Sir Simon Rattle News

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's (LACO) 50th Anniversary season concludes with guest conductor Grant Gershon leading the world premiere of Derrick Spiva Jr.'s From Here A Path, the second part of a trilogy for chamber orchestra, and Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, featuring noted cellist and classical music innovator Joshua Roman, on Saturday, May 19, 8 pm, at Glendale's Alex Theatre, and Sunday, May 20, 2018, 7 pm, at Royce Hall.  In addition, Concertmaster Margaret Batjer leads from the first chair both Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso in D Minor, the first work ever performed when LACO launched 50 years ago, and Mozart's Symphony No. 39 in E-Flat Major, which wraps the Orchestra's exploration this season of the composer's final three symphonies.  Spiva, describing his work, says, "From Here A Path draws inspiration from Husago, a West African piece from Ghana's Ewe people that includes drumming, dancing and singing, kaval flute playing from Eastern Europe and elements of Hindustani classical music.  The title references the momentum and resistance one gathers to reach a point."

The London Symphony Orchestra, under its new Music Director, Sir Simon Rattle, will tour Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru in May 2019, the first time that the orchestra has performed in South America, it was announced today.

Michael Tilson Thomas Makes MET Orchestra Debut with Soprano Pretty Yende Singing Mozart and Mahler on June 5   The MET Orchestra returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage for a series of three concerts, led by three dynamic conductors, this May and June.

Chief Conductor Mariss Jansons returns with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for two back-to-back concerts this May in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. On Friday, May 4 at 8:00 p.m., the orchestra performs Rossini'sWilliam Tell Overture; Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 19, featuringFrank Peter Zimmermann; and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55, 'Eroica.' The following evening, Saturday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m., the orchestra and Maestro Jansons perform Mahler's massive Symphony No. 7 in E Minor.

The Richard Tucker Music Foundation announced today that Christian Van Horn – “one of those treasurable singers in whose presence one can entirely relax, assured that everything he does will be delivered with solid interpretive insight and unfailingly attractive tone” (Opera News) – has been named as the winner of the 2018 Richard Tucker Award.

Today the Edinburgh International Festival unveils its 2018 programme. The International Festival runs Friday 3 to Monday 27 August. The event welcomes 2,750 artists from 31 nations to perform in Scotland's capital city and attracts visitors from all over the world, with audiences expected to travel from over 80 nations to be part of Edinburgh's global celebration of culture.

As part of its continuing commitment to young artists, The Glenn Gould Foundation presents thirteen-year-old music prodigy Alma Deutscher in her Canadian debut performance on April 13, 2018 at 8 PM at Koerner Hall (273 Bloor Street West). This extraordinarily gifted young musician will perform a concert in celebration of the international jury for the twelfth Glenn Gould Prize who will be in attendance. 

Final cast is today announced for Charles Court Opera's smart, stylish, sparkling fresh version of the most loved of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic masterpieces, The Mikado.

Violinist Janine Jansen concludes herPerspectives series at Carnegie Hall this season joining Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguinand The Philadelphia Orchestra on Tuesday, March 13 at 8:00 p.m. for the New York premiere of Dutch composer Michel Van der Aa's Violin Concerto. The piece, written especially for Ms. Jansen, is described by her as “full of energy and lyricism,” and reflects Ms. Jansen's long-time artistic partnership with the composer. Mr. Van der Aa has said that Ms. Jansen's personality served as his inspiration for the work. “If Janine had played the flute, I would have written a flute concerto,” he said.

Renowned pianist Mitsuko Uchida—deemed one of the great Schubert interpreters of our time—begins a two-year survey of Schubert piano sonatas at Carnegie Hall with a solo recital in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage onMonday, February 26 at 8:00 p.m. The all-Schubert program includes his piano sonatas in C Minor, D. 958; A Major, D. 664; and G Major, D. 894.

Broad Stage's 2018 Celebrity Opera Series continues with Elina Garanca, mezzo-soprano with orchestra conducted by Karel Mark Chichon, in An Homage to Spain.

The San Diego Symphony today announced internationally acclaimed conductor Rafael Payare will become the orchestra's next music director. Payare will begin a four-year contract immediately, serving as music director designate for the first year, and begin the role of music director on July 1, 2019. Payare will debut at the San Diego podium in his new role January 2019, when he kicks off the fourth annual San Diego Symphony January festival. 

The San Diego Symphony today announced internationally acclaimed conductor Rafael Payare will become the orchestra's next music director. Payare will begin a four-year contract immediately, serving as music director designate for the first year, and begin the role of music director on July 1, 2019. Payare will debut at the San Diego podium in his new role January 2019, when he kicks off the fourth annual San Diego Symphony January festival.

Carnegie Hall today announced that world-renowned jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves and critically-acclaimed trombonist Wycliffe Gordonwill join NYO Jazz as special guest artists for the ensemble's Carnegie Hall debut on July 27, 2018. Following its New York concert, NYO Jazz will embark on its first-ever tour to Europe, which includes performances in The Netherlands, Germany, and Great Britain, July 30 - August 10, 2018. Dianne Reeves will also be featured as a guest artist on NYO Jazz's European tour.

The McCallum Theatre presents Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel on Monday, February 26, at 7:00pm. This performance, "The Golden Age of the Piano," will feature "Minuet in G" by Ignace Paderewski; "Spinning Song" by Felix Mendelssohn; "Humoresque, Op. 101, No. 1" by Antonin Dvorak; "Prelude in G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5" by Sergei Rachmaninoff; "April, Op. 39, No. 4" from The Seasons by Peter Ilyich Tchaikowsky; "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen" by Edvard Grieg; "Valse Triste, Op. 44" by Jean Sibelius; and "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" by Franz Liszt.

After a tremendously successful solo recital and performance with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra in fall 2017, pianist Daniil Trifonov continues his Perspectives series on Tuesday, February 6 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage in collaboration with baritone Matthias Goerne as they explore Trifonov's self-described fascination with vocal music. The program includes Schumann's Dichterliebe; Berg's Four Songs, Op. 2; Wolf's Three Poems of Michelangelo; selections from Shostakovich's Suite, Op. 145; and Brahms's Vier ernste Ges nge, Op. 121.

Hailed as the best ensemble of its kind in the world, (Manchester Evening News), the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet make its debut at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Art (The Wallis) with one of the most distinctive artists of his generation, pianist and MacArthur Genius Stephen Hough, in a one-night-only performance in the Bram Goldsmith Theater on Saturday, February 10 at 7:30pm. The evening concert includes works by W.A. Mozart, Samuel Barber, Jacques Ibert, Francis Poulenc, and an original work by multitalented Hough.

Queens Theatre (Taryn Sacramone, Executive Director) will present Broadway Valentine, a concert-style revue produced by Stephen DeAngelis exclusively for Queens Theatre, located at 14 United Nations Avenue South in Flushing Meadows Corona Park for two performances only on February 17 at 8pm and February 18 at 3pm.

Pegasus Opera Company presents an opera double bill showcasing women in lead roles, Ruth and The Dark Lady of the Sonnets. There will be four performances starting Wednesday 28 February Friday 2 March, 7.30pm and Sunday 4 March, 2.30pm at the Actors Church (St Paul's), Covent Garden, Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ED.

Carnegie Hall has announced that bass-baritone Christian Van Horn will step in for Thomas Hampson, performing with The Cleveland Orchestra on Wednesday, January 24 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. Mr. Hampson's doctor has advised him to withdraw from this concert due to illness. The program, which features Haydn's The Seasons, remains the same. Full program information is listed below.