Coronavirus (COVID-19) Closures and Update

MoMA Temporarily Closes Museums and Stores in New York

MoMA announced today that it will close The Museum of Modern Art on 53rd Street, MoMA PS1 in Queens, and the MoMA Design Stores on 53rd Street and in Soho, effective immediately and through March 30. MoMA will continue to monitor developments with COVID-19 and regularly reassess this temporary closure.

Glenn D. Lowry, The David Rockefeller Director of The Museum of Modern Art, said: “Nothing is more important to MoMA than the health and safety of our community. We take seriously our responsibility as a civic institution to serve the public good. With that in mind, as it is more and more challenging to predict the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we have decided to temporarily close MoMA.”

MoMA has been prepared for this possibility for several weeks and made the decision in ongoing consultation with public health experts, city and state officials, peer institutions, and the Boards of The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1. There have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among MoMA employees. Plans are in place to continue to support employees and MoMA’s better than best practice cleaning and sanitization protocols.

MoMA plans to re-open at the first opportunity that ensures the health and safety of all visitors and employees.

All Events at Carnegie Hall from Friday, March 13 through Tuesday, March 31, 2020 are Cancelled

All March events cancelled in effort to reduce spread of COVID-19

With the health and safety of its public, artists, and staff as its foremost priority, Carnegie Hall today announced that it will be closed for all public events and programming through the end of March, effective midnight tonight, in an effort to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19).

All events and programming at Carnegie Hall from Friday, March 13 through Tuesday, March 31, 2020 have been cancelled. For a list of performances at Carnegie Hall that are affected, please see the attached list or click here. Carnegie Hall events on Thursday evening, March 12 will take place as scheduled.

Upcoming education programming presented by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute—whether taking place at Carnegie Hall or in off-site locations—is suspended through March 31. All free Carnegie Hall Citywide performances in venues throughout New York City are cancelled through March 31.

All other scheduled concerts and programming starting on April 1, 2020 and beyond remain on the schedule pending the reopening of Carnegie Hall. The general public is encouraged to check carnegiehall.org/events for the most up-to-date programming information.

Patrons who purchased tickets by credit card from Carnegie Hall for a performance that has been canceled will receive automatic refunds; those who purchased by cash at the Box Office may email a scan or photo of the tickets to feedback@carnegiehall.org, along with complete contact details (name, mailing address, and phone number), through June 30, 2020, for a refund. Those who purchased tickets directly from other concert presenters should contact that presenter for refund information.

Patrons who have any further questions should contact CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or email feedback@carnegiehall.org. Please note that email and call volume may be high with limited in-house staff, and tickets may be refunded on a delayed schedule. We thank you for your patience as we navigate this evolving situation together.

Asian Art Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Announce Temporary Closure Effective March 14, 2020

The Asian Art Museum, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), comprising the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) collaboratively announce a temporary closure to the public effective at 5 pm PST on Friday, March 13. With their united focus on the health and safety of their visitors and staff members, the museums made this decision to align with local and federal guidelines and social distancing recommendations for the containment of the coronavirus.

The Asian Art Museum and SFMOMA will tentatively reopen to the public on Saturday, March 28, 2020, and the FAMSF museums will reopen on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. The museums will individually evaluate whether the closure timeframe needs to be extended.

ASIAN ART MUSEUM

The closure of the Asian Art Museum includes the museum, its café (Sunday at the Museum) and its store. More information can be found at asianart.org.

FINE ARTS MUSEUMS (FAMSF)

Both the de Young and the Legion of Honor, including museum cafes and stores, will be closed. Please find the most up-to-date information at deyoungmuseum.org/coronavirus-response.

SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (SFMOMA)

SFMOMA’s closure includes the museum, its restaurants (In Situ, Cafe 5 and Sightglass coffee bars), stores (museum and SFO store) and the Artists Gallery at Fort Mason. For the most up-to-date information including information on rescheduling a visit, go to sfmoma.org/coronavirus-update.

Carnegie Hall Presents The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day Saturday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 9 in Zankel Hall

Historian and Narrator John Monsky Captures the Dramatic Final Months of World War II With Multimedia Production Featuring 35-Piece Orchestra and Leading Broadway Artists, Historic Video, Original American Flags From Normandy Beach and Beyond, and Images from the Archives of Legendary Photojournalists

Historian and narrator John Monsky brings his groundbreaking American History Unbound series back to Zankel Hall on Saturday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 9 with The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day—an exciting multimedia production that tells the powerful story of the American landing on the Normandy beaches and subsequent 11 months of battle that finally secured victory in Europe.

On June 5, 1944, on the eve of D-Day, Major General Dwight D. Eisenhower told American forces, “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.” While D-Day marked a turning point and pathway to victory, the landings and eleven months of battle that followed would be among the most brutal for the American troops and Allied forces.

War photojournalist Lee Miller with American soldiers during World War II (photo taken by David Scherman)

This immersive concert experience, presented with the New-York Historical Society in the 75th anniversary year of VE Day, recounts this period through striking photography from the archives of American photojournalist Lee Miller, who, reporting for Vogue magazine, was among the 127 accredited female journalists covering the war, as well as letters home from a young American intelligence officer who landed at Normandy and fought with the army through VE day. Along the way, they connected with legendary American writer Ernest Hemingway and photojournalist Robert Capa. The paths of these four remarkable figures intersect and intertwine as they served as the “eyes for the world” from D-Day to eventual victory.

The program features the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, conducted by music supervisor Ian Weinberger (Hamilton), joined by leading Broadway vocalists including Nick Cordero (Waitress, A Bronx Tale), Kate Rockwell (Mean Girls), Tony LePage (Come From Away), and Bryonha Parham (After Midnight) performing evocative music of the era—from La Vie en Rose and Woody Guthrie’s What Are We Waiting On to signature songs of legendary bandleader Glenn Miller who volunteered for the Army at the height of his career—and selections from the film soundtracks of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. Tickets for the June 6 and 9 performances are on sale to the general public now.

The American History Unbound series, exploring watershed moments in American history, combines live music performed by celebrated Broadway actors and a full orchestra, incorporating film, photography, historic flags and material culture from Monsky’s personal collection. Narrated by Monsky with a script punctuated with his own memories and observations, each production includes powerful examinations of singular and pivotal events—from the Revolutionary War and Civil War to D-Day—turning points in history that changed America.

Decades ago, Monsky’s mother bought her 12-year-old son his first “flag,” a red kerchief (an artifact from Theodore Roosevelt’s unsuccessful 1912 presidential bid), to appease his boredom while on a routine shopping outing. Today, his collection of flags and textiles — tangible artifacts that connect us to our history — has become one of the finest in the country. As his collection grew, so did annual Flag Day presentations held in Monsky’s apartment. As the events grew larger in scope—adding bands and Broadway singers to accent his talks—they eventually required portal-widening-living room-construction to accommodate friends and family, all riveted by Monsky’s storytelling. Sought-after invitations to these informal gatherings attracted the attention of The New Yorker in 2012, when Monsky took a second look at the War of 1812, with a presentation that included the commissioning pennant from the great wooden frigate, the USS Constitution. Louise Mirrer, the President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, where Monsky is a trustee, recalled, “I attended the Flag Day celebrations and was absolutely dazzled. One of those years after viewing…a really exceptional explication of history, I said to John, ‘you know, you should do that in our auditorium.’” She has since called his D-Day production “the most moving event ever presented on the Society’s stage.”

Monsky has been creating and performing his American History Unbound productions for over a decade and was recently honored by the New-York Historical Society. After two previous sold-out productions—The Vietnam War: At Home and Abroad (2018) and We Chose To Go To The Moon (2019)—The Eyes of the World is the third installment of American History Unbound to be presented at Carnegie Hall.

“John has a passion for combining storytelling, music, visuals, and film in unique and creative ways that bring history to life and that connect emotionally with his audiences,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “We look forward to this next edition which will take us through some of the most important moments of World War II, traveling on a journey that is sure to be powerful as well as illuminating.”

Like Monsky’s previous productions, The Eyes of the World includes tangible historic objects woven into the storytelling narrative, some of which have been in storage and not seen by the public for more than 75 years. His presentation includes the flag famously placed by Rudder’s Rangers on the rocks of Pointe du Hoc to mark the command post; a rarely-seen divisional color of the US 29th Infantry Division, which suffered tremendous losses on the beaches of Normandy; the flag from landing craft LCI 94, which picked up photojournalist Robert Capa from Omaha Beach on D-Day; community “service banners” hung in schools and churches across America, with blue stars indicating the number of their “boys” in service, plus more.

“I did not start out looking for the figures we follow in this production—Hemingway, Capa, Miller, and a young intelligence officer who landed on D-Day,” said John Monsky. “They revealed themselves as we researched a single flag flown on a Higgins boat and the boys it carried to the beaches. Every twist and turn surprised us as the story unfolded, with its conclusion making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, as Lee Miller and others come together in some of the War’s most dark and haunting places.”

“We are grateful for the contributions of historian and author Alex Kershaw, the staff of the American Battle Monuments Commission and The National World War II Museum, as well as Katie Couric and John Molner for their encouragement and passion to tell the stories of American history. It’s also been an extraordinary privilege to work with Lee Miller’s family—her son Antony Penrose and granddaughter Ami Bouhassane—to expose her work to the wider audience it deserves.”

Michael Tilson Thomas Leads San Francisco Symphony in Final Carnegie Hall Concerts As Music Director on March 17 & 18

March 17 Concert Includes New York Premiere of Music by John Adams, Cellist Gautier Capuçon Playing Saint-Saëns, and Stravinsky’s The Firebird

March 18 Performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony to be Heard by Listeners Everywhere via Carnegie Hall Live Broadcast and Digital Series

This March, acclaimed conductor Michael Tilson Thomas leads the San Francisco Symphony in his final Carnegie Hall concerts as the orchestra’s music director.

The orchestra’s program on Tuesday, March 17 at 8:00 p.m. includes the New York premiere of John Adams’s I Still Dance (co-commissioned by San Francisco Symphony and Carnegie Hall as part of the Hall’s 125 Commissions Project) as well as Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with Gautier Capuçon and Stravinsky’s The Firebird. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Tilson Thomas has championed the work of groundbreaking American composers including John Adams, whose relationship with the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) spans nearly four decades. Mr. Adams’s new work, which opens the program, is dedicated to Mr. Tilson Thomas and his husband, Joshua Robison.

The following evening–Wednesday, March 18 at 8:00 p.m.–features a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 6. Mr. Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony’s recording of this work was the first to be released on the orchestra’s in-house SFS Media label and was recognized with a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance, the first of seven Grammys to be received for their complete recordings of Mahler’s symphonies. This March 18 concert will be heard by listeners everywhere as part of the Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series with a live radio broadcast on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York and online at wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr.

Gautier Capuçon and Michael Tilson Thomas with the San Francisco Symphony, April 2017 © Jennifer Taylor

Mr. Tilson Thomas made his Carnegie Hall debut leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1969. He has since performed more than 100 times at the Hall, curating two extended Carnegie Hall Perspectives series. He last led the San Francisco Symphony at Carnegie Hall in October 2018, when the orchestra opened the Hall’s 2018-2019 season.

Mr. Tilson Thomas concludes his tenure as SFS Music Director in June 2020 with performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. Upon concluding the final concert, he becomes the orchestra’s first Music Director Laureate.

Michael Tilson Thomas assumed his post as the San Francisco Symphony’s 11th Music Director in 1995, consolidating a relationship with the orchestra that began with his debut in 1974. Since then, he and the orchestra have formed a musical partnership hailed as one of the most inspiring and successful in the country. His tenure has been praised for outstanding musicianship, innovative programming, highlighting the works of American composers, and bringing new audiences to classical music. In addition, the orchestra has been recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in music education and pioneer in using digital technology to widen the reach of classical music.

A Los Angeles native, Mr. Tilson Thomas studied with John Crown and Ingolf Dahl at the University of Southern California, becoming Music Director of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra at nineteen. He worked with Stravinsky, Boulez, Stockhausen, and Copland at the famed Monday Evening Concerts and was pianist and conductor for the Piatigorsky and Heifetz master classes. In 1969, Mr. Tilson Thomas was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Ten days later, he came to international recognition after replacing Music Director William Steinberg mid-concert at Lincoln Center. He made his Carnegie Hall debut days later replacing Mr. Steinberg leading the BSO. He went on to become the BSO’s Principal Guest Conductor, and he has also served as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic, and as a Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. With the London Symphony Orchestra, he has served as Principal Conductor and Principal Guest Conductor; he is currently Conductor Laureate. He is Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy, which he co-founded in 1987. The NWS has helped launch the careers of more than 1,200 alumni worldwide, including more than 15 members of the SFS.

A New Production of Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer Opens Tonight Directed by François Girard and Conducted by Valery Gergiev

• Evgeny Nikitin stars in the title role and Anja Kampe makes a notable Met debut as Senta
• François Girard returns to the Met for the first time since his acclaimed production of Wagner’s Parsifal
• Der Fliegende Holländer will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the world on Saturday, March 14, as part of The Met: Live in HD series
• A co-production of the Metropolitan Opera; Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam; The Abu Dhabi Festival; and Opéra de Québec

The Metropolitan Opera presents a new production of Wagner’s early masterpiece Der Fliegende Holländer tonight, with performances continuing through March 27. Valery Gergiev conducts the new staging from director François Girard, whose interpretation is centered on the young woman Senta’s obsession with a portrait of the Dutchman.

Girard, whose revelatory 2013 take on Parsifal set the recent Met standard for Wagner stagings, now unveils a spellbinding new vision of the composer’s tale of a cursed sea captain doomed to sail the open ocean for eternity. With sweeping sets by John Macfarlane, Girard’s new production turns the Met stage into a rich, layered tableau reminiscent of a vast oil painting. Valery Gergiev conducts a brilliant cast led by bass-baritone Evgeny Nikitin as the Dutchman, with German soprano Anja Kampe making her anticipated Met debut as the devoted Senta, whose selfless love is what the Dutchman seeks. Bass Franz-Josef Selig is her father, Daland, and tenor Sergey Skorokhodov is her deserted former lover, Erik. Mihoko Fujimura makes her Met debut as Senta’s nurse, Mary, and David Portillo sings the role of the Steersman.

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Top Row: Evgeny Nikitin, Franz-Josef Selig, Valery Gergiev
Middle Row: Anja Kampe, Mihoko Fujimura, Patrick Furrer
Bottom Row: Sergey Skorokhodov, Alok Kumar, David Portillo

The creative team includes set designer John Macfarlane, costume designer Moritz Junge, lighting designer David Finn, projection designer Peter Flaherty, choreographer Carolyn Choa, and dramaturg Serge Lamothe.

The performances on March 24 and 27 will be conducted by Patrick Furrer, making his debut. At the performance on March 24, the role of the Steersman will be performed by Alok Kumar.

RICHARD WAGNER
Der Fliegende Holländer

Richard Wagner (1813–1883) was the controversial creator of music-drama masterpieces that stand at the center of today’s operatic repertory. An artistic revolutionary who reimagined every supposition about theater, Wagner insisted that words and music were equals in his works. This approach led to the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or “total work of art,” combining music, poetry, architecture, painting, and other disciplines, a notion that has had an impact on creative fields far beyond opera.

RICHARD WAGNER
Der Fliegende Holländer

The score of Der Fliegende Holländer is an extraordinary combination of operatic lyricism, dramatic insight, and magnificent effects. At the time it was written, Wagner had not yet developed his theories of music-drama, which would form the basis for his later works. Many of the features of conventional opera (recitatives, arias, ensembles), therefore, can still be found, but the way Wagner integrates them into the fabric of the score clearly foreshadows his later technique of a continuous musical flow.

Nine Singers Advance To The Final Round Of The 2020 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions

The final phase of competition is the public Grand Finals concert on the Met stage, accompanied by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra conducted by Bertrand de Billy, on Sunday, March 1

Winners will receive individual cash prizes of $20,000 and invaluable exposure in the opera world

Finals concert to be broadcast live on the Met’s website and SiriusXM

Following February 24th’s semi-final competition, nine young singers have advanced to the final round of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2020 National Council Auditions. In the public concert, finalists perform on the Met stage Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m., for an audience of judges, agents, industry leaders, and the general public (in the auditorium and live on the radio). The finalists, chosen by a panel of opera administrators from the Met and other companies, each perform two arias with the Met Orchestra conducted by Bertrand de Billy. Prize money will increase for the first time in 20 years, with the winners receiving individual cash prizes of $20,000 (previously $15,000), and the prestigious and potentially career-launching title of National Council Auditions Winner. The remaining finalists receive $10,000 (previously $7,500).

The concert will be hosted by soprano Lisette Oropesa, a 2005 National Council Auditions winner, and will also feature a performance by tenor Javier Camarena, while the judges deliberate.

The concert will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM Channel 75, and streamed live on the Met’s web site, www.metopera.org.

The 2020 finalists, the regions they represent in the competition, and their hometowns are:

Carnegie Hall Presents The Crossing in Zankel Hall on Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 PM

Grammy Award-Winning Choir Performs New York Premiere of Michael Gordon’s Travel Guide to Nicaragua Featuring Cellist Maya Beiser

On Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall. Grammy Award-winning new music choir The Crossing, led by Donald Nally, performs the New York premiere of Michael Gordon’s Travel Guide to Nicaragua with cutting-edge cellist Maya Beiser, a work co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall as part of its 125 Commissions Project.

Photo of The Crossing by Kevin Vondrak and photo of Maya Beiser by ioulex.

Travel Guide to Nicaragua is inspired by Gordon’s hazy memory of his first eight years of life living on the outskirts of Managua, Nicaragua with his Eastern European parents who had emigrated to the country. In writing this third substantial work for The Crossing, Gordon—one of the founding members of Bang on a Can—also reaches beyond his childhood memories, pondering the world of the Maya and Aztecs and drawing on the words of poet Rube´n Dari´o and Mark Twain, who visited the country in the mid-1860s.

There’s a pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m.: Conductor Donald Nally and composer Michael Gordon in conversation with John Schaefer, host of WNYC’s New Sounds and Soundcheck. Support for the 125 Commissions Project is provided by members of Carnegie Hall’s Composer Club.

Hailed as “America’s most astonishing choir” (The New York Times) and “ardently angelic,” (The Los Angeles Times), The Crossing is a Grammy-winning professional chamber choir conducted by Donald Nally and dedicated to new music. It is committed to working with creative teams to make and record new, substantial works for choir that explore and expand ways of writing for choir, singing in choir, and listening to music for choir. Many of its nearly 90 commissioned premieres address social, environmental, and political issues. With a commitment to recording its commissions, The Crossing has issued 19 releases, receiving two Grammy Awards for Best Choral Performance (2018, 2019), and five Grammy nominations in three years. They have presented nearly 90 commissioned world premieres.

The Crossing collaborates with some of the world’s most accomplished ensembles and artists, including the New York Philharmonic, LA Phil, the American Composers Orchestra, Network for New Music, Lyric Fest, Piffaro, Tempesta di Mare Baroque Chamber Orchestra, the Annenberg Center, Beth Morrison Projects, The Rolling Stones, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), and more. The Crossing holds an annual residency at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center in Big Sky, Montana where they are working on an extensive, multi-year project with composer Michael Gordon and filmmaker Bill Morrison. Their concerts are broadcast regularly on WRTI 90.1FM, Philadelphia’s Classical and Jazz Public Radio.

The Crossing’s recordings of Robert Convery and Benjamin Boyle’s Voyages (August 2019, Innova) and Kile Smith’s The Arc in the Sky (July 2019, Navona) were both nominated for 2020 Grammy Awards for Best Choral Performance. Lansing McLoskey‘s Zealot Canticles won the 2019 Grammy; The Crossing’s collaboration with PRISM, Gavin Bryars’ The Fifth Century (ECM, October 2016), won the 2018 Grammy Award; and Thomas Lloyd’s Bonhoeffer (Albany 2016) was nominated for the 2017 Grammy, all for Best Choral Performance. The Crossing, with Donald Nally, was the American Composers Forums’ 2017 Champion of New Music. The Crossing’s 2014 commission Sound from The Bench by Ted Hearne was named a 2018 Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music. Learn more at www.crossingchoir.org.

Hailed for her “stirring emotional power” by The New York Times, Maya Beiser has been called a “cello rock star” by Rolling Stone, praised as “a force of nature” by The Boston Globe, and dubbed “the queen of Avant-garde cello” by The Washington Post.

Raised on a Kibbutz in the Galilee Mountains in Israel, by her Argentinean father and French mother, Beiser was discovered at the age of twelve by the late violinist Isaac Stern. Upon graduating from Yale University, she embarked on a rebellious career, passionately forging her artistic path through uncharted territories, expanding her art form and bringing a bold and unorthodox presence to contemporary classical music.

Beiser is a featured performer on the world’s most prestigious stages including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, BAM, The Kennedy Center, BBC Proms, London’s Southbank Centre, Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican, Sydney Opera House, Barcelona’s L’auditori, Paris’ Theatre de La Ville, Stockholm’s Concert Hall, and in major venues and festivals across five continents.

Among the wide range of artists she has collaborated with are Philip Glass, Louis Andriessen, Erin Cressida-Wilson, Brian Eno, Shirin Neshat, Steve Reich, Lucinda Childs, Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, Mark Anthony Turnage, David Lang, Bill Morrison, and Wendy Whelan.

Beiser’s discography includes twelve solo albums, many of them topping the classical music charts. In the summer of 2019, she launched her own record label – Islandia Music records – and released delugEON, a concept album that deconstructs the classical canon. On January 10 2020, she released “Bowie Cello Symphonic: Blackstar” – a reimagination of David Bowie’s last album – topping the Classical Crossover charts and receiving rave reviews. Beiser is the featured soloist on many film soundtracks, including an extensive collaboration with James Newton Howard.

Maya Beiser is a United States Artists Distinguished Fellow in Music and was a Mellon Distinguished Visiting Artist at MIT. Her mainstage TED Talk has been watched by over one million people. (www.mayabeiser.com)

Over the past 30 years, Michael Gordon has produced a strikingly diverse body of work, ranging from large-scale pieces for high-energy ensembles and major orchestral commissions to works conceived specifically for the recording studio and kaleidoscopic works for groups of identical instruments. Transcending categorization, his music represents the collision of mysterious introspection and brutal directness.

This season, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players with Roomful of Teeth and Splinter Reeds premiere the concert-length In a Strange Land, the Strings of Autumn festival in Prague feature Gordon as composer-in-residence and perform Timber plus all of Gordon’s string quartets; and the percussion/piano/bass trio Bearthoven premieres a new work.

Met Orchestra to tour internationally in June 2021, for the first time in almost 20 years

Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin to lead orchestra with stops in London, Paris, and Baden-Baden

The Metropolitan Opera today announces that the Met Orchestra will tour Europe in the summer of 2021, immediately following its annual residency at Carnegie Hall. With all performances conducted by the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the tour includes stops at the Barbican Centre in London on June 29, 2021; the Philharmonie in Paris on June 30 and July 1, 2021; and the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Germany, on July 3 and 4, 2021. Four of the world’s leading opera stars join the Met Orchestra: mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who will sing selections from Berlioz’s Les Troyens, and soprano Christine Goerke, tenor Brandon Jovanovich, and bass Günther Groissböck, who will perform the first act of Wagner’s Die Walküre.

The Met Orchestra last toured in 2002, when it performed in Salzburg, Austria; Lucerne, Switzerland; and Baden-Baden and Wiesbaden, Germany.

The tour also features performances of American composer Missy Mazzoli’s Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres). Nézet-Séguin and the Met Orchestra will perform Mazzoli’s chamber opera Breaking the Waves at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in the summer of 2020, and Mazzoli has been commissioned to compose an opera for a future season at the Met. The complete itinerary and programming for the tour is below.

“These concerts will show off the Met Orchestra at full capacity under Yannick,” said Met General Manager Peter Gelb, “demonstrating their dual strengths in symphonic and operatic repertoire.”

“This is a major milestone in the Met’s recent history. I am very grateful for the music we make all season long at the Met, and I cannot wait to have European audiences experience the Met Orchestra’s brilliant artistry in person. And what better way to celebrate their excellence than to bring along dear friends Joyce, Christine, Brandon, and Günther as collaborators?” said Nézet-Séguin. “I am proud that the Met is continuing to reach audiences beyond Lincoln Center. This European tour is the perfect capstone to the coming season.”

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra 2021 European Tour

Tuesday, June 29, 2021, at 7:30 p.m.

Barbican Centre, London

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

• Berlioz: Les Troyens, “Chers Tyriens,” featuring Joyce DiDonato
• Berlioz: Les Troyens, Royal Hunt and Storm
• Berlioz: Les Troyens, “Adieu, fière cite,” featuring Joyce DiDonato
• Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14

Wednesday, June 30, 2021, at 8:30 p.m.

Philharmonie, Paris

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

• R. Strauss: Don Juan, Op. 20
• Missy Mazzoli: Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
• Wagner: Die Walküre, Act I, featuring Christine Goerke, Brandon Jovanovich, and Günther Groissböck

Thursday, July 1, 2021, at 8:30 p.m.

Philharmonie, Paris

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

• Berlioz: Les Troyens, “Chers Tyriens,” featuring Joyce DiDonato
• Berlioz: Les Troyens, Royal Hunt and Storm
• Berlioz: Les Troyens, “Adieu, fière cite,” featuring Joyce DiDonato
• Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14

Saturday, July 3, 2021, at 6:00 p.m.

Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

• Berlioz: Les Troyens, “Chers Tyriens,” featuring Joyce DiDonato
• Berlioz: Les Troyens, Royal Hunt and Storm
• Berlioz: Les Troyens, “Adieu, fière cite,” featuring Joyce DiDonato
• Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14

Handel and Haydn Society Announces 2020-21 Season

Artistic Director Harry Christophers Will Celebrate Final Season With a Powerful Line-up of Favorites, Major Choral Works

The Handel and Haydn Society will celebrate Artistic Director Harry Christophers’s 12th and final season with nine major subscription concerts at Symphony Hall and the New England’s Conservatory’s Jordan Hall and select other venues. The 2020-21 season, the 206th in the organization’s history, will feature a host of Christophers’s favorite compositions and a powerful line-up of major choral works featuring the Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra, Chorus and notable guest artists.

Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society is dedicated to performing Baroque and Classical music with a freshness, a vitality, and a creativity that inspires all ages. H+H has been captivating audiences for 205 consecutive seasons (the most of any performing arts organization in the United States). Today, H+H’s Orchestra and Chorus delight more than 50,000 listeners annually with a nine-week subscription series at Boston Symphony Hall and other leading venues.

Handel and Haydn Society Announces 2020-21 Season

The season will feature guest conductors Harry Bicket, Jonathan Cohen, Laurence Equilbey, Raphaël Pichon, and Václav Luks. Special guest soloists will include sopranos Amanda Majeski, Amanda Forsythe, Carolyn Sampson, and Mary Bevan; mezzo-soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers; tenors Nicholas Phan, James Way, Jeremy Budd, and Robert Murray; baritones Ryan McKinny, Tyler Duncan, and Sumner Thompson; countertenors Anthony Roth Costanzo, Iestyn Davies; and bass-baritones Henry Waddington and Matthew Brook.

The Handel and Haydn Society brings Classical and Baroque music to life on period instruments in historically informed performances. For the 2020-21 season, Harry Christophers has selected a series of acclaimed choral and orchestral works, rarely performed in one season. The selected compositions will highlight the immense talent of the Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra and Chorus. Christophers will conduct Handel’s Messiah and Israel in Egypt; and Haydn’s The Creation, Drum Roll symphony, and Theresienmesse.

Christophers was appointed Artistic Director at H+H in 2009, the thirteenth artistic director in the organization’s history. During his tenure, the organization has been transformed. H+H has grown to be regarded as one of the finest Baroque and Classical ensembles in the nation. Christophers led the organization through its 2015 Bicentennial. He has hired more than 60% of the current roster of musicians, whom he has led in 13 commercial recordings, the most of any H+H artistic director. There has been an increase in touring, sharing the H+H magic with audiences at Tanglewood and in New York City. During his tenure, subscription sales have risen more than 70%, and philanthropic support has risen significantly, including an increase in the endowment from $3 million to $11 million.

“Since his initial appointment, Harry Christophers has been the accomplished artistic beacon of the Handel and Haydn Society. Under his leadership, we’ve expanded, taking the Orchestra and Chorus to new heights and delivering one exceptional performance after another,” said David Snead, president and CEO of the Handel and Haydn Society. “In the upcoming season, we’ll celebrate his legacy, showcasing the compositions he loves best and shining a spotlight on the H+H Chorus. It will be a monumental season, not to be missed.”

The 2020-21 Season

The Handel and Haydn Society’s 2020-21 season begins on September 25 and 27, 2020 at Boston’s Symphony Hall with Brahms A German Requiem. Led by conductor Harry Bicket, the performance will open with the H+H premiere of Abendfeier in Venedit, Op. 19 from Clara Schumann, a close friend of Brahms and regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists and composers of the Romantic era. This composition, for an a capella chorus, will be followed by Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, featuring soprano Amanda Majeski, baritone Ryan McKinny and the H+H Orchestra and Chorus.

The season continues with Bach + Vivaldi Gloria on October 23 and 25, 2020, at Symphony Hall. Conductor Jonathan Cohen will lead the H+H Orchestra in a rousing performance of J.S. Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 1, BWV 1066 followed by C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat, featuring festive trumpets and drums, and Vivaldi’s sunny Gloria, RV 589. Soprano Amanda Forsythe, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, tenor Nicholas Phan, and baritone Tyler Duncan will join the H+H Orchestra and Chorus for the concert.

New Productions of Aida, Die Zauberflöte, and Don Giovanni and Met Premieres of The Fiery Angel and Dead Man Walking Headline the Metropolitan Opera’s 2020–21 Season

Opening Night features a new Aida, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and starring Anna Netrebko, Anita Rachvelishvili, and Piotr Beczała, in a new staging by Michael Mayer.

Maestro Nézet-Séguin, in his third season as Music Director, will conduct six operas, including new stagings of Aida, Don Giovanni, and Dead Man Walking, as well as three classic revivals and two Met Orchestra concerts at Carnegie Hall.

The six operas conducted by Maestro Nézet-Séguin will all be featured in The Met: Live in HD series—the most transmissions ever led by a single conductor in an HD season.

Renowned directors Barrie Kosky (The Fiery Angel), Ivo van Hove (Don Giovanni and Dead Man Walking), and Simon McBurney (Die Zauberflöte) make notable Met debuts with new productions.

For the first time in recent decades, the Met season will extend into June and will include no performances in February.

There will be more weekend opera than ever before, with 22 Sunday matinee performances, plus onstage post-performance discussions with the stars of each Sunday matinee.

Notable debuts include conductors Hartmut Haenchen, Jakub Hrůša, Giacomo Sagripanti, Speranza Scappucci, and Lorenzo Viotti and singers Varduhi Abrahamyan, Benjamin Bernheim, Amartuvshin Enkhbat, Lucia Lucas, Thomas Oliemans, Svetlana Sozdateleva, and Okka von der Damerau.

Other notable conducting engagements include Harry Bicket (Giulio Cesare), Gustavo Dudamel (Die Zauberflöte), and Simone Young (Billy Budd), among others.

The 2020–21 season will be General Manager Peter Gelb’s 15th as the Met’s General Manager.

The Metropolitan Opera announced its 2020–21 season, the first in which Yannick Nézet-Séguin assumes his full breadth of musical duties as the company’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, conducting six productions. His schedule includes the Met premiere of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, the first contemporary opera conducted by the maestro on the Met stage, as part of his ongoing commitment to opera of our time at the Met, which will expand in the seasons to come.

The season—which includes five new productions and 18 revivals—kicks off on September 21 with the first new staging of Verdi’s Aida in more than 30 years, directed by Michael Mayer, conducted by Nézet-Séguin, and starring Anna Netrebko, Anita Rachvelishvili, and Piotr Beczała. Australian director Barrie Kosky makes his company debut with the Met-premiere production of Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel, with Michail Jurowski leading an extraordinary cast in his Met debut. Two Mozart operas will also be seen in new stagings: an acclaimed production of Die Zauberflöte directed by Simon McBurney and conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, and a sophisticated new take on Don Giovanni, Ivo van Hove’s highly anticipated Met-debut production, conducted by Nézet-Séguin and starring Peter Mattei, Gerald Finley, Ailyn Pérez, and Isabel Leonard in the leading roles. And in April, Nézet-Séguin conducts the Met premiere of Jake Heggie’s 21st-century masterpiece Dead Man Walking, with a new staging by van Hove featuring Joyce DiDonato, Susan Graham, Latonia Moore, and Etienne Dupuis.

Following the successful addition of 16 new Sunday matinee performances last season, the Met will offer even more weekend options in 2020–21, with 22 Sunday matinee performances. Each Sunday matinee will be followed by an onstage post-performance discussion with the stars.

For the first time, the Met season will include no performances in February, with the company instead extending its performance calendar into the month of June.

In his third season as Music Director, in addition to the three new stagings, Nézet-Séguin conducts revivals of Fidelio, Roméo et Juliette, and Die Frau ohne Schatten, as well as two of three Met Orchestra concerts at Carnegie Hall in June. (Semyon Bychkov will conduct the first concert in the Carnegie Hall series, on June 10.)

“This is the season in which the Yannick era hits its stride,” said General Manager Peter Gelb. “In conducting six operas, he will be present throughout the entire season, raising the artistic bar for the orchestra, the chorus, and the entire company.”

“The artistic excellence we achieve each season is due to the invaluable contributions in the pit and on stage by the great Met Orchestra and Chorus,” Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin said. “This is an exciting time for opera, and I’m thrilled to be sharing my passion for it with the Met’s discerning and loyal audience, while deepening my relationship with this great institution. As we look forward to future seasons, we will not only continue to expand our repertoire with new commissions by living composers but will also be adding to our artistic ranks with more women on the podium and a greater emphasis on artistic diversity.”

Dozens of the world’s leading opera stars bring their artistry to 18 repertory revivals throughout the season, including Marcelo Álvarez, Jamie Barton, Piotr Beczała, Angel Blue, Stephanie Blythe, J’Nai Bridges, Lawrence Brownlee, Javier Camarena, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Stephen Costello, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato, Gerald Finley, Angela Gheorghiu, Christine Goerke, Susan Graham, Greer Grimsley, Günther Groissböck, Ekaterina Gubanova, Anita Hartig, Evelyn Herlitzius, Quinn Kelsey, Tomasz Konieczny, Isabel Leonard, Peter Mattei, Angela Meade, Latonia Moore, Erin Morley, Anna Netrebko, Lisette Oropesa, Eric Owens, Ailyn Pérez, Susanna Phillips, Matthew Polenzani, Anita Rachvelishvili, Brenda Rae, Golda Schultz, Nadine Sierra, Stuart Skelton, Nina Stemme, Krassimira Stoyanova, Elza van den Heever, Christian Van Horn, Klaus Florian Vogt, Michael Volle, Pretty Yende, and Sonya Yoncheva. They perform alongside a number of significant newcomers to the Met stage, including Benjamin Bernheim, Okka von der Damerau, and Varduhi Abrahamyan. This is also a remarkable season for new conductors, with Hartmut Haenchen, Jakub Hrůša, Michail Jurowski, Nimrod David Pfeffer, Giacomo Sagripanti, Speranza Scappucci, Lorenzo Viotti, and Kensho Watanabe all appearing for the first time on the podium.

New Productions

OPENING NIGHT: Aida — Giuseppe Verdi

A set model by Christine Jones for the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Verdi’s “Aida.”

• Opening: September 21, 2020
• Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin
• Production: Michael Mayer
• Set Designer: Christine Jones
• Costume Designer: Susan Hilferty
• Lighting Designer: Kevin Adams
• Projection Designer: 59 Productions
• Choreographer: Oleg Glushkov
• Live in HD: October 10, 2020

Verdi’s opera receives its first new staging at the Met in more than three decades, with a season-opening premiere production directed by Michael Mayer, whose dazzling vision of ancient Egypt comes alive with intricate projections and eye-catching animations. Anna Netrebko and Anita Rachvelishvili portray archrivals Aida and Amneris on Opening Night—reprising their acclaimed partnership in the same roles from the 2018–19 season—and Piotr Beczała completes the triumvirate as Radamès. Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads a benchmark cast that also includes Ludovic Tézier as Aida’s father, Amonasro, and Krzysztof Bączyk in his Met debut as the King of Egypt. A co-production with the Bolshoi Theatre, this Aida also features Latonia Moore and Hibla Gerzmava in later performances of the title role, as well as Ekaterina Semenchuk and Marcelo Álvarez as Amneris and Radamès.

MET PREMIERE: The Fiery Angel — Sergei Prokofiev

Evgeny Nikitin as Ruprecht and Svetlana Sozdateleva as Renata in Prokofiev’s “The Fiery Angel.” Photo: Alfons Altman / Munich’s Bavarian State Opera

• Opening: November 12, 2020
• Conductor: Michail Jurowski
• Production: Barrie Kosky
• Set Designer: Rebecca Ringst
• Costume Designer: Klaus Bruns
• Lighting Designer: Joachim Klein
• Choreographer: Otto Pichler

Australian director Barrie Kosky, a bright and bold force in the opera world, makes his long-awaited company debut with the Met premiere production of Prokofiev’s devilish masterwork, conducted by Michail Jurowski, also in his Met debut. Portraying the vagabond knight Ruprecht, Evgeny Nikitin stars opposite Svetlana Sozdateleva, who makes her Met debut in the role of Renata, the pious young woman obsessed with a mysterious angelic lover. Kosky’s visually stunning production was hailed by the Financial Times as “a gripping evening” when it premiered in Munich in 2015.

Carnegie Hall Announces Winners of Dream Wedding Contest

Kira Helper and Dmitri Burtis of Boston, MA Win a Dream Wedding and Reception in the Weill Terrace Room and Weill Music Room atop Carnegie Hall on April 25, 2020

After receiving submissions from more than 800 couples from across the United States, Carnegie Hall has awarded its Dream Wedding to Kira Helper and Dmitri Burtis of Boston, MA. Their entry was selected for its creativity and originality as they mused on love and the meaning of music in their original submission video.

Kira Helper and Dmitri Burtis of Boston, MA Win a Dream Wedding and Reception in the Weill Terrace Room and Weill Music Room atop Carnegie Hall on April 25, 2020. Photo at top of release by Holy Smoke Photography

Composer and drummer Dmitri Burtis first met musical theater performer and music therapist Kira Helper as undergraduate students at Berklee College of Music about five and a half years ago through a mutual friend. In September 2018, Dmitri proposed in the Kyoto Garden of Holland Park while on a trip to London. On winning the Grand Prize, the couple offered “We just feel so grateful for this opportunity. What a way for us to start the rest of our lives together!”

The Grand Prize includes a ceremony and reception on April 25, 2020 for 100 guests in the Weill Terrace Room and Weill Music Room atop Carnegie Hall, plus catering by Constellation Culinary Group, event design and planning by NYLUX Events, hotel accommodation by Park Hyatt New York, ceremony music by Ensemble Connect, graphic design by Amy Glaser, hair and makeup by Beautini by Brittany Lo, wedding cake by Cakes by Andrea, photobooth by Capture Pod Studios, photography by Kylee Lee, and DJ and party services by Shiran Nicholson/Nicholson Events, décor by Adam Leffel Productions, and printed materials by Print Shoppe Club.

Matching the artistry and grandeur of its world-renowned performance venues, Carnegie Hall’s extraordinary classic and contemporary event spaces feature an expansive rooftop terrace, a private dining room with historic fixtures, and newly renovated, flexible spaces with dramatic windows that showcase Central Park and skyline views.

Whether for an elegant wedding, festive family celebration, chic corporate gathering, or non-profit gala, Constellation, Carnegie Hall’s on-site exclusive culinary partner, brings each host’s vision to life with delicious fare presented beautifully and served with choreographed precision. For more information to help plan your next event at Carnegie Hall, visit carnegiehall.org/eventspaces.

American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and Louise Whitfield were married on April 22, 1887 in a quiet ceremony attended by a small number of family and friends. Immediately afterwards, they boarded a ship for their honeymoon in Great Britain. On that trip, it is believed that Andrew first considered building a new music hall in New York City. Since 1891, Carnegie Hall has set the international standard for excellence in musical performance. From Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Mahler, and Bartók to George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Judy Garland, Count Basie, The Beatles, and Frank Sinatra, the Hall has been the aspirational destination for the world’s finest musicians.

Today, Carnegie Hall presents a wide range of performances each season on its three stages—the renowned Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, intimate Weill Recital Hall, and innovative Zankel Hall—including concert series curated by acclaimed artists and composers; citywide festivals featuring collaborations with leading New York City cultural institutions; orchestral performances, chamber music, new music concerts, and recitals; and the best in jazz, world, and popular music. Complementing these performance activities, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute creates extensive music education and social impact programs that annually serve more than 600,000 people in the New York City area, nationally, and internationally, playing a central role in Carnegie Hall’s commitment to making great music accessible to as many people as possible. For more information, visit www.carnegiehall.org.

Sir Bryn Terfel Returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage in Recital with Pianist Natalia Katyukova

Performance Marks Terfel’s First Recital at Carnegie Hall in Ten Years

On Sunday, February 9 at 2:00 p.m., beloved Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel returns to Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage for a recital featuring works by Ireland, Quilter, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, selections from Vaughan Williams’s Songs of Travel as well as additional selections to be announced from the stage. He is joined by pianist Natalia Katyukova. This concert marks his first recital at Carnegie Hall in ten years; for his complete performance history please click here. The full program is listed below.

Program Information

Sunday, February 9, 2020 at 2:00 p.m., Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

Sir Bryn Terfel, Bass-Baritone/Natalia Katyukova, Piano

• JOHN IRELAND “Sea Fever”
• JOHN IRELAND “Vagabond”
• JOHN IRELAND “The Bells of San Marie”
• ROGER QUILTER “Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal,” Op. 3, No. 2
• ROGER QUILTER “Weep You No More, Sad Fountains,” Op. 12, No. 1
• ROGER QUILTER “Go, Lovely Rose,” Op. 24, No. 3
• ROGER QUILTER “Fair House of Joy,” Op. 12, No. 7
• JOHANNES BRAHMS Vier ernste Gesänge, Op. 121

1. Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh
2. Ich wandte mich, und sahe an
3. O Tod, wie bitter bist du
4. Wenn ich mit Menschen- und mit Engelszungen redete

• ROBERT SCHUMANN “Belsatzar,” Op. 57
• FRANZ SCHUBERT “Trinklied,” D. 888
• FRANZ SCHUBERT “Ständchen,” D. 889
• FRANZ SCHUBERT “An Sylvia,” D. 891
• ROGER QUILTER Three Shakespeare Songs, Op. 6

1. Come away, death
2. O mistress mine
3. Blow, blow, thou winter wind

• RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Selections from Songs of Travel

1. The Vagabond
2. Whither Must I Wander
3. Bright Is the Ring of Words
4. I Have Trod the Upward and the Downward Slope

Additional selections to be announced from the stage

Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel has established an extraordinary career, performing regularly on the prestigious concert stages and opera houses of the world.

Photo of Sir Bryn Terfel by Mitch Jenkins / DG, Natalia Katyukova by Kristin Hoebermann

After winning the Song Prize at the 1989 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, Sir Bryn made his professional operatic debut in 1990 as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with the Welsh National Opera. He made his international operatic debut in 1991 as Speaker in Die Zauberflöte at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels and made his American debut in the same year as Figaro with the Santa Fe Opera. Other roles performed during his career include Méphistophélès in Faust; both the title role and Leporello in Don Giovanni; Jochanaan in Salome; Scarpia in Tosca; the title role in Gianni Schicchi; Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress; Wolfram in Tannhäuser; Balstrode in Peter Grimes; Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Sir Bryn marked his 50th birthday and twenty-five years in the profession with a special gala concert at the Royal Albert Hall, presented by Hollywood star Michael Sheen. The celebrations continued at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre, where he sang Scarpia in a special concert performance of Tosca with the Welsh National Opera.

Recent performances include Holländer in Der fliegende Holländer for the Zürich Opera; Falstaff at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the world premiere of an original show by Robat Arwyn and Mererid Hopwood—Hwn Yw Fy Mrawd—chronicling the life of the film star and singer Paul Robeson at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff as part of the National Eisteddfod of Wales.

Kronos Quartet Returns to Zankel Hall with An Evening of Contemporary Music on January 25

Program Includes World Premiere of a New Work by Bryce Dessner Alongside Music by Philip Glass, Michael Gordon, Missy Mazzoli, Misato Mochizuki, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley

Cellist Paul Wiancko Joins the Quartet During Sunny Yang’s Maternity Leave

On Saturday, January 25 at 9:00 p.m., pioneering ensemble Kronos Quartet returns to Zankel Hall for a program that reveals the group’s remarkable gift for expanding the range and context of the string quartet. The evening includes the world premiere of Bryce Dessner’s Le Bois, a work based on Pérotin’s Sederunt principes and was inspired by the Notre Dame Cathedral and the 1,000-year-old wood ceiling that was lost in the fire there in the Spring of 2019. The new work was commissioned as part of 50 for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire, an education and legacy project that is commissioning—and distributing online for free—50 new works for string quartet designed expressly for the training of students and emerging professionals. Other works on the program commissioned for the 50 for the Future project include Philip Glass’s Quartet Satz, Missy Mazzoli’s Enthusiasm Strategies, and Misato Mochizuki’s Boids.

Carnegie Hall logo

In addition, the quartet performs iconic contemporary works including Michael Gordon’s Clouded Yellow, Steve Reich’s Different Trains, and selections from Terry Riley’s Sun Rings (“The Electron Cyclotron Frequency Parlour” and “One Earth, One People, One Love“), the Grammy-nominated recording recently released by Nonesuch Records. Paul Wiancko joins the Kronos Quartet as guest cellist during Sunny Yang‘s maternity leave.

For more than 45 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet—David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Sunny Yang (cello)—has combined a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to continually reimagine the string quartet experience. In the process, Kronos has become one of the world’s most celebrated and influential ensembles, performing thousands of concerts, releasing more than 60 recordings, collaborating with many of the world’s most accomplished composers and performers, and commissioning over 1,000 works and arrangements for string quartet. Kronos has received over 40 awards, including the prestigious Polar Music Prize, Avery Fisher Prize, and Edison Klassiek Oeuvreprijs.

Kronos Quartet. Photo by Steve Sherman.

Integral to Kronos’ work is a series of long-running collaborations with many of the world’s foremost composers, including Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Philip Glass, Nicole Lizée, Vladimir Martynov, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Aleksandra Vrebalov. Additional collaborators have included Sam Amidon, Laurie Anderson, Asha Bhosle, Noam Chomsky, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Green, Zakir Hussain, múm, Trevor Paglen, Van Dyke Parks, San Francisco Girls Chorus, Tanya Tagaq, Trio Da Kali, Mahsa Vahdat, Tom Waits, Wu Man, and Howard Zinn.

Carnegie Hall Unveils Full Schedule of 70+ Events for its Beethoven Celebration in Honor of the 250th Anniversary of the Composer’s Birth, January – June 2020

Carnegie Hall’s Largest-Ever Celebration of One Composer Features More Than 35 Events at the Hall with Internationally Renowned Artists Exploring the Revolutionary Composer’s Works and His Transformative Impact on Music

Plus, 35+ Events Citywide at Prestigious Partner Organizations Including Music, Dance, Exhibitions, Talks, and Poetry

As the 250th anniversary year of Beethoven’s birth approaches, Carnegie Hall announces a wider schedule of partner events by leading cultural institutions, complementing the Hall’s programming as part of its Beethoven Celebration which includes an unprecedented range of performances by renowned artists exploring the composer’s works and his transformative impact on music. The Beethoven Celebration presents one of the largest explorations of the great master’s music in our time and marks the largest-ever exploration of one composer by Carnegie Hall, with 86 works of music performed by more than 58 artists and ensembles in New York City and beyond from January through June 2020. Ticketing Information.

Beyond Carnegie Hall, public programming, performances, exhibitions, and events at partner organizations—leading cultural and academic institutions in New York City and beyond—highlight the many dimensions of the great music master. The more than 35 partner events range from music and dance to poetry, exhibitions, and talks, many of which have a contemporary slant. Together, the Beethoven Celebration features more than 70 programs, creating an extraordinary view of this revolutionary composer.

“This rich series of events across New York City celebrates Beethoven’s unique place in the pantheon of the greatest artists in history as a composer whose music, perhaps more than any other, changed the course of Western classical music,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “Beethoven was audacious and absolutely fearless, a true revolutionary who never stopped challenging himself and who redefined every area of music that he touched. His music is timeless, and he continues to connect people worldwide with sounds that remain idealistic, compelling, fearsome, and personal. It’s no surprise that people around the globe continue to turn to his music to celebrate some of the most important turning points in history. We hope this opportunity to immerse ourselves in his music during this anniversary year will highlight the transformational impact he has had on culture, inspiring fresh perspectives on his life and work.”

HIGHLIGHTS OF BEETHOVEN CELEBRATION EVENTS AT CARNEGIE HALL

Anne-Sophie Mutter. Credit: Bastian Achard

Mitsuko Uchida. Credit: Justin Pumfrey / Decca

At Carnegie Hall, the Beethoven Celebration features more than 35 events including two complete symphony cycles, the complete piano sonatas and complete string quartets, chamber music, choral works, plus additional concerts and lectures as well as an ambitious global project that explores the themes found in Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” led by Marin Alsop.

A highlight of the Beethoven Celebration—never before presented by Carnegie Hall in one season—are two complete symphony cycles, one in February 2020 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner and his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR), performed on period instruments, and another in March and April 2020 by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra, contrasting their two different interpretive perspectives on these pillars of the orchestral repertoire.

Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Yo-Yo Ma – Credit: Shane McCauley

Joyce DiDonato – Credit: © Simon Pauly

A key figure both in the early music revival and as a pioneer of historically informed performances, Sir John Eliot Gardiner leads his internationally acclaimed early music ensemble ORR in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1, along with the rarely-heard score for the ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus (February 19 at 8:00 p.m.). The six-day symphony cycle in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage continues with the Symphony Nos. 2 and No. 3, “Eroica” (February 20 at 8:00 p.m.); Symphony Nos. 4, and 5—with its famous opening motif—(February 21 at 8:00 p.m.); Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral” and No. 7 (February 23 at 2:00 p.m.); and Symphony Nos. 8 and 9 (February 24 at 8:00 p.m.). The soloists for the Ninth Symphony include soprano Lucy Crowe, contralt Jess Dandy, tenor Ed Lyon, and bass Tareq Nazmi alongside The Monteverdi Choir. As a prelude to the cycle, Maestro Gardiner will be joined by distinguished Beethoven scholar William Kinderman for a discussion in Weill Recital Hall that illuminates Gardiner’s approach to these symphonic masterworks (February 18 at 7:00 p.m.). These Beethoven Celebration events comprise Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Perspectives series, which the celebrated conductor has curated for the 2019-20 season.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Credit: © Sim Canetty-Clarke

One of the most remarkable talents of his generation, Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads The Philadelphia Orchestra in the second complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies this season in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, beginning with Symphony Nos. 5 and 6, “Pastoral” (March 13 at 8:00 p.m.). The four-concert cycle continues with Symphony Nos. 2 and 3, “Eroica” (March 20 at 8:00 p.m.); Symphony Nos. 4, 7, and 8 (March 26 at 8:00 p.m.); and Symphony Nos. 1 and 9 (April 3 at 8:00 p.m.). The soloists for the Ninth Symphony include soprano Angel Blue, mezzo-soprano Mihoko Fujimura, tenor Rolando Villazón, and baritone Quinn Kelsey alongside the Westminster Symphonic Choir. Maestro Nézet-Séguin also leads The MET Orchestra in a program that features virtuoso superstar Anne-Sophie Mutter in Beethoven’s groundbreaking Violin Concerto and Romance for Violin and Orchestra in F Major (June 12 at 8:00 p.m.). These five Beethoven Celebration performances are part of conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s nine-concert Perspectives series this season.

Joerg Widmann. Photo Credit: Marco Borggreve

Tituss Takes Carnegie Hall

Award-Winning Guest Stars Loretta Devine, Jane Krakowski, and Lillias White Join Tituss Burgess in Carnegie Hall Tribute to Stephen Sondheim on February 1 at 8:00 PM

On Saturday, February 1 at 8:00 p.m. Emmy-nominated Broadway star Tituss Burgess makes his Carnegie Hall debut in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with a tribute concert to the music of Stephen Sondheim. Titled Take Me to the World, guest artists include Emmy Award winner Loretta Devine and Tony Award winnersn Jane Krakowski and Lillias White. Directed by Gabriel Vega Weissman with music direction by Charlie Rosen, the program focuses on the music of Sondheim – on the occasion of his upcoming 90th birthday – and its singular impact on Burgess’s life and artistic trajectory.

On curating the program, Tituss offered, “Sondheim is a religion. I don’t claim to have some profound knowledge on interpreting his catalog, but I do have an expert awareness on how deeply I’ve been affected by his vast array of compositions. I simply want to thank him for what he’s given me and so many other people.”

Tituss Burgess by Jeff Mills

Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominated actor, musician, and writer Tituss Burgess is quickly emerging as one of the entertainment industry’s most versatile and dynamic performers, with his work in television and theater generating both critical and commercial acclaim.

Most notably, Burgess stars as Titus Andromedon in the Emmy-nominated comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, opposite Ellie Kemper, Jane Krakowski, and Carol Kane. The show follows a young woman named Kimmy Schmidt as she adjusts to life in New York City after living in a doomsday cult for 15 years. Burgess’s character becomes a friend, roommate, and mentor to Kimmy while he pursues his dreams of Broadway superstardom and becomes a viral sensation on YouTube. Tina Fey created Burgess’s outrageous character specifically for him. For the actor’s extraordinary performance on the series, Burgess has been nominated for two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series and two Critics’ Choice TV Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He was also awarded Best Actor at the 2015 Webby Awards and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy at the 2015 Gold Derby TV Awards.

The actor was first introduced to television audiences in Tina Fey’s Emmy-winning NBC series 30 Rock, where he played the scene-stealing ‘D’Fwan,’ a vivacious hairdresser and the sidekick of Angie Jordan (Sherri Shepherd). Burgess quickly became a breakout star in the series’ fifth and sixth seasons. His other television credits include A Gifted Man, Blue Bloods, and Royal Pains. On the big screen, Burgess recently lent his voice to two major studio films: The Angry Birds Movie and Smurfs: The Lost Village – and appeared in this year’s Dolemite is My Name alongside Eddie Murphy.

A veteran of the stage, Burgess made his Broadway debut in 2005 as Eddie in Good Vibrations. Since, he has held many memorable roles on the Broadway stage including Hal Miller in Jersey Boys, Sebastian the Crab in The Little Mermaid, and Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 2009 revival of Guys and Dolls. Burgess has also performed in regional theater productions such as The Wiz and Jesus Christ Superstar.

With a celebrated high tenor voice, Burgess is an acclaimed singer and songwriter, headlining major symphonies and top cabaret venues throughout the world. In 2008, he performed at the Broadway for Obama benefit concert in Easton, PA and the Broadway After Dark benefit concert in New York City. In 2013, he performed a gender-swapped version of the classic Dreamgirls song “And I Am Telling You…” at the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising concert for Broadway Backwards— a performance that quickly became one of the highlights of the show.

In addition, Burgess has built a rich solo music career. His most recent album Saint Tituss was released in July 2019 and follows his previous two albums, Here’s To You and Comfortable.

Program Information

February 1, 2020 at 8:00 p.m., Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

• TITUSS BURGESS, Vocals
• Gabriel Vega Weissman, Director
• Charlie Rosen, Music Director

with Special Guests

• Loretta Devine
• Jane Krakowski
• Lillias White

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

In honor of the centenary of his birth, Carnegie Hall’s 2019–2020 season is dedicated to the memory of Isaac Stern in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to Carnegie Hall, arts advocacy, and the field of music.

Tickets, priced at $34–$80, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org. In addition, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.

For all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

Works & Process, the Performing Arts Series at the Guggenheim, Announces Spring 2020 Season

HIGHLIGHTS

• Opening Night Cabaret with Anthony Roth Costanzo
• New dance commissions by Ephrat Asherie and Omari Wiles
• Theatrical first looks at Company, West Side Story, and Ocean Filibuster
• Opera sneak peek with Lincoln Center Theater’s Intimate Apparel, The Metropolitan Opera’s Agrippina, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’s Awakenings
• Dance previews featuring BalletX and Pennsylvania Ballet

Works & Process at the Guggenheim is pleased to announce its spring 2020 season. Since 1984, the performing arts series has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to leading creators. The intimate Frank Lloyd Wright –designed Peter B. Lewis Theater is the venue for these seventy-minute programs that explore the creative process through stimulating discussions and riveting performance highlights. One-of-a-kind productions created for the Guggenheim’s rotunda offer a unique experience of the landmark museum. Additional information is available at worksandprocess.org.

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York logo

Audience members are invited to artist receptions in the rotunda following most evening programs. Prior to performances, The Wright restaurant is open with a cash bar from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Works & Process lead funding is provided by the Ford Foundation, Florence Gould Foundation, the Christian Humann Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Evelyn Sharp Foundation, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Spring 2020 Season

OPENING NIGHT CABARET

Anthony Roth Costanzo, January 6, 2020, 7:30 pm

Before he was an opera singer, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo (Akhnaten and Glass Handel) was a Broadway baby moving from community theater to national tours, and eventually to the Great White Way. Now, Costanzo is looking back to go forward. For one night only, in the New York premiere of his cabaret, he revisits his childhood, drawing on the leading ladies, crooners, and icons that helped form him. And, in a twist, he finds just enough low to balance out his highs. Developed with the Bearded Ladies Cabaret, on the occasion of Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O19. Directed by John Jarboe. Musical arrangements by Heath Allen. Scenic design by Machine Dazzle.

Opening Night Chairs: Joanna Fisher, Bart Friedman, Andrew J. Martin-Weber, and Anh-Tuyet Nguyen

• 6:30 pm Reception in Rotunda
• 7:30 pm Performance in the Peter B. Lewis Theater
• 9 pm Dinner at The Wright
• $500 Prime Seating and Artist Dinner
• $250 Orchestra
• $150 Dress Circle
• $75 Side View

Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo began performing professionally at the age of eleven and has since appeared in opera, concert, recital, film, and on Broadway. He has produced operas, installations, concerts, and performance series internationally. Recently, he appeared at the Metropolitan Opera performing the title role in Philip Glass’s Akhnaten, and has performed with many of the world’s other leading opera houses, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, English National Opera, and Teatro Real in Madrid. In concert he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Berlin Philharmonic, and at Carnegie Hall, the Elbphilharmonie, and the Kennedy Center. His first album, ARC, was nominated for a Grammy and he received Musical America’s 2019 Vocalist of the Year award.

DANCE COMMISSION PREVIEW

Les Ballet Afrik and Ephrat Asherie Dance, Jan 13 and 14, 2020, 7:30 pm

In 2020, Works & Process commissions and premieres two works by Les Ballet Afrik and Ephrat Asherie Dance.

Having received the honorary status of Legend after 10 years of competing in the Vogue Ballroom scene and performing across the globe, choreographer Omari Wiles brings the ballroom to the Peter B. Lewis Theater at the Guggenheim. With excerpts of New York is Burning, performed by Les Ballet Afrik and guest artists, Wiles presents his signature “AfrikFusion” style, which fuses traditional African dances and Afrobeat styles with House dance and Vogue.

Excerpts from Ephrat Asherie’s UnderScored (working title) are performed by EAD company members with guest artists from New York City’s underground dance scene. Beginning with the legendary parties at The Loft and the Paradise Garage, UnderScored is inspired by intergenerational club-life memories and explores the ever-changing physical landscape of New York City’s underground House dance community.

Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) and Conductor Marin Alsop Launches “All Together: A Global Ode to Joy”

Marin Alsop Launches Year-Long Worldwide Project With Four Performances in São Paulo from December 12–15 Marking Her Final Concerts as Chief Conductor of São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Start of Her Tenure as Orchestra’s Conductor of Honor

Maestra Alsop To Lead Renowned Orchestras Across Five Continents In Performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Music From Each Local Community, Culminating at Carnegie Hall in December 2020

Creative Work Kicks Off in New York City, Inspired By New Adaptation of “Ode to Joy” by Former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith

Conductor Marin Alsop leads the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) in four performances from December 12–15, launching the ambitious worldwide All Together: A Global Ode to Joy project. These concerts are the first of a range of performances including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to be led by the visionary conductor across five continents from December 2019 to December 2020 during the 250th anniversary celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven‘s birth.

Carnegie Hall logo

Marin Alsop is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene, a music director of vision and distinction who passionately believes that “music has the power to change lives.” She is recognized across the world for her innovative approach to programming and for her deep commitment to education and to the development of audiences of all ages. She has been music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2007, and she has had two extensions in her tenure, now confirmed until 2021. As part of her artistic leadership in Baltimore, Ms. Alsop has created several bold initiatives: OrchKids, for the city’s young people, and the BSO Academy and Rusty Musicians, for adult amateur musicians. In 2012, she became principal conductor and music director of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, with her contract now extended to the end of 2019, when she becomes Conductor of Honor. In September 2019, she became chief conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Alsop received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, is an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music and Royal Philharmonic Society, and is the director of graduate conducting at the Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute. She attended Juilliard and Yale, which awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2017.

Photo Credit: Marin Alsop. Photo by Grant Leighton.

All Together: A Global Ode to Joy recasts Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as a 21st-century call for unity, justice, and empowerment, presenting a rare opportunity for major musical institutions to join in a global conversation as part of a common project. Each partner will work with Ms. Alsop to reimagine the concert experience for their own community, incorporating newly created music alongside the symphony and featuring artists from their own region. In each performance, the ”Ode to Joy” will be adapted or translated anew into a local language. From December 2019 through December 2020, concerts will be presented in São Paulo, Brazil; London, England; New York, New York, USA; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; major centers of New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; Vienna, Austria; and Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa.

When the project was first announced this year, Ms. Alsop said, “Beethoven was all about love and joy and celebrating the essence of what it is to be human and what it is to be connected. That’s why we’re launching this project. We want to throw the doors to our concert halls wide open, saying ‘everyone owns this piece, everyone owns this idea, everyone is welcome, and together we’re much stronger.’”

All Together: São Paulo

The São Paulo concerts—marking Ms. Alsop’s last as Chief Conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and launching her role as Conductor of Honor—will feature traditional and contemporary music performed between the movements of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and a new text of ”Ode to Joy” into Brazilian Portuguese. The performances explore the legacy of slavery in Brazil from the 19th century to the present, drawing a parallel between the time period during which Beethoven composed his Ninth Symphony and the current affairs of Brazil in that same era.

Joining OSESP on stage at Sala São Paulo for the four concerts are members of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra Choir, OSESP Academic Choir, and The São Paulo State Youth Choir. The first concert onThursday, December 12 will be streamed live as part of a “Digital Concert Hall” broadcast available on OSESP’s website and social media channels, as well as Carnegie Hall’s Facebook page. An additional 160 adult amateur singers join the performance for the final large-scale presentation onSunday, December 15 at Sala São Paulo.

2019 Holiday Travel: New, Record-Setting “Mile High Tree” Anchors Denver’s Mile High Holidays Festivities

Denver’s Newest Holiday Attraction – A 110-Foot Digital Tree – Amplifies The Excitement Around The City’s Seasonal Blockbuster Exhibitions, Events And Performing Arts

This year, along with hundreds of holiday traditions and festivities, The Mile High City will feature two brand-new lighting attractions illuminating downtown, making the city look and feel more festive than ever. The Mile High Tree – the tallest digital tree in North America – will feature pre-programmed LED light shows choreographed to multicultural holiday music; and Night Lights Denver – an outdoor projection mapping installation featuring local artists – will also light up the city skyline.

VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau logo. (PRNewsFoto/VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau)

These new attractions complement the already robust programming that makes up Denver’s Mile High Holidays. There are also world-class exhibitions, like Claude Monet: The Truth of Nature and The Science Behind Pixar, at the city’s museums; innovative and immersive performing arts like Camp Christmas and movies with the Colorado Symphony; and plenty of local gifts to be found in neighborhoods, galleries, boutique shops and marketplaces.

Below are just a few experiences to be found during Mile High Holidays. For more information on how to spend a night or a long weekend in Denver, and to take advantage of holiday hotel deals starting at $99, visit www.MileHighHolidays.com.

Blockbuster Exhibitions

Claude Monet: The Truth of Nature, through February 2, 2020

The Denver Art Museum is the sole U.S. venue for the most comprehensive exhibition of Monet paintings in more than two decades. The exhibition features more than 100 paintings spanning Monet’s entire career and focuses on the celebrated French impressionist artist’s enduring relationship with nature and his response to the varied and distinct places in which he worked. In connection with Denver Art Museum, several hotels have created VIP packages that include untimed, skip-the-line tickets, which allow access to the exhibition even if the date is sold out to the general public; these packages can be found at https://monetindenver.com.

The Science Behind Pixar, through April 5, 2020

Enjoy a unique look into the Pixar process, and explore the science and technology behind some of the most beloved animated films and their characters with The Science Behind Pixar at Denver Museum of Nature & Science. This interactive exhibition showcases the science, technology, engineering, art, and math concepts used by the artists and computer scientists who help bring Pixar’s award-winning films to the big screen. With more than 50 interactive elements, the exhibition’s eight sections each focus on a step in the filmmaking process to give you an unparalleled view of the production pipeline and concepts used at Pixar every day. Participate in fun, engaging hands-on activities, listen to firsthand accounts from members of the studio’s production teams, and even come face-to-face with re-creations of your favorite Pixar film characters, including Buzz Lightyear, Dory, Mike and Sulley, Edna Mode, and WALL•E.

Extreme Sports: Beyond Human Limits, through April 12, 2020

Visitors will be put to the test as they jump, fly, dive, climb and explore some of the riskiest activities in the world at this Denver Museum of Nature & Science exhibition. Physical, multimedia and creative challenges place guests inside the minds and bodies of extreme athletes and their passions such as wingsuit flying, ice and rock climbing, parkour, and free diving. Amid exhilarating speeds, breathtaking heights, and profound depths, the stories of these passionate athletes will leave visitors inspired to push their own personal limits.

Beer Here! Brewing the West, through August 9, 2020

Explore Colorado’s brewing industry from the saloons of the Gold Rush through Prohibition to today’s booming craft beer scene at History Colorado Center‘s Beer Here! Brewing the West. Learn about the Centennial State’s brewing past, present and future through historical artifacts, interactive elements and more.

Holiday Performing Arts

Celebrate the Theater, Music and Dance in Denver

Camp Christmas, November 21, 2019 – January 5, 2020

The newest indoor immersive installation from Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Camp Christmas, will feature mesmerizing displays of decorations that shift time and reality. Performed at Stanley Marketplace, Camp Christmas is Denver’s newest holiday experience, where yuletide traditions of the past and present get merrily mashed together in a massive 10,000-square-foot wonderland. All ages are welcome at this family-friendly experience.

The Hip Hop Nutcracker, November 23-24

Innovative digital graffiti and visuals transform the landscape of E.T.A. Hoffmann‘s beloved story from traditional 19th Century Germany to the vibrant, diverse sights and sounds of contemporary New York City. Through this re-mixed and re-imagined version of the classic, performed at Buell Theater in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, the dynamic performers of The Hip Hop Nutcracker take audience members on a journey that celebrates love, community and the magic of a New Year.

The Nutcracker, November 30 – December 29

Children and adults will enjoy Colorado Ballet‘s 58th annual production of the classic Christmas ballet The Nutcracker, held at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and featuring unforgettable characters, classic choreography, exquisite sets, dazzling costumes and Tchaikovsky’s extraordinary arrangement performed live by the Colorado Ballet Orchestra.

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, December 3-8

Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical returns to the Buell Theatre in Denver to steal Christmas after a blockbuster debut in 2014. More than 2.5 million theatre-goers across America have been delighted by this heart-warming holiday musical, featuring the hit songs “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas” from the original animated TV special. Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is “two sizes too small,” decides to steal Christmas away from the holiday-loving Whos. Magnificent sets and costumes inspired by Dr. Seuss’ original illustrations transport audiences to the whimsical world of Whoville and helps remind them of the true meaning of the holiday season.

Movie at the Symphony: Home Alone in Concert, November 29; Love Actually in Concert, December 6

A holiday classic, Home Alone will feature renowned composer John Williams‘ charming and delightful score performed live by the Colorado Symphony at Boettcher Concert Hall as the film is shown on large suspended screens in Boettcher Concert Hall. Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who is accidentally left behind when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and who must defend his home against two bungling thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern). Hilarious and heartwarming, Home Alone is holiday fun for the whole family.

Love Actually is the ultimate romantic holiday comedy. Featuring an all-star cast, the film will take audiences on a tour of love’s delightful twists and turns. The score will be performed by the Colorado Symphony and conductor Christopher Dragon.

Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum, December 7-22

For 28 years, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble has been blending dance, live music, spoken word and seasonal celebrations and customs from around the world into a memorable holiday tradition like no other. A Denver original, Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum is a family favorite that inspires audiences of all ages to discover, celebrate and honor the holiday traditions of cultures from around the world.

Celtic Woman: The Best of Christmas Tour, December 8

The celestial voices of multi-platinum Irish singing group, Celtic Woman, will be coupled with the Colorado Symphony in Denver’s stop of The Best of Christmas Tour. The performance at Boettcher Concert Hall will feature music from the all-female ensemble’s most favorite Yuletide songs.

Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker, December 13-14

The one and only Moscow Ballet will present the Great Russian Nutcracker at Denver’s Paramount Theatre. Featuring world class Russian artists, hand-painted sets, Russian Snow Maidens, and jubilant Nesting Dolls – Great Russian Nutcracker brings the Christmas spirit to life for all ages.

Culture Watch: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Announces Short List for the 2020 Hugo Boss Prize

Six artists have been short-listed for the Hugo Boss Prize 2020, the biennial award for significant achievement in contemporary art. The short list is selected by a panel of international curators and critics in recognition of artists whose work is transforming the field. Since its inception in 1996, the prize has consistently functioned as a platform for the most relevant and influential art of the present, and has become a cornerstone of the Guggenheim’s contemporary programming.

“On the occasion of the thirteenth Hugo Boss Prize, I’m delighted to announce the finalists for the 2020 cycle,” said Nancy Spector, Artistic Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, and jury chair. “After a rigorous examination of today’s artistic landscape, the jury identified a group of artists whose practices are beacons of cultural impact. While diverse in their approaches and themes, they each exemplify the spirit of experimentation and innovation that the prize has always championed.”

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York logo

The Hugo Boss Prize recognizes the achievements of both emerging and established artists, and sets no restrictions in terms of age, gender, nationality, or medium. The winner, who will receive a $100,000 honorarium, will be announced in the fall of 2020 and will present a solo exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in spring 2021.

Since its inception in 1996, the Hugo Boss Prize has been awarded to twelve influential contemporary artists: American artist Matthew Barney (1996); Scottish artist Douglas Gordon (1998); Slovenian artist Marjetica Potrč (2000); French artist Pierre Huyghe (2002); Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija (2004); English artist Tacita Dean (2006); Palestinian artist Emily Jacir (2008); German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann (2010); Danish artist Danh Vo (2012); American artist Paul Chan (2014); American artist Anicka Yi (2016); and American artist Simone Leigh (2018). The related exhibitions have constituted some of the most compelling presentations in the museum’s history.

Previous finalists include Laurie Anderson, Janine Antoni, Cai Guo-Qiang, Stan Douglas, and Yasumasa Morimura in 1996; Huang Yong Ping, William Kentridge, Lee Bul, Pipilotti Rist, and Lorna Simpson in 1998; Vito Acconci, Maurizio Cattelan, Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, Tom Friedman, Barry Le Va, and Tunga in 2000; Francis Alÿs, Olafur Eliasson, Hachiya Kazuhiko, Koo Jeong-A, and Anri Sala in 2002; Franz Ackermann, Rivane Neuenschwander, Jeroen de Rijke and Willem de Rooij, Simon Starling, and Yang Fudong in 2004; Allora & Calzadilla, John Bock, Damián Ortega, Aïda Ruilova, and Tino Sehgal in 2006; Christoph Büchel, Patty Chang, Sam Durant, Joachim Koester, and Roman Signer in 2008; Cao Fei, Roman Ondák,Walid Raad, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul in 2010; Trisha Donnelly, Rashid Johnson, Qiu Zhijie, Monika Sosnowska, and Tris Vonna-Michell in 2012; Sheela Gowda, Camille Henrot, Hassan Khan, and Charline von Heyl in 2014; Tania Bruguera, Mark Leckey, Ralph Lemon, Laura Owens, and Wael Shawky in 2016; and Bouchra Khalili, Teresa Margolles, Emeka Ogboh, Frances Stark, and Wu Tsang in 2018.

The following artists are finalists for the Hugo Boss Prize 2020:

• Nairy Baghramian (b. 1971, Isfahan, Iran)
• Kevin Beasley (b. 1985, Lynchburg, Va.)
• Deana Lawson (b. 1979, Rochester, N.Y.)
• Elias Sime (b. 1968, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
• Cecilia Vicuña (b. 1948, Santiago, Chile)
• Adrián Villar Rojas (b. 1980, Rosario, Argentina)

“The Hugo Boss Prize is our most prestigious engagement in the field of arts,” said Mark Langer, CEO and Chairman of HUGO BOSS AG. “We are excited about this diverse and distinguished short list for 2020 and looking forward to the announcement of the winner next fall.”

HUGO BOSS PRIZE 2020 SHORT LIST

Nairy Baghramian (b. 1971, Isfahan, Iran) lives and works in Berlin. In an oeuvre that probes the boundaries between the decorative, the utilitarian, and the art object, Baghramian has illuminated new possibilities for sculpture. The artist’s disarming biomorphic forms, made with a range of materials including steel, silicon, resin, and leather, elicit various unexpected art-historical and sociopolitical references, reimagining the workings of the body, gender, and public and private space.

Nairy Baghramian, Stay Downers: Nerd, Fidgety Philip, Dripper, Truant, Backrower and Grubby Urchin, 2017. Various media, dimensions variable
Installation view: Déformation Professionnelle, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 2017–18. Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery. Photo: Timo Ohler

Baghramian’s work has been presented in solo exhibitions such as Privileged Points, Mudam Luxembourg—Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (2019), Breathing Spell (Un respire), Palacio de Cristal del Retiro, Madrid (2018); Déformation Professionnelle, Museum der Moderne Salzburg, and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2017); S.M.A.K. Museum of Contemporary Art, Ghent (2016); Nairy Baghramian: Scruff of the Neck (Supplements), Zurich Art Prize, Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich (2016); Hand Me Down, Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2015); Fluffing the Pillows, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, Mass. (2013), and Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany (2012); and Class Reunion, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2012).

Kevin Beasley (b. 1985, Lynchburg, Va.) lives and works in New York. Working at the intersection of sculpture, installation, and performance, Beasley constructs revelatory formal and sonic experiences. In works that embed found objects in substances such as resin, foam, and tar, or incorporate unconventionally manipulated audio equipment, he amplifies the cultural resonances of his materials to excavate personal and shared histories of class, race, and institutional power.

Kevin Beasley, Your face is / is not enough, 2016. Performance view: Liverpool Biennial, July 14, 2018. © Kevin Beasley. Photo: Pete Carr, courtesy Casey Kaplan, New York

Beasley has presented and performed in solo exhibitions such as ASSEMBLY, The Kitchen, New York (2019); a view of a landscape, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2018); Kevin Beasley, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2018); Movement V: Ballroom, CounterCurrent Festival, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, Houston (2017); Hammer Projects: Kevin Beasley, Hammer Museum at Art + Practice, Los Angeles (2017); Rubbings, Kim? Contemporary Art Center, Riga, Latvia (2017); and inHarlem: Kevin Beasley, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2016).

Deana Lawson (b. 1979, Rochester, N.Y.) lives and works in New York. Her large-format photographs channel vernacular, art-historical, and documentary traditions within the medium, in compositions that valorize black diasporic culture. Picturing individuals she encounters over the course of her everyday life within carefully staged domestic settings, Lawson choreographs every nuance of scenery, lighting, and pose to create tableaux that powerfully evoke the agency of her subjects.

Deana Lawson, Mama Goma, Gemena, DR Congo, 2014. Pigment print
35 x 44.125 inches (88.9 x 112.1 cm). © Deana Lawson, courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, and Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago

Lawson’s work has been presented in solo exhibitions including Deana Lawson, Huis Marseille, Museum voor Fotografie, Amsterdam (2019); Deana Lawson: Planes, The Underground Museum, Los Angeles (2018); Deana Lawson, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (2018); Deana Lawson, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2017); Deana Lawson, The Art Institute of Chicago (2015); and Corporeal, Light Work, Syracuse, N.Y. (2009).

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis Announces 2019 ‘Big Band Holidays at Jazz at Lincoln Center’ Concert Schedule

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra With Wynton Marsalis To Share the Stage with Vocalists Denzal Sinclaire And Alexis Morrast

Big Band Holidays at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater, December 18–22, with Relaxed Performance on December 22 at 2:00 p.m.

Blue Engine Records Big Band Holidays II Available Digitally Now; In Stores Soon On Cd And Vinyl

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and guest vocalists Denzal Sinclaire and Alexis Morrast will spread good cheer this holiday season with five performances of Big Band Holidays in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater on December 18-21 at 8:00 p.m. and December 22 at 2:00 p.m. The performance on Sunday, December 22 at 2:00 p.m., will be a Relaxed Performance, designed to provide an opportunity for children or adults with autism, learning difficulties, or other sensory and communication needs to enjoy our performances with their families in a more relaxed environment.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center

The mission of Jazz at Lincoln Center is to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for Jazz through performance, education and advocacy. With the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and guest artists spanning genres and generations, Jazz at Lincoln Center produces thousands of performance, education, and broadcast events each season in its home in New York City (Frederick P. Rose Hall, “The House of Swing”) and around the world, for people of all ages. Jazz at Lincoln Center is led by Chairman Robert J. Appel, Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, and Executive Director Greg Scholl. (Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall is located at Broadway at 60th Street in New York, New York. )

Featuring soulful, big band versions of classics such as “Jingle Bells,” “Joy to the World,” and “Brazilian Sleigh Ride,” Big Band Holidays is an uplifting holiday program that plays to sold-out audiences every December. The beloved New York tradition is renowned for showcasing some of the most exciting and charismatic vocalists on the scene, with recent editions including Cécile McLorin Salvant, Gregory Porter, René Marie, Vuyo Sotashe, Veronica Swift, and Catherine Russell. This year Jazz at Lincoln Center welcomes back an old favorite, the smooth-as-silk baritone vocalist Denzal Sinclaire and presents a Big Band Holidays first-timer: local teenage phenomenon Alexis Morrast, first-place winner of the nationally broadcast Showtime at the Apollo.

Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Return to Carnegie Hall, November 15-16

November 15 Concert Featuring Music Inspired by Rome Includes Carnegie Hall Perspectives Artist Mezzo-Soprano Joyce DiDonato as Soloist

November 16 Features an All-Prokofiev Program

This November, Music Director Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra return to Carnegie Hall for two concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. The first evening, on Friday, November 15 at 8:00 p.m., features music inspired by Rome, including Berlioz’s La mort de Cléopâtre, written in 1829 as a bid for a Prix de Rome, with Perspectives artist mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato; Bizet’s rarely performed symphonic poem Roma; and Respighi’s Pines of Rome, one of three symphonic poems written by the Italian composer about different aspects of the Eternal City. Maestro Muti and the Orchestra return on the following night, Saturday, November 16 at 8:00 p.m., with an all-Prokofiev program featuring selections from Romeo and Juliet and Symphony No. 3.

The concert on November 15 is part of the Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series with a live radio broadcast on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York and online at wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr. Produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall and co-hosted by WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon and Clemency Burton-Hill, Carnegie Hall Live broadcasts include behind-the-scenes access to the artists and broadcast team, connecting national and international fans to the music and to each other. Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra last performed at Carnegie Hall in February 2018. Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

This performance is also part of Joyce DiDonato’s Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall with concerts and events throughout the 2019–2020 season that highlight her full range of vocal artistry, as well as her work as an educator. (For more information on upcoming Perspectives performances, please visit: www.carnegiehall.org/didonato.

Program Information

Friday, November 15, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Riccardo Muti, Music Director and Conductor
• Joyce DiDonato, Mezzo-Soprano
• Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
• Georges Bizet Roma
• Hector Berlioz La Mort De Cléopâtre
• Ottorino Respighi Pines Of Rome
• Public support for Carnegie Hall Live on WQXR is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Perspectives: Joyce DiDonato

Saturday, November 16, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Riccardo Muti, Music Director and Conductor
• Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
• Sergei Prokofiev Selections From Romeo And Juliet
• Sergei Prokofiev Symphony No. 3 In C Minor, Op. 44

Born in Naples, Italy, Riccardo Muti is one of the preeminent conductors of our day. In 2010, when he became the tenth music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), he had more than forty years of experience at the helm of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (1968–80), the Philharmonia Orchestra (1973–82), The Philadelphia Orchestra (1980–92), and Teatro alla Scala (1986–2005).

Photo of Riccardo Muti by Todd Rosenberg Photography

Mr. Muti studied piano under Vincenzo Vitale at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in his hometown of Naples, graduating with distinction. After he won the Guido Cantelli Conducting Competition—by unanimous vote of the jury—in Milan in 1967, his career developed quickly. In 1968, he became principal conductor of Florence’s Maggio Musicale, a position that he held until 1980.

Herbert von Karajan invited him to conduct at the Salzburg Festival in Austria in 1971, and Mr. Muti has maintained a close relationship with the summer festival and with its great orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, for more than 45 years. When he conducted the orchestra’s 150th anniversary concert in 1992, he was presented with the Golden Ring, a special sign of esteem and affection, and in 2001, his outstanding artistic contributions to the orchestra were further recognized with the Otto Nicolai Gold Medal. He is also a recipient of a silver medal from the Salzburg Mozarteum for his contribution to the music of Mozart and the Golden Johann Strauss Award by the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna. He is an honorary member of Vienna’s Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Society of the Friends of Music), the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Vienna State Opera.

Mr. Muti succeeded Otto Klemperer as chief conductor and music director of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra in 1973, holding that position until 1982. From 1980 to 1992, he was music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and, in 1986, he became music director of Milan’s Teatro alla Scala. During his 19-year tenure, Muti conducted operatic and symphonic repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary, also leading hundreds of concerts with the Filarmonica della Scala and touring the world with both the opera company and the orchestra. His tenure as music director, the longest of any in La Scala’s history, culminated in the triumphant reopening of the restored opera house with Antonio Salieri’s Europa riconosciuta, originally commissioned for La Scala’s inaugural performance in 1778.

Riccardo Muti’s vast catalog of recordings, numbering in the hundreds, ranges from the traditional symphonic and operatic repertoires to contemporary works. He also has written three books, Verdi, l’italiano and Riccardo Muti: An Autobiography: First the Music, Then the Words, both of which have been published in several languages, as well as Infinity Between the Notes: My Journey Into Music, published May 2019 and available in Italian.

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During his time with the CSO, Mr. Muti has won over audiences in greater Chicago and across the globe through his music making as well as his demonstrated commitment to sharing classical music. His first annual free concert as CSO music director attracted more than 25,000 people to Chicago’s Millennium Park. He regularly invites subscribers, students, seniors, and people of low incomes to attend, at no charge, his CSO rehearsals. Mr. Muti’s commitment to artistic excellence and to creating a strong bond between an orchestra and its communities continues to bring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to ever higher levels of achievement and renown.