The NSO to Present Four Classical Programs in March

The National Symphony Orchestra will continue its Classical series this March with four subscription concert programs at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, including a two-week residency with conductor, composer, and 2019 Kennedy Center Honoree Michael Tilson Thomas. NSO subscriptions are available here or by calling (202) 416-8500. Individual tickets are also available for purchase on the Kennedy Center's website.

From March 3-5, Music Director Gianandrea Noseda conducts a program that features the NSO premiere of Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon's Tales - A Folklore Symphony, which received its world premiere in January of this year. The concerts open with Antonín Dvořák's The Wood-Dove and close with Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto performed by Grammy Award®-winning violinist, and NSO audience favorite, James Ehnes.

On March 17 and 19, Thomas Wilkins returns to lead the NSO in Franz von Suppé's Overture to the operetta Die schöne Galathée ("The Beautiful Galatea") and Paul Hindemith's Mathis der Maler Symphony, one of the composer's most famous orchestral pieces that was later reworked into an opera. Pianist Jan Lisiecki, a 26-year-old Canadian of Polish ancestry, joins the Orchestra to perform the Piano Concerto No. 1 of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin.

Closing out the month is a two-week residency with conductor and composer Michael Tilson Thomas. On March 25 and 26, Tilson Thomas conducts an all-American program that includes his own composition, Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind-a jazz-influenced setting of a Carl Sandburg poem featuring soprano Measha Brueggergosman (for whom the work was originally written), a bar band, and chamber orchestra. The concerts also include Carl Ruggles' Angels, in its first NSO performance, and Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring.

The following week, on March 31 and April 1, Tilson Thomas demonstrates his affinity for Gustav Mahler by leading the composer's massive Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection," joined by soprano Ying Fang, mezzo-soprano Alice Coote, and the Choral Arts Society of Washington.

NSO CLASSICAL CONCERTS IN MARCH 2022

Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 7 p.m.

Friday, March 4, 2022 at 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 8 p.m.

National Symphony Orchestra
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor

James Ehnes, violin

Antonín Dvořák The Wood-Dove

Carlos Simon Tales - A Folklore Symphony (NSO Premiere)

Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Concerto

Under the direction of Gianandrea Noseda, the National Symphony Orchestra presents the NSO premiere of Tales - A Folklore Symphony by Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon. Also on the program, two-time Grammy Award®-winning violinist James Ehnes plays Beethoven's famous Violin Concerto.

Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 8 p.m.
National Symphony Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Jan Lisiecki, piano

Franz von Suppé Die schöne Galathée - Overture
Frédéric Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1
Paul Hindemith Mathis der Maler ("Matthias the Painter") Symphony

Jan Lisiecki's "pristine, lyrical and intelligent" (The New York Times) technique gives him a musical voice far beyond his age. At 26, the Polish-Canadian pianist performs more than one hundred yearly concerts-now's your chance to experience the virtuoso live in a performance of Chopin's glorious Piano Concerto No. 1. Renowned Maestro Thomas Wilkins returns to the Concert Hall stage to lead the program, which also includes music by Franz von Suppé and Paul Hindemith.

Friday, March 25, 2022 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 26, 2022 at 8 p.m.
National Symphony Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Measha Brueggergosman, soprano

Mikaela Bennett, soprano

Kara Dugan, mezzo-soprano

Carl Ruggles Angels
Michael Tilson Thomas Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind
Aaron Copland Appalachian Spring

2019 Kennedy Center Honoree Michael Tilson Thomas appears as both conductor and composer in his jazzy post-apocalyptic party Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind, featuring dynamite soprano Measha Brueggergosman along with bar band and chamber orchestra. The program closes with Appalachian Spring, Aaron Copland's Pulitzer Prize-winning ballet depicting optimistic scenes of pioneer life in 19th-century Pennsylvania-from a house-raising to a sermon to a festive celebration.

Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 7 p.m.
Friday, April 1, 2022 at 8 p.m.
National Symphony Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Ying Fang, soprano

Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano

Choral Arts Society of Washington

Scott Tucker, Artistic Director

Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"

2019 Kennedy Center Honoree Michael Tilson Thomas conducts Mahler's rousing, five-movement "Resurrection" Symphony. A champion interpreter of Mahler's work, MTT has recorded all nine of the composer's symphonies and major orchestral works-a feat earning him seven (of his 12) Grammy Awards.

Since Leonard Bernstein famously conducted the symphony at Madison Square Garden's "Night of Stars" memorial to President Kennedy, Mahler's "Resurrection" has remained a poignant message of life, rebirth, and immortal triumph for the human soul.

Artists and performances are subject to change.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets ($15-$99) are available at the Kennedy Center Box Office, online at kennedy-center.org, and via phone through Instant Charge, (202) 467-4600; toll-free at (800) 444-1324. For all other ticket-related customer service inquires, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.

As the Kennedy Center moves towards a full re-opening, it continues to prioritize the health and safety of artists, staff, and patrons. Current protocols can be found here and will continue to be updated as they evolve.

For full program information regarding the NSO classical 2021-2022 season, please see the website here.

For more information about the NSO, visit nationalsymphony.org.

A full listing of our generous sponsors can be found online.