JAMES LEVINE AND THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCE DETAILS
OF THE BSO’S 2006-07 SEASON
SEASON TO FEATURE SOME OF THE MOST MONUMENTAL
WORKS OF THE REPERTOIRE, A STAR-STUDDED ROSTER
OF GUEST ARTISTS, FOUR WORLD PREMIERES, A POWERHOUSE LINEUP OF PIANO SOLOISTS, AND A WIDE ARRAY
OF MUCH-LOVED SYMPHONIES
2006-07 BSO SEASON IS SPONSORED BY UBS
James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra have announced details of the BSO’s 2006-07 season, Maestro Levine’s third as BSO Music Director. Mr. Levine opens the Boston Symphony’s 2006-07 season on September 29 with an American-themed program featuring soprano Renée Fleming as soloist in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 – commissioned by the great American soprano Eleanor Steber at the suggestion of BSO conductor Serge Koussevitzky, and premiered by the BSO in 1948 – and James Galway as soloist in William Bolcom’s Lyric Concerto for flute and orchestra. This special Opening Night program opens with Copland’s Lincoln Portrait and closes with Dvořák’s ode to America, his Symphony No. 9, From the New World.
Among Mr. Levine’s season highlights are some of the most compelling large-scale works of the vocal repertoire, including Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust, as well as world premieres of works by Gunther Schuller and Charles Wuorinen, both commissioned to celebrate the BSO’s 125th anniversary. In addition, the 2006-07 season will see the conclusion of the BSO’s groundbreaking two-season Beethoven/Schoenberg Project, including Mr. Levine leading concert performances of the only full-scale operas produced by each of these composers, Beethoven’s Fidelio and Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron. Other BSO season highlights include performances of favorite symphonies of Dvořák, Schumann, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Brahms, and Mahler; piano concertos of Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Mozart, and Beethoven; such beloved works as Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloéand Mother Goose, Holst’s The Planets, and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite; world premieres of new works by André Previn and Kaija Saariaho; and a special performance of John Adams’ El Niño, a work for orchestra, vocal soloists, and chorus inspired by the story of the Nativity.
Following the acclaimed first installment in 2005-06 of James Levine and the Boston Symphony’s extraordinary exploration of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Arnold Schoenberg, the Levine/BSO Beethoven/Schoenberg Project continues in 2006-07 with five programs again juxtaposing works by these two seminal geniuses of music history. In October, former Chicago Symphony music director Daniel Barenboim appears as pianist in BSO subscription concerts for the first time when he joins Mr. Levine and the BSO as soloist in Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, on a program with Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht. At the end of October, Mr. Levine leads the orchestra in one of the most ambitious projects in the BSO’s long history: concert performances, with supertitles, of Schoenberg’s opera Moses und Aron. This production features a cast of vocal soloists acclaimed worldwide for their interpretation of the work – including tenor Philip Langridge (Aron) and bass John Tomlinson (Moses) in the title roles – promising to make the production one of the major Boston Symphony events in recent memory. In November, violinist Christian Tetzlaff will be featured as soloist in a program that pairs both composers’ Violin Concertos. Internationally renowned soprano Deborah Voigt joins Mr. Levine and the Boston Symphony in February 2007 in works by each composer for soprano and orchestra, Schoenberg’s monodramaErwartung and Beethoven’s concert ariaAh! perfido. The Beethoven/Schoenberg Project closes in March 2007 with concert performances, with supertitles, of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, featuring a stellar cast including soprano Karita Mattila (Leonore) and tenor Johan Botha (Florestan), both of whom recently joined Mr. Levine and the BSO for acclaimed performances of Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder.
Continuing the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s proud and longstanding tradition of introducing new music from the world’s most important composers, the 2006-07 season will feature the world premieres of four new works, including three – by Charles Wuorinen, Kaija Saariaho, and Gunther Schuller – commissioned by the BSO in celebration of its 125th anniversary. In February 2007, James Levine leads the orchestra in the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s Eighth Symphony, Theologoumena, a large-scale orchestral work marking the composer’s second BSO commission duringMr. Levine’s tenure as music director. The following week, Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste takes the podium, leading the Boston Symphony in the first performances of another BSO commission, a new work for cello and orchestra byFinnish composer Kaija Saariaho, widely considered among the leading composers of our time. This work will feature the Boston Symphony debut of Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen as soloist. In March 2007, Mr. Levine leads his second world premiere of the season, the new work commissioned by the BSO from Gunther Schuller. In April 2007, André Previn returns to Symphony Hall to give the world premiere of his Double Concerto for violin, double bass, and orchestra, featuringviolinist Anne-Sophie Mutter (Mr. Previn’s wife) and the young Slovak virtuoso doublebassist Roman Patkoló as soloists. The 2006-07 season also includes performances of music by such celebrated contemporary composers as William Bolcom, John Harbison, and John Adams.
In addition to Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron and Beethoven’s Fidelio, the 2006-07 Boston Symphony season features performances of several other compelling, large-scale works for voices and orchestra. In November, James Levine leads the BSO in concert performances of Bartók’s one-act operaBluebeard’s Castle, which was last performed in Symphony Hall under the direction of Seiji Ozawa in 1980. These rare BSO performances feature two outstanding singers – mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie vonOtter and bass-baritone Albert Dohmen – and narrator Örs Kisfaludy. For the orchestra’s last program of 2006, American conductor David Robertson leads the BSO, Tanglewood Festival Chorus (John Oliver, conductor), the PALS Children’s Chorus (Johanna Hill Simpson, artistic director), and a cast of vocal soloists including soprano Dawn Upshaw in John Adams’ Nativity-inspired oratorio El Niño, a powerful, striking work ranging in style from neo-Baroque to post-Minimalist. In February 2007, Mr. Levine leads the orchestra in Berlioz’ masterful “dramatic legend”La Damnation de Faust,a work with longstanding ties to the Boston Symphony, including celebrated recordings under both Charles Munch and Seiji Ozawa. The outstanding international cast assembled for these performances includesSwiss mezzo-soprano Yvonne Naef (Marguerite), American tenor Paul Groves (Faust), and Belgian baritone José van Dam (Méphistophélès).
Also among the guest artists joining James Levine and the Boston Symphony for the 2006-07 season are Peter Serkin (Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2), Stephanie Blythe (Mahler’s Symphony No. 3), and Alfred Brendel (Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G, K.453).
BSO Conductor Emeritus Bernard Haitink returns to Symphony Hall for the final two programs of 2006-07. Other guest conductors joining the Boston Symphony in 2006-07 are former BSO principal guest conductor Sir Colin Davis, Christoph von Dohnányi, Charles Dutoit, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Ingo Metzmacher, BSO Assistant Conductor Ludovic Morlot, Robert Spano, and David Zinman.Additional guest soloists for the Boston Symphony’s 2006-07 season include Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Martha Argerich, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Yefim Bronfman, Imogen Cooper, Lynn Harrell, Radu Lupu, and Pepe Romero.
THE BEETHOVEN/SCHOENBERG PROJECT CONTINUES
The Boston Symphony’s two-season examination of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Arnold Schoenberg continues in 2006-07 with five programs encompassing a broad overview of both composers’ works. These carefully crafted programs examine how Beethoven and Schoenberg each similarly broke new ground while working within traditional forms, while also reflecting the immense range of the individual development within their respective bodies of work.
Former Chicago Symphony music director Daniel Barenboim returns to Symphony Hall October 5-7 for his first Boston Symphony appearance here in more than 20 years and his BSO subscription debut, joining the orchestra and James Levine as soloist in piano concertos by each composer –Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 – on a program with Schoenberg’s VerklärteNacht. Mr. Barenboim’s only previous appearances as pianist with the BSO were for a 1986 Pension Fund concert and a Tanglewood performance in 2000.
On October 26 and 28, James Levine will lead the Boston Symphony, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, PALS Children’s Chorus, and a large cast of internationally acclaimed soloists in concert performances, with supertitles, of Schoenberg’s opera Moses und Aron. This massive production – one of the largest in BSO history – will feature tenor Philip Langridge (Aron) and bass John Tomlinson (Moses) in the title roles, with soprano Jennifer Welch-Babidge (Young Girl), alto Ellen Rabiner (Sick Woman), tenor Mark Schowalter(Youth and Naked Youth), baritone Sanford Sylvan (Man and Ephraimite), and bass Sergei Koptchak (Priest).
Acclaimed German violinist Christian Tetzlaff joins Mr. Levine and the Boston Symphony November 2-7 as soloist in the Violin Concertos of Beethoven and Schoenberg. This program will begin and end with Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge as arranged for string orchestra, giving audience members the chance to hear this complex, intricate work from two distinctly different perspectives.
For his first BSO program of 2007 (January 31-February 3), James Levine leads the Boston Symphony and acclaimed soprano Deborah Voigt in works by each composer for soprano and orchestra: Schoenberg’s monodrama Erwartung and Beethoven’s concert aria Ah! perfido. This program opens with Beethoven’sCoriolan Overture and closes with his Symphony No. 8.
To conclude the BSO’s Beethoven/Schoenberg Project, Mr. Levine leads the Boston Symphony, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and an outstanding group of vocal soloists in concert performances, with supertitles, of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio (March 23-27). The cast for this special program includes soprano Karita Mattila (Leonore) and tenor Johan Botha (Florestan) – both also featured in the BSO’s recent acclaimed performances of Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder – as well as soprano Jennifer Welch-Babidge(Marzelline), tenor Matthew Polenzani(Jaquino), bass-baritone James Morris (Don Fernando), and bass Kurt Moll (Rocco).
ADDITIONAL JAMES LEVINE SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
BSO Music Director James Levine leads the Boston Symphony in 12 subscription programs in the 2006-07 season, following Opening Night at Symphony with a similar subscription program also featuring soprano Renée Fleming as soloist in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and James Galway as soloist in William Bolcom’s Lyric Concerto for flute and orchestra. This one-night-only program (September 30) also includes John Harbison’s Darkbloom: Overture for an imagined opera – a BSO commission given its world premiere by the orchestra and Mr. Levine in 2005 – and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World.
Peter Serkin joins Mr. Levine and the Boston Symphony on October 19-21 for a program of music from the Romantic repertoire, including Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 with Mr. Serkin as soloist, and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2.
Mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter makes a rare appearance with the Boston Symphony November 9 and 10, joining Mr. Levine and the orchestra in Bartók’s one-act opera Bluebeard’s Castle, a work seldom heard by Symphony Hall audiences and last performed by the BSO in 1980 under SeijiOzawa. In addition to Ms. von Otter – here marking her first performances with the BSO since her debut in the 1994-95 season – soloists for this program also include bass-baritone Albert Dohmen and narrator Örs Kisfaludy. This program closes with Brahms’ Symphony No. 1.
In February 2007 (February 8-10), James Levine leads the Boston Symphony, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and PALS Children’s Chorus in a work long associated with the orchestra and recorded to great acclaim under both Charles Munch and Seiji Ozawa: Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust. Mr. Levine has assembled a superb cast for these concerts, including mezzo-soprano Yvonne Naef(Marguerite), tenor Paul Groves(Faust), baritone José Van Dam(Méphistophélès), and bass Andrew Gangestad (Brander).
Continuing the BSO’s long tradition of championing new music, James Levine leads the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s Eighth Symphony, Theologoumena – a BSO 125th anniversary commission – on February 15-17. This large-scale work marks the second BSO commission by Mr. Wuorinen in Mr. Levine’s three seasons as music director. The program opens with Haydn’s Symphony No. 22, The Philosopher, and closes with Brahms’ Symphony No. 4.
Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe joins Mr. Levine, the Boston Symphony, the women of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the American Boychoir (Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, music director) March 15-17 in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3.
James Levine leads his second world premiere of the 2006-07 season – a BSO 125th anniversary commission from Gunther Schuller – on March 29-31. Esteemed Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel is the featured soloist for these concerts, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G, K.453, on a program with Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 and Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2.
CONDUCTOR EMERITUS BERNARD HAITINK
BSO Conductor Emeritus Bernard Haitink leads the final two programs of the Boston Symphony’s 2006-07 season in April and May 2007.
Pianist Emanuel Ax joins Mr. Haitink for his first program, April 26-May 1, an all-Brahms program including his Symphony No. 3 and Piano Concerto No. 1.
For the orchestra’s final program of the season, the celebrated young Armenian violinist Sergey Khachatryan makes his Boston Symphony debut under Mr. Haitink, as soloist in Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. This program closes with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica.
GUEST CONDUCTORS AND SOLOISTS
In his third and final year as BSO Assistant Conductor, Ludovic Morlot leads the orchestra with cellist Lynn Harrell in Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1, on October 12-14. This program opens withVaughan Williams’Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis and closes with asuite from Prokofiev’sRomeo and Juliet.
Spanish conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos – a frequent and welcome guest of the BSO since returning to the podium here in 2000 – joins the orchestra for two programs in 2006-07. For the first (November 24-28), Yefim Bronfman will be featured as soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4, on a program with Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, Rhenish, and Stravinsky’s FirebirdSuite(1919 version). For his second BSO program, Mr. Frühbeck de Burgos leads a rare all-Spanish program ofmusic close to his heart. These concerts feature the BSO debut of Spain’s premier classical guitarist, Pepe Romero, as soloist in Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, for guitar and orchestra, and Palomo’s Nocturnos de Andalucia, Suite concertante for guitar and orchestra, the latter a new work given its premiere by Mr. Frühbeck de Burgos and Mr. Romero. This program opens with Mr. Frühbeck de Burgos’ own orchestration of Albéniz’ Suite españolaand closes with Suites 1 and 2 fromFalla’sThe Three-cornered Hat.
For the Boston Symphony’s last concerts before Christmas (December 7-9), American conductor David Robertson leads the BSO, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, the PALS Children’s Chorus, and a cast of vocal soloists including soprano Dawn Upshaw in John Adams’ powerful Nativity-inspired oratorio El Niño. This striking post-Minimalist work also features mezzo-soprano Beth Clayton, bass Eric Owens, and countertenors Daniel Bubeck, Brian Cummings, and Steven Rickards.
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Music Director Robert Spano returns to Symphony Hall on January 3-9 to lead the Boston Symphony in the American premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Ceres, a work named after a recently discovered asteroid. Joshua Bell is featured soloist on this program, performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, and the “intergalactic theme”resumes with the program’s final work, Holst’s The Planets.
David Zinman leads the Boston Symphony in a new work by John Harbison, his Canonical American Songbook, based on standards of the popular American repertoire, January 11-16. Radu Lupumakes his first BSO appearance in five years with these concerts, joining Mr. Zinman and the orchestra as soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466. The program closes with Rachmaninoff’s seldom-heard Symphony No. 3.
Former BSO Principal Guest Conductor Sir Colin Davis returns to Symphony Hall for two programs in 2006-07, leading music central to his musical passions and strengths. For the first (January 18-23), Imogen Cooper, an eminent Mozartian, joins Sir Colin and the orchestra in Mozart’s PianoConcerto No. 24 in C minor, K.491. This program opens with Mozart’s Symphony No. 34 and closeswith Haydn’s Symphony No. 102. In his second program (January 25-27), Sir Colin Davis leads one ofthe great British symphonies by that country’s most beloved composer, Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 6, paired on this all-orchestral program with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Pastoral.
Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste leads the Boston Symphony in the world premiere of a BSO 125th anniversary commission, a new work for cello and orchestra by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, February 21-27. The Boston Symphony and Mr. Saraste both have close ties to Ms. Saariaho, as does the program’s soloist, Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen, who also makes his BSO debut here. The program opens with Debussy’s Printemps and closes with the Lemminkäinen Suite from Finland’s best-known composer, Jean Sibelius.
Acclaimed young Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos makes his Boston Symphony debut under frequent BSO guest conductor Ingo Metzmacher, March 2-6. Mr. Kavakos will be featured in Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2, on a program with Bruckner’s monumental Symphony No. 6.
One of the great pianists of our time, Martha Argerich, joins former Montreal Symphony Orchestra Music Director Charles Dutoit – a close collaborator of Ms. Argerich’s for many years – and the Boston Symphony March 8-13 as soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The program opens with two Russian works, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture and Stravinsky’s Symphony in C.