans to the music and to each other.

In celebration of its 125th anniversary, the orchestra undertook a world tour in 2013, visiting six continents in a single year. Between 2016 and 2018, the RCO visited all 28 member states of the European Union, performing one work together with a local youth orchestra in each EU country. The February 14 appearance with NYO-USA marks the RCO's first side by-side performance with a youth orchestra outside Europe.

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's artistry has been showcased regularly at Carnegie Hall since its debut at the Hall in 1954.

About the Artists
Daniel Harding made his professional conducting debut in 1994 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he served as an assistant to Sir Simon Rattle. The following season, he was assistant to Maestro Claudio Abbado with the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Daniel Harding holds the positions of Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris (since September 2016), the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra (since 2007), Artistic Director of the Ohga Hall in Karuizawa, Japan, and Conductor Laureate of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He makes regular guest appearances with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

He has led opera productions at La Scala in Milan, the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the Royal Opera in London, the Vienna State Opera, and the Bavarian State Opera. The French government has bestowed upon him the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Since his first performance with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in January 2004, Harding has returned to conduct the RCO a number of times, including performances in Amsterdam and on various tours.

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) is considered one of the leading orchestras in the world. Time and time again, critics have lauded its unique sound. The RCO's string section has been described as 'velvety,' the sound of the brass 'golden,' the timbre of the woodwinds 'distinctly personal,' and the percussion section has an international reputation. Equally important is the quality of the musicians themselves and the influence exerted on the orchestra by its chief conductors, of which there have been only seven since the orchestra was founded in 1888: Willem Kes (1888-1895), Willem Mengelberg (1895-1945), Eduard van Beinum (1945-1959), Bernard Haitink (1961-1988), Riccardo Chailly (1988-2004), Mariss Jansons (2004-2015), and Daniele Gatti (September 2016-August 2018).

Leading composers such as Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Igor Stravinsky have conducted the orchestra on more than one occasion and the RCO still regularly collaborates with contemporary composers, including John Adams, George Benjamin, Tan Dun, and Thomas Adès.

In addition to 90 concerts performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra-made up of 120 players hailing from over 20 countries-gives 40 concerts at leading concert halls throughout the world each year. The orchestra has made over 1,100 LP, CD, and DVD recordings to date, many of which have won international distinctions. Since 2004, the orchestra boasts its own in-house label, RCO Live, and the RCO Academy successfully trains talented young orchestra musicians.

Program Information
Thursday, February 14, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Daniel Harding, Conductor

Robert Schumann Manfred Overture, Op. 115
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550
JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98

Schumann's Manfred Overture will be performed side by side with members of the National Youth Orchestra of the USA and members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
____________________________

Friday, February 15, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Daniel Harding, Conductor
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Piano

GUILLAUME CONNESSON Eiréné (NY Premiere)
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73, "Emperor"
Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40


Tickets, priced $50-$165, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.

For Carnegie Hall Corporation presentations taking place in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.

In addition, for all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

Photo Credit: Julian Hargreaves.