Marin Alsop to Lead Baltimore Symphony in Mahler and Puts at Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall presents the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) -- currently celebrating its centennial season -- in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Saturday, April 16 at 8:00 p.m.

Music Director Marin Alsop, who recently conducted three thrilling performances of West Side Story presented by Carnegie Hall, leads the orchestra in a performance of Mahler's magnificent Symphony No. 5 -- the work that launched her BSO tenure in 2007. Paired with what many consider to be Mahler's most popular symphony is the New York premiere of The City from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts, with film by Baltimore-born filmmaker James Bartolomeo.

The City was co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall for its 125 Commissions Project-in which 125 new works will be written and performed over the next five seasons in celebration of Carnegie Hall's 125th anniversary. The new work is a musical portrait of Baltimore, initially intended to be an exploration of many urban centers, but which took on added focus following the April 2015 unrest and protests in response to the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. Mr. Puts, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for his opera Silent Night, writes in his note on the piece, "After this incident, I aspired to transcend mere illustration and compose a work with the potential to heal as well," and continuing "We are a species suffering the pains of its adolescence. Let us have the resolve, the compassion, and the foresight to force our own evolution to a place of reason and harmony."

About the Artists:

Hailed as one of the world's leading conductors for her artistic vision and commitment to accessibility in classical music, Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She also holds the title of conductor emeritus at the Bournemouth Symphony in the United Kingdom, where she served as the principal conductor from 2002-2008. Her tenure as the BSO's music director has garnered national and international attention for her innovative programming and artistry. Musical America, who named Maestra Alsop the 2009 Conductor of the Year, recently said, "[Marin Alsop] connects to the public as few conductors today can."

In 2005, Ms. Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first and only conductor ever to receive this most prestigious American award. In the same year, she won the Classical Brit Award for Best Female Artist. She was also the first artist to win Gramophone's "Artist of the Year" award and the Royal Philharmonic Society's Conductor's Award in the same year (2003). In 2007, Ms. Alsop was honored with a European Women of Achievement Award, presented to individuals whose vision, courage, and determination have made a major impact on increasing the influence of women on European affairs. In 2008, she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In February 2011, Ms. Alsop was named the music director of the Orquestra Sinfônica do estado de São Paulo (OSESP), or the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, effective in the 2012-2013 season. This past spring she was named an Artist in Residence at the Southbank Centre in London, England. In the summer of 2017, Ms. Alsop will conduct the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, a program of Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, in its debut South American tour.

Ms. Alsop has led the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in several key outreach initiatives. In 2008, she partnered with the BSO to launch OrchKids, a music education and life enrichment program for youth in West Baltimore. In 2010, she conducted the first "Rusty Musicians with the BSO" -- an event that gave local orchestral players the chance to perform onstage with a professional symphony orchestra and quickly became a popular component of the BSO's efforts to connect with the community. In June 2010, Maestra Alsop conducted the inaugural BSO Academy -- an immersive summer music program that gives approximately 100 amateur adult musicians the opportunity to perform alongside a top professional orchestra.

A native of New York City, Marin Alsop attended Yale University and received her master's degree from The Juilliard School. In 1989, her conducting career was launched when she was a prizewinner at the Leopold Stokowski International Conducting Competition in New York, and in the same year was awarded the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Celebrating its centennial in 2016, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is recognized as one of America's most important and innovative orchestras and one of Maryland's most significant cultural organizations. Led by the dynamic and visionary Maestra Marin Alsop, the Orchestra is internationally acclaimed and locally admired for its outstanding concerts, recordings, broadcasts, touring, and for its groundbreaking education and community outreach initiatives. The BSO annually performs for more than 350,000 people throughout the State of Maryland. Since 1982, its Baltimore home has been the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and in 2005, the BSO became the nation's first orchestra with year-round venues in two metropolitan areas with the opening of The Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland. The BSO boasts trailblazing education and community programs designed for audiences of all ages, from a Music Box Series for toddlers and concerts for schoolchildren and families, to comprehensive programs for aspiring young musicians and amateur adult musicians. The award-winning OrchKids program, launched by Marin Alsop and the BSO in 2008, provides education resources and fosters social change through the power of music for children in the city's neediest communities.

Program Information:

Saturday, April 16 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Marin Alsop, Music Director and Conductor

KEVIN PUTS The City (film by James Bartolomeo) (NY Premiere, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall)
GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp Minor

Tickets, priced $32 to $95, 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: Grant Leighton

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