Alisa Weilerstein News

Music Director Osmo Vänskä guides Orchestra's flagship classical series, September 2014 to June 2015, featuring a lineup of classical masterworks, star soloists and conductors

Summer is just around the corner, and we are looking ahead in anticipation to the start of Carnegie Hall's 2014-2015 season! Listed below are classical music highlights at Carnegie Hall, including details on UBUNTU: Music and Arts of South Africa, a three-week festival from October 10 to November 5, featuring an exciting array of events to be presented at Carnegie Hall and partner venues throughout New York City, inviting audiences to explore the incredibly dynamic and diverse culture of South Africa.

The New York Philharmonic will mark Glenn Dicterow's farewell - following 34 years as Concertmaster, the longest tenure of any concertmaster in Philharmonic history - with the release of New York Philharmonic Presents: The Glenn Dicterow Collection, three albums on the New York Philharmonic label featuring Mr. Dicterow's favorite solo performances from 1982 to 2012. The first album will be available on CD, which comes with a 90-page commemorative booklet that includes program notes with Mr. Dicterow's comments, essays about Mr. Dicterow by Alan Gilbert and Archivist/Historian Barbara Haws, photographs, and a complete list of Mr. Dicterow's solo performances. It will also be available as a download on iTunes and Amazon.com. The second and third albums will be available as downloads only. The CD and booklet are $16.99; the downloads are $9.99 each or $24.99 for all three downloadable albums. The collection, distributed by Naxos, is now available for pre-order; it will be available for purchase and download on nyphil.org/DicterowCollection beginning June 3.

Approaching its 40th anniversary season, Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) is thrilled to announce its continued relationship with Principal Conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, formalized in a two-year contract extension signed last week. Heras-Casado, who was appointed to a four-year term as OSL's principal conductor in 2011, will remain in that post through September 2017.

The New York Philharmonic will mark Glenn Dicterow's farewell - following 34 years as Concertmaster, the longest tenure of any concertmaster in Philharmonic history - with the release of New York Philharmonic Presents: The Glenn Dicterow Collection, three albums on the New York Philharmonic label featuring Mr. Dicterow's favorite solo performances from 1982 to 2012. The first album will be available on CD, which comes with a 90-page commemorative booklet that includes program notes with Mr. Dicterow's comments, essays about Mr. Dicterow by Alan Gilbert and Archivist/Historian Barbara Haws, photographs, and a complete list of Mr. Dicterow's solo performances. It will also be available as a download on iTunes and Amazon.com. The second and third albums will be available as downloads only. The CD and booklet are $16.99; the downloads are $9.99 each or $24.99 for all three downloadable albums. The collection, distributed by Naxos, is now available for pre-order; it will be available for purchase and download on nyphil.org/DicterowCollection beginning June 3.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) presents its annual spring festival from May 19 to June 8, 2014, which this year is entitled Truth to Power. Inspired by the phrase "speaking truth to power"-part of a 1955 Quaker treatise that outlined alternatives to violence and served as a cornerstone for the pacifist movement-the Truth to Power Festival highlights the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, Benjamin Britten and Sergei Prokofiev, three composers who believed in music's ability to connect people and thus harness the power of shared experience.

The New York Philharmonic will conclude its 2013-14 subscription season with the final program in The Beethoven Piano Concertos: A Philharmonic Festival, when Music Director Alan Gilbert conducts Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor, featuring The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Yefim Bronfman as soloist, and Beethoven's Triple Concerto, with Mr. Bronfman, Principal Cello Carter Brey, and Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow in his final appearances before concluding his 34-year tenure, Wednesday, June 18, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 20 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, June 21 at 8:00 p.m.

Artistic directors Maestro Lorin Maazel and Dietlinde Turban Maazel will hold the sixth season of the Castleton Festival in their state-of-the-art performance venues set in the rolling meadows of Castleton Farms in scenic Rappahannock County, VA, from June 28-July 20, 2014.

The New York Philharmonic and American Composers Orchestra (ACO), in collaboration with ACO's EarShot: the National Orchestra Composition Discovery Network, announce the selection of 13 emerging composers from an international pool of more than 400 applicants from seven countries and 37 states ranging in age from 9 to 84, whose original scores for orchestra have been chosen for readings and performances by the Philharmonic and ACO as part of the inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL.

In the 2014/2015 season, Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) celebrates 40 years since a group of astounding musicians first performed at The Church of St. Luke in the Fields. OSL's concerts and programs show that the values held since the orchestra's earliest days-flexibility, a collaborative spirit, commitment to the community, and commensurate artistry-continue to distinguish OSL and propel it forward.

The Celebrity Series of Boston announced its 2014-2015 season today, marking 76 years of bringing the world's greatest performing artists to Boston. The season opens on Sunday, October 5, 2014 with Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini in recital. In total, the 2014-2015 season will include 46 music, dance and entertainment engagements. The 2014-15 season is sponsored by Amy and Joshua Boger.

Inon Barnatan is a true poet of the keyboard: refined, searching, and unfailingly communicative. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein's passion, commitment and breathtaking technique combine with undeniable musicianship to make her one of today's most exciting artists. RiverCenter for the Performing Arts is proud to present these two world-renowned artists on the Bill Heard Theatre stage, tonight, March 27 at 7:30pm.

The Cleveland Orchestra has announced its 2014-15 season. Music Director Franz Welser-Möst's programs include Bach's Mass in B minor, and Brahms's Piano Concertos with Yefim Bronfman as soloist. Mr. Welser-Möst continues his long-standing tradition of opera performances at Severance Hall with concert performances of Richard Strauss's rarely heard opera Daphne. Guest artists returning to Severance Hall include Lang Lang, Christian Tetzlaff, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Mitsuko Uchida, and conductors Charles Dutoit, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and Fabio Luisi. The Orchestra celebrates the 90th birthday of Pierre Boulez in three programs conducted by Franz Welser-Möst.

Inon Barnatan is a true poet of the keyboard: refined, searching, and unfailingly communicative. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein's passion, commitment and breathtaking technique combine with undeniable musicianship to make her one of today's most exciting artists. RiverCenter for the Performing Arts is proud to present these two world-renowned artists on the Bill Heard Theatre stage, Thursday, March 27 at 7:30pm.

Delighted to see the mandate of Kent Nagano continue until 2020, the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal was filled with renewed enthusiasm today when it presented, at Maison symphonique de Montreal, a 2014-2015 season that is dazzling and richly diversified - a season that promises deep emotions! The 2014-2015 season offers a number of sensational programs built around major works of the repertoire, some of them large in scale and some of them discoveries. Classicism and modernity rub shoulders throughout the season. In the foyer Allegro at Maison symphonique, Kent Nagano, music director of the OSM, unveiled the details of the 2014-2015 programming, accompanied by Stephane Levesque, principal bassoon with the Orchestra, and Mylene Paquette, the navigator who did a solo crossing of the Atlantic last fall. The event was hosted by Jean-Francois Lepine, international analyst and music lover, in the presence of OSM chief executive officer Madeleine Careau. The announcement marks the launch of the subscription renewal campaign, which ends on April 25, and the new-subscription and single-ticket-sale campaign, which begins on April 28.

The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park is pleased to announce the program for its March 30, 2014, concert. Included on the program are Claude Debussy: Sonata for Cello and Piano; Franz Schubert: Fantasia in C Major, D. 934 (Op. 159); Lera Auerbach: Selections from 24 Preludes (after Shostakovich 24 Preludes, Op. 34); and Sergei Rachmaninoff: Sonata in G minor, Op. 19.

The Oakland East Bay Symphony and Music Director/Conductor Michael Morgan will continue their 25th anniversary season with a concert featuring the world premiere of Bay Area composer-pianist-vocalist Mary Fineman's song cycle, It's About Love, featuring guest vocalist Wesla Whitfield, and the Symphony's Young Artist Competition winner Matthew Linaman performing Bloch's Schelomo tonight, February 21, 2014.

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has announced that, due to overwhelming demand The Danish String Quartet, a CMS Two Artist Member, has added an encore performance of Beethoven Reflected on Monday, February 10th at 7:30 PM at the Chamber Music Society's Rose Studio (Rose Building, 165 West 65th Street, 10th Floor). This is in addition to the originally scheduled performance on February 9th at 5:00 p.m. at Alice Tully Hall (Broadway at 65th Street).

The New York Philharmonic and Music Director Alan Gilbert announce the launch of Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic: 2013-14 Season - a series of 10 recordings of performances from the current season to be released for download and streaming from January 2014 to September 2014. The first two albums, now available, feature the U.S. Premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Frieze; Beethoven's Symphony No. 9; R. Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra and Don Juan, and the New York Premiere of Christopher Rouse's Oboe Concerto with Principal Oboe Liang Wang as soloist, all conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert.

The University Musical Society (UMS) presents 13 performances by nine different performing arts groups this February, including intimate recitals, powerful orchestras, incredible world music, inspiring dance, and world-class theater.