David Robertson News

The St. Louis Symphony will mark the centennial of Benjamin Britten's birth with two concert performances of the composer's haunting opera Peter Grimes: first at Powell Hall on November 16, then at Carnegie Hall on November 22, the date of the late composer's 100th birthday.

On Tuesday, September 24, the Arnold & Marie Schwartz Gallery Met will open Laurie Simmons'sTwo Boys, a new exhibition presented in conjunction with the North American premiere of Nico Muhly's opera of the same name. Simmons has created 4 original photographs for the show, which will be on display in Gallery Met through January 15, 2014. The opera Two Boys, which explores identity and desire in the shadowy world of the Internet, opens at the Met on October 21 in a production directed by Bartlett Sher and conducted by David Robertson.

Tenor Nicholas Phan will kick off his 2013-14 season as one of the prime voices heard in celebrations of the composer's centenary as they culminate this fall. Today, September 5, Phan helps launch Trinity Wall Street's four-month Celebrating Britten Festival with the orchestral song cycle Nocturne. The tenor also curates the 2013 Collaborative Works Festival as the Artistic Director of Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, performing Britten's Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac and The Heart of the Matter, plus folk-song arrangements by Beethoven (Sept 11-15). Phan and pianist Myra Huang then embark on a U.S. recital tour - starting at Trinity Wall Street on September 21 - with a program juxtaposing Britten and Schubert.

In Mahler's mighty “Resurrection” symphony, he dramatically addresses life-and-death issues as only he could—“one is battered to the ground and then raised on angels' wings to the highest heights.” CSO Music Director Jean-Marie Zeitouni opens the 2013-14 season by leading the Columbus Symphony Chorus, featured guest vocalists Dominique Labelle (soprano) and Sasha Cooke (mezzo-soprano), and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, including an off-stage brass ensemble echoing the last judgement from another world. This will also be the official debut of Jean-Sébastien Roy as the CSO's new concertmaster.

In Mahler's mighty "Resurrection" symphony, he dramatically addresses life-and-death issues as only he could-"one is battered to the ground and then raised on angels' wings to the highest heights." CSO Music Director Jean-Marie Zeitouni opens the 2013-14 season by leading the Columbus Symphony Chorus, featured guest vocalists Dominique Labelle (soprano) and Sasha Cooke (mezzo-soprano), and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, including an off-stage brass ensemble echoing the last judgement from another world. This will also be the official debut of Jean-Sebastien Roy as the CSO's new concertmaster.

Tenor Nicholas Phan will kick off his 2013-14 season as one of the prime voices heard in celebrations of the composer's centenary as they culminate this fall. On September 5, Phan helps launch Trinity Wall Street's four-month Celebrating Britten Festival with the orchestral song cycle Nocturne. The tenor also curates the 2013 Collaborative Works Festival as the Artistic Director of Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, performing Britten's Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac and The Heart of the Matter, plus folk-song arrangements by Beethoven (Sept 11-15). Phan and pianist Myra Huang then embark on a U.S. recital tour - starting at Trinity Wall Street on September 21 - with a program juxtaposing Britten and Schubert.

The Metropolitan Opera and Le Poisson Rouge announced details for "An Evening of Britten and Muhly," two concerts at Le Poisson Rouge on Thursday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Metropolitan Opera stars Patricia Racette, Kathleen Kim, and Iestyn Davies will perform at the event. Composer Nico Muhly will host and perform on piano.

Please note the following updates to Carnegie Hall's 2013-2014 schedule, reflecting major updates made since the hall announced the concert season last January.

CARNEGIE HALL DECEMBER 2013 CALENDAR

This fall, concert saxophonist Timothy McAllister gives the first North American performances of John Adams's new Saxophone Concerto and records the 32-minute score for Nonesuch. McAllister performs with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop on Friday, September 20 (8 pm) at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, repeated on September 21 (8 pm) and 22 (3 pm). Then, David Robertson leads McAllister and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in Saxophone Concerto on Saturday, October 5 (8 pm) and Sunday, October 6 (3 pm) at Powell Hall. Listeners worldwide may catch a broadcast and live stream of the Oct. 5 concert at www.stlpublicradio.org. Recording sessions with Robertson and the SLSO follow in October for a future Nonesuch recording pairing Saxophone Concerto with the orchestra's performance of Adams's City Noir, which McAllister also premiered.

Carnegie Hall has announced its November 2013 calendar. Details below!

Maestro Case Scaglione leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in an evening of George Gershwin's Greatest Hits on Thursday, July 25 at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore and Friday, July 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The program will feature the jazz-filled melodies of Rhapsody in Blue, featuring pianist Jon Nakamatsu, and the timeless music from An American in Paris. Please see below for complete program details.

Conductors Delta David Gier and Oliver Hagen will replace Gil Rose for American Composers Orchestra's Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute (JCOI) Readings on Monday, June 3 at 10am (working rehearsal) and Tuesday, June 4 at 7:30pm(run-through) at Columbia University's Miller Theatre (2960 Broadway). Rose has withdrawn with regrets, due to a family emergency. Both events are free and open to the public, but reservations are suggested. ACO is one of three orchestras participating this year in JCOI Readings - the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (April 23 & 24) and La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (September 19 & 20) are also workshopping, rehearsing, and giving public readings of new works for symphony orchestra by jazz composers.

The Solti Foundation U.S. today recognized the talent of five distinguished young American conductors. James Feddeck, Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, is the recipient of the 2013 $25,000 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Vladimir Kulenovic, Ankush Kumar Bahl, Roger Kalia, and Christopher James Lees were all named as recipients of Solti U.S. Career Assistance Awards.

Music Director Jacques Lacombe and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra present Tchaikovsky's mighty Fifth Symphony on a concert program that features the East Coast premiere of Steven Mackey's Stumble to Grace Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with pianist Orli Shaham. The Orchestra performs the Princeton University professor's concerto as part of the New Jersey Roots Project, which celebrates the music of composers whose artistic identity has been influenced by their time in the Garden State.

The Metropolitan Opera announced that 'An Evening with Nico Muhly, Two Boys, and other works' will be available for live video streaming on both NPR Music (www.npr.org/music) and WQXR's Q2 Music online contemporary classical station (www.wqxr.org/q2music) this Tuesday, May 14, beginning at 10 p.m. The concert, which takes place at Le Poisson Rouge, is curated by Muhly, who will appear as host and performer. Metropolitan Opera singers Jennifer Zetlan and Paul Appleby will be joined by the composer on piano. Muhly will also perform selections for piano and viola with featured artist Nadia Sirota, his frequent collaborator. Special guests will include violin duo Angela and Jennifer Chun.

Celebrated guitarist Jason Vieaux will perform two concerts in the New York area tonight, May 3 at 8pm presented by the New York City Classical Guitar Society at Baruch Performing Arts Center (55 Lexington Avenue, NYC) and on Sunday, May 5 at 3pm presented by New Jersey City University in Ingalls Recital Hall (2039 Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ).

Renowned soprano Renee Fleming completes her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series with two concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, tonight, April 26 and May 4.

Participants will consider multiple views of the future of orchestras at the League of American Orchestras' 68th National Conference, June 18-20, 2013 in St. Louis. The Conference, under the theme Imagining 2023, will include a keynote and breakout sessions with futurist thinkers and industry leaders, live participatory performances and traditional concerts, and a master class with conductor David Robertson, music director of the St. Louis Symphony, which is co-hosting the Conference. Nearly 1000 professionals and volunteers from across the orchestra field are expected to attend the three-day event. The closing general session will be video streamed live.