American baritone Thomas Hampson has been named the Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic for the 2009-10 season in conjunction with his role as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence. Mr. Hampson will present two Insight Series events and the Annual Erich Leinsdorf Lecture in a series entitled 'Listening to Thought,' exploring the interplay of verbal and musical languages in vocal music.
New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker, who will retire from the Orchestra at the end of the 2008-09 season concluding a 60-year tenure, has set a new Guinness World Record for the 'Longest Career as a Clarinetist.' The record text reads: 'The longest career as a clarinetist was achieved by Stanley Drucker (USA, b. 4 February 1929) who performed professionally for 62 years, 7 months, 1 day as of June 4, 2009.'
New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker, who will retire from the Orchestra at the end of the 2008?09 season concluding a 60-year tenure, will give his final concerto appearances in performances of Copland?s Clarinet Concerto, conducted by Lorin Maazel, Tuesday, June 4, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 6, at 8:00 p.m., and Tuesday, June 9, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Drucker, who joined the New York Philharmonic at age 19 in 1948, and whose tenure encompasses one-third of the history of the 167-year-old orchestra, will have performed as soloist with the Orchestra some 200 times (both at home and abroad), and will have played in more than 10,200 concerts under nine New York Philharmonic conductors at the conclusion of his tenure.
At a press conference in Tokyo today, New York Philharmonic Music Director Designate Alan Gilbert and President and Executive Director Zarin Mehta announced the details of Asian Horizons: Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic, October 8?24, 2009. This will be the Orchestra?s inaugural international concert tour under the leadership of Alan Gilbert, who will begin his tenure as Music Director in September 2009. Asian Horizons will consist of eleven concerts, spanning five Asian countries, with performances in Tokyo, Japan (a destination of special significance in light of Mr. Gilbert?s Japanese heritage); Seoul, Korea; Singapore; and the Philharmonic?s debut performances in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Pianist Emanuel Ax and violinists Frank Peter Zimmermann and Ye-Eun Choi (Philharmonic debut) are the featured soloists on the tour. Asian Horizons marks the fourth New York Philharmonic concert tour under the aegis of Credit Suisse, the Orchestra?s Global Sponsor, and the second in Asia.
The World Premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis?s a Voice, a Messenger, featuring New York Philharmonic Principal Trumpet Philip Smith as soloist, and previously announced for June 4, 6, and 9, 2009, has been postponed until the 2009?10 season to allow the composer and the soloist more time to collaborate on the work. The piece, a Philharmonic co-commission with the Big Ten Band Association, will be replaced by Haydn?s Trumpet Concerto, to be performed by Mr. Smith. Lorin Maazel will conduct these concerts, which are part of his final weeks as New York Philharmonic Music Director.
A.C.T. Conservatory Director Melissa Smith announced today that honorary master of fine arts degrees will be conferred upon Grammy Award-winning musician Tracy Chapman and master playwright John Guare.
A.C.T. Conservatory Director Melissa Smith announced today that honorary master of fine arts degrees will be conferred upon Grammy Award-winning musician Tracy Chapman and master playwright John Guare.
Ravinia Festival Chairperson Pamela B. Strobel and President and CEO Welz Kauffman today announced details of the 2009 season of music theater and dance events.
The Philharmonic begins the Winter U.S. Tour 2009 with performances in Atlanta and West Palm Beach led by Lorin Maazel, who is making his final tour with the Orchestra as Music Director. The trip, which will take the musicians to 10 cities in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and will include 13 concerts, marks the first American tour under the aegis of Credit Suisse, the Global Sponsor of the New York Philharmonic.
American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2008-09 season Koret Visiting Artist Series with 'The Inner 'I': How Artists See Themselves,' a conversation with Lotfi Mansouri, celebrated opera director and the general director emeritus of the San Francisco Opera; Judy Kaye, the Tony Award-winning star of A.C.T.'s Souvenir; and the internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. Moderated by A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff, the conversation will focus on the different ways artists view themselves and how these self-images affect their work. 'The Inner 'I' is presented in conjunction with A.C.T.'s production of Stephen Temperley's Souvenir, which tells the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York socialite and tone-deaf diva who thought she was a great soprano. The conversation will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience. The hour-long event is free and open to the public and takes place on the A.C.T. stage on Monday, February 23, 2009, at 5:30 p.m. Doors will open at 5 p.m. For more information, please visit www.act-sf.org/koret.
American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2008-09 season with John Guare's Rich & Famous, directed by John Rando (Urinetown, The Musical and Wedding Singer on Broadway) in its first major revival since its 1976 New York debut. From the ingenious mind of John Guare, who brought Six Degrees of Separation and The House of Blue Leaves to the American stage, this delicious dark comedy springs to life with twisted humor, rapid-fire dialogue, and outrageous plot twists. The revival script includes significant rewrites to the original text, as well as hilarious songs freshly scribed by Guare himself. In Rich and Famous, playwright Bing Ringling yearns to savor the sweet taste of celebrity, and he's hoping play number 844 will be his lucky break. But on opening night, he slips into a nightmarish phantasmagoria that shows him just how wrong things can go.
In February 2009, The New York Philharmonic This Week a two-hour, national, weekly radio program of concerts by the New York Philharmonic will begin with Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Orchestra in Oliver Knussen's Violin Concerto, featuring Pinchas Zukerman, and Mahler's Symphony No. 5. The following week, Riccardo Muti returns to conduct Haydn's Symphony No. 89; selected arias from Haydn operas Armida and L'anima del filosofo ossia Orfeo ed Euridice, with bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff as soloist; and Brahms's Serenade No. 1. The third broadcast, led by Kurt Masur, commemorates the bicentenary of Mendelssohn's birth in an all-Mendelssohn program featuring his Overture to Ruy Blas; Violin Concerto, with guest artist Anne-Sophie Mutter; and Die erste Walpurgisnacht with mezzo-soprano Christine Knorren (in her Philharmonic debut), tenor Jorma Silvasti (in his Philharmonic debut), bass-baritone Albert Dohmen (in his Philharmonic subscription debut), bass Thorsten Gr?mbel (in his Philharmonic debut), and the Westminster Symphonic Choir. The final February broadcast will be the 2008?09 New Year?s Eve Gala Concert with Music Director Lorin Maazel leading mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and the Philharmonic in a program that includes ?Deh per questo istante solo? from Mozart?s La clemenza di Tito; Vilja from Leh?r?s The Merry Widow; and ?L?Amour est un oiseau rebelle? (Habanera) and ?Pr?s des ramparts de S?ville? (Seguidilla) from Act I of Bizet?s Carmen; the orchestral pieces will include works by Verdi, Rossini, Saint-Sa?ns, Brahms, Offenbach, and Falla.
George Street Playhouse is celebrating the December holidays in a big way with a series of musical performances for a special Holiday Cabaret. The musical celebration will feature the talents of Tony Award nominee Robert Cuccioli, who is currently performing at George Street Playhouse in Conor McPherson's The Seafarer. Mr. Cuccioli received a Tony Nomination and is perhaps best known for playing the title role in Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde. Joining Mr. Cuccioli will be fellow Tony nominee Sally Mayes from the recent Broadway revival of She Loves Me. Christopher Howatt will serve as musical director and performer for the revue. Performances take place Saturday, December 20 at 2 and 8PM, and Sunday, December 21 at 2PM.
American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2008-09 season Koret Visiting Artist Series with a conversation with leading American playwright John Guare, author of Six Degrees of Separation, The House of Blue Leaves and A.C.T.'s upcoming Rich & Famous. Guare will talk about four decades in the American theater and his new version of Rich and Famous that includes significant rewrites in preparation for the show's first revival since 1976. A.C.T. Dramaturg and Director of Humanities Michael Paller moderates. The conversation will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience. The event is free and open to the public and takes place on the A.C.T. stage on Saturday, December 13, 2009, at 10 a.m. Reservations are required and can be made by visiting www.act-sf.org/koret or by calling 415.749.2ACT.
George Street Playhouse is celebrating the December holidays in a big way with a series of musical performances for a special Holiday Cabaret. The musical celebration will feature the talents of Tony Award nominee Robert Cuccioli, who is currently performing at George Street Playhouse in Conor McPherson's The Seafarer. Mr. Cuccioli received a Tony Nomination and is perhaps best known for playing the title role in Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde. Joining Mr. Cuccioli will be fellow Tony nominee Sally Mayes from the recent Broadway revival of She Loves Me. Christopher Howatt will serve as musical director and performer for the revue. Performances take place Saturday, December 20 at 2 and 8PM, and Sunday, December 21 at 2PM.
American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2008-09 season with John Guare's Rich & Famous, directed by John Rando (Urinetown, The Musical and Wedding Singer on Broadway) in its first major revival since its 1976 New York debut. From the ingenious mind of John Guare, who brought Six Degrees of Separation and The House of Blue Leaves to the American stage, this delicious dark comedy springs to life with twisted humor, rapid-fire dialogue, and outrageous plot twists. The revival script includes significant rewrites to the original text, as well as hilarious songs freshly scribed by Guare himself. In Rich and Famous, playwright Bing Ringling yearns to savor the sweet taste of celebrity, and he's hoping play number 844 will be his lucky break. But on opening night, he slips into a nightmarish phantasmagoria that shows him just how wrong things can go.
American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2008-09 season Koret Visiting Artist Series with a conversation with leading American playwright John Guare, author of Six Degrees of Separation, The House of Blue Leaves and A.C.T.'s upcoming Rich & Famous. Guare will talk about four decades in the American theater and his new version of Rich and Famous that includes significant rewrites in preparation for the show's first revival since 1976. A.C.T. Dramaturg and Director of Humanities Michael Paller moderates. The conversation will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience. The event is free and open to the public and takes place on the A.C.T. stage on Saturday, December 13, 2009, at 10 a.m. Reservations are required and can be made by visiting www.act-sf.org/koret or by calling 415.749.2ACT.
