Leon Botstein News

The Orchestra Now (TON) will open the third season of its popular Sight & Sound series at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sunday, December 3 at 2 PM.

The opera A Thousand Splendid Suns is totally concerned with the political upheavals that have transformed Afghanistan over the past half-century. It is also the story of how the lives of women in that country have been transformed. And, yes, it features human drama. What else should one expect from an opera?

Acclaimed conductor Gerard Schwarz music director of the Emmy Award-winning All-Star Orchestra will take the podium and conduct The Orchestra Now (T?N) for a program titled Bruckner's Romantic Symphony in Manhattan at Peter Norton Symphony Space on Sunday, November 19, as part of the Around Town series of free concerts. The program is also presented at the Fisher Center at Bard College on Saturday, November 18.

The New Amsterdam Singers (NAS) celebrating 50 years of leadership under Music Director Clara Longstreth, launches its 2017-18 season with a program titled Sing, Sing Ye Muses, featuring a world premiere-NAS commission by Carol Barnett.

The Orchestra Now (T?N) will open its New York City fall season with the first concert of its T?N at Rose Theater series at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on October 15. The program of works by Rubinstein, Sibelius, and Daugherty will feature the distinguished maestro Neeme J rvi as guest conductor with pianist Anna Shelest and cellist Zuill Bailey.

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center's famed acoustics will be put to the test when PREformances with Allison Charney fills the celebrated New York City concert hall with the sound of music on October 16 at 1PM.

Internationally renowned as a venue for world-class open-air concerts surrounded by a striking backdrop of nature and architecture, Grafenegg is also devoted to an extensive program of activities that champion young talent. In 2018, a new brand - Campus Grafenegg - will be launched to expand and further develop these efforts. Leon Botstein, conductor, scholar, President of Bard College, and Music Director of American Symphony Orchestra and The Orchestra Now, will begin his first season as Artistic Director of Grafenegg Campus and Grafenegg Academy in 2018. The appointment honors him as one of only a few Americans to head a major European classical institution.

The American Symphony Orchestra will open the 57th season of its Vanguard series at Carnegie Hall with a program titled The Sounds of Democracy on Wednesday, October 11 at 8 pm. All performances in this year's four-concert series - comprising three at Carnegie Hall and one at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall - will offer a timely political framework by examining the music composers have created under various types of leadership. American democracy was shaped by the ideals, vision, and principles of its leaders, particularly Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. The Sounds of Democracy is an evening featuring works of American composers inspired by the legacy of these two presidents, who protected our liberties and stood by the common people against the interests of the rich and powerful. Sessions' Second Symphony is dedicated to FDR, Bernstein's Kaddish is both a Jewish prayer for the dead and a celebration of life, and Copland wrote Canticle of Freedom in response to the assault on civil liberties during the McCarthy era. Concert notes and additional information on artists and works are available here.

The New Amsterdam Singers will celebrate 50 years of leadership under its Music Director Clara Longstreth in the 2017 18 season, with three sets of concerts and three world-premiere commissioned works.

The Orchestra Now (T?N) will open its New York City fall season with the first concert of its T?N at Rose Theater series at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on October 15. The program of works by Rubinstein, Sibelius, and Daugherty will feature the distinguished maestro Neeme J rvi as guest conductor with pianist Anna Shelest and cellist Zuill Bailey.

Committed since its inception to reviving important but neglected operas, Bard SummerScape has long proven itself 'an indispensable part of the summer operatic landscape' (Musical America). With the long overdue American staged premiere of Antonin Dvorak's Dimitrij as its operatic centerpiece, this year's immersion in 'Chopin and His World' is no exception. 

Who needs an excuse to leave NYC in the blistering days of summer? It's especially true if you head north to some of the bucolic opera and vocal venues within driving distance.

Parisian culture, Polish politics, and the piano are the focus of this summer's annual Bard SummerScape festival, with seven weeks of music, opera, theater, dance, film, and cabaret keyed to the theme of the 28th Bard Music Festival, 'Chopin and His World.'

The American Symphony Orchestra today announced the 56th season of its Vanguard series, running from October 11, 2017 through March 1, 2018. Music director Leon Botstein will conduct all concerts in the series, which this year includes a performance at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in addition to three concerts at Carnegie Hall.

ToN will conclude its New York City 2016-17 series on May 21 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art with music director Leon Botstein conducting Ives' Three Places in New England and leading the discussion and audience Q&A on the relationship between Ives' music and the artwork of Marsden Hartley.

American Symphony Orchestra presents Elgar's oratorio The Apostles on Friday, May 12, 2017, the final performance of its four-concert series at Carnegie Hall this season. Music director Leon Botstein will lead the Orchestra and the Bard Festival Chorale in Elgar's magnificent and rarely-heard choral work.

Committed since its inception to reviving important but neglected operas, Bard SummerScape has long proven itself 'an indispensable part of the summer operatic landscape' (Musical America). With the long overdue American staged premiere of Antonin Dvorak's Dimitrij as its operatic centerpiece, this year's immersion in 'Chopin and His World' is no exception. 

New Amsterdam Singers (NAS), led by Music Director Clara Longstreth, will present its final concert of the season titled "Life Is But a Dream," featuring premieres of works by American composers Robert Paterson, Ronald Perera, and Ben Moore inspired by poetry and folk melodies, and a World-Premiere Commission based on Shakespeare texts by Matthew Harris in honor of the chorus's upcoming 50th anniversary. The concert will take place Thursday, June 1, 2017, at 8:00 p.m., at Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church, 554 West End Avenue (at 87th Street).

The Orchestra Now (T?N) will kick off its spring season of four concerts on March 17 with music director Leon Botstein conducting an Italian evening at Carnegie Hall. Spotlighting the charming comic opera Susanna's Secret and works by Respighi, the concert is the second in this year's Carnegie Hall series.

Parisian culture, Polish politics, and the piano are the focus of this summer's annual Bard SummerScape festival, with seven weeks of music, opera, theater, dance, film, and cabaret keyed to the theme of the 28th Bard Music Festival, 'Chopin and His World.'