Orchestra of St. Luke's Returns to Carnegie Hall for 40th Anniversary Season, Beginning Tonight

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. The concert features music inspired by Shakespeare and other literary sources, including Purcell's Suite from A Midsummer Night's Dream; Tchaikovsky's The Tempest, Op. 18; Luigi Dallapiccola's Piccola musica notturna; and Mendelssohn's Die erste Walpurgisnacht, Op. 60 with mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, tenor Joseph Kaiser, bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni, and Musica Sacra under the direction of Kent Tritle.

On Thursday, January 15 at 8:00 p.m., guest conductor Harry Bicket leads Orchestra of St. Luke's and celebrated pianist Stephen Hough in Dvorák's Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 33. Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and Haydn's Symphony No. 104 in D Major, "London"-the composer's final symphony-complete the program.

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein joins Orchestra of St. Luke's and Maestro Heras-Casado on Thursday, April 23 at 8:00 p.m. for the orchestra's final Carnegie Hall concert of the season. Ms. Weilerstein is featured in Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 126. The orchestra also performs Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67.

About the Artists:

Musical America's 2014 Conductor of the Year, Pablo Heras-Casado enjoys an unusually varied career encompassing the great symphonic and operatic repertoire, historically-informed performance and cutting-edge contemporary scores. Principal Conductor of Orchestra of St. Luke's since the 2012-2013 season, he recently renewed the position to 2016-2017. In 2014, he was appointed as the Principal Guest Conductor of Teatro Real in Madrid.

In the 2014-2015 season, Maestro Heras-Casado returns to the London Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Philharmoniker, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Mariinsky Theatre, and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He also appears at the Mozarteum Salzburg, where he is invited annually for both the Dialoge Festival and Mozartwoche. He makes his debut with NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg and continues his collaboration with Ensemble intercontemporain and Freiburger Barockorchester. He also conducts the annual televised Advent Concert of Staatskapelle Dresden. Opera projects include returns to The Metropolitan Opera (Bizet's Carmen), Festspielhaus Baden-Baden (Verdi's La traviata), Teatro Real (world premiere of Mauricio Sotelo's El Publico), and Dutch National Opera with Sasha Waltz & Guests (Monteverdi's Orfeo).

Mr. Heras-Casado records for the Harmonia Mundi label and for Deutsche Grammophon's Archiv Produktion-for which he is an "Archiv Ambassador." Recent releases include Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Schubert's Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 with Freiburger Barockorchester-which won a 2014 ECHO Klassik award-and an album celebrating the legendary maestro Farinelli. He also recorded an album featuring Plácido Domingo in baritone arias by Verdi. His 2011 DVD of Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny received the Diapason d'Or.

Mr. Heras-Casado is holder of the Medalla de Honor of the Rodriguez Acosta Foundation. In February 2012, he was awarded the Golden Medal of Merit by the Council of Granada, his hometown, of which he is also an Honorary Ambassador. In June 2014, he joined Spanish charity Ayuda en Acción, supporting the eradication of poverty and injustice in the world.

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) is one of America's most versatile and distinguished orchestras, collaborating with the world's greatest artists and performing approximately 70 concerts each year-including its Carnegie Hall Orchestra Series, Chamber Music Series at The Morgan Library & Museum and Brooklyn Museum, and summer residency at Caramoor Music Festival. OSL has commissioned more than 50 new works, including four this season; has given more than 170 world, U.S., and New York City premieres; and appears on more than 100 recordings, including four Grammy Award winners and seven releases on its own label, St. Luke's Collection. Pablo Heras-Casado, named 2014 Conductor of the Year by Musical America, is OSL's principal conductor.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this season, OSL began as a chamber ensemble based at The Church of St. Luke in the Fields in Greenwich Village. Today, St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble consists of 21 virtuoso artists who perform a diverse repertoire and make up OSL's artistic core.

OSL owns and operates The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Midtown Manhattan, where it shares a building with the Baryshnikov Arts Center. The DiMenna Center is New York City's premier venue for rehearsal, recording, and learning, having quickly gained a reputation for its superb acoustics, state-of-the-art facilities, and affordability. Since opening in 2011, The DiMenna Center has welcomed more than 50,000 visitors, including more than 300 ensembles and artists such as Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Valery Gergiev, James Levine, James Taylor, and Sting. OSL hosts hundreds of neighbors, families, and school children at its home each year for free community events.

Through its Community & Education programs, OSL has introduced audiences across New York City to live classical music. OSL brings free chamber concerts to the five boroughs; offers free interactive music programs at The DiMenna Center; provides chamber music coaching for adult amateurs; and engages 10,000 public school students each year through its Free School Concerts. In 2013, OSL launched Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's (YOSL), an intensive in- and after-school instrumental coaching program emphasizing musical excellence and social development, in partnership with Police Athletic League (PAL) and public schools in the Clinton / Hudson Yards neighborhood.

Program Information:

Thursday, November 6 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S
Pablo Heras-Casado, Principal Conductor
Elizabeth DeShong, Mezzo-Soprano
Joseph Kaiser, Tenor
Luca Pisaroni, Bass-Baritone
Musica Sacra
Kent Tritle, Music Director

HENRY PURCELL Suite from A Midsummer Night's Dream
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY The Tempest, Op. 18
LUIGI DALLAPICCOLA Piccola musica notturna
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Die erste Walpurgisnacht, Op. 60

Thursday, January 15 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S
Harry Bicket, Conductor
Stephen Hough, Piano

RICHARD WAGNER Siegfried Idyll
ANTONÍN DVORÁK Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 33
JOSEPH HAYDN Symphony No. 104 in D Major, "London"

Thursday, April 23 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S
Pablo Heras-Casado, Principal Conductor
Alisa Weilerstein, Cello

IGOR STRAVINSKY Symphonies of Wind Instruments
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 126
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67

Tickets, priced at $31-90, 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: Chris Lee

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