Robert Spano 2021-2022 Season Highlights

This March, Robert Spano makes his Washington National Opera Mainstage Debut with Written In Stone, a World Premiere series of four short works from four creative times inspired by Washington D.C.’s iconic monuments and the ideals embodied by President Kennedy in celebration of the Kennedy Center’s 50th anniversary season.

In 2021-22, Robert Spano begins his first season as Music Director Designate of the Fort Worth Symphony, where he has served as Principal Guest Conductor since 2019, and will become Music Director in August 2022. After 20 seasons as Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Spano appears this season as Co-artistic advisor alongside Donald Runnicles.

2021-2022 Highlights

September 9-11, 2021
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra / Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Opening Night
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5

September 17-18, 2021
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra / Stefan Jackiw, violin
R. Strauss: Don Juan
Conrad Tao Violin Concerto (World Premiere)
Alvin Singleton Different River
R. Strauss Till Eulenspiegel

November 18, 20, 2021
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra / Marc-André Hamelin, piano
Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man
Michael Gandolfi: Piano Concerto (ASO Commission — World Premiere)
Copland: Symphony No. 3

November 19, 2021
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra / Marc-André Hamelin, piano
Brian Nabors: Onward
Krists Auznieks: Sub Rosa (ASO Commission — World Premiere)
Michael Gandolfi: Piano Concerto (ASO Commission — World Premiere)
Adam Schoenberg: Luna Azul
Michael Kurth: Everything Lasts Forever

January 14-15, 2022
Fort Worth Symphony (First year as Music Director Designate) / Randall Goosby, violin
Walker: Lyric for Strings
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade

Mar. 5 - 25, 2022 / Written In Stone / The Kennedy Center, Eisenhower Theater
Directed by James Robinson and featuring an all-star cast including mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges and baritone Rod Gilfry, Written In Stone tells intimate stories that celebrate diversity and acknowledge the struggles of today’s America. Specific dates available here.

Chantal / Jason Moran, Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz, pianist, and composer / Alicia Hall Moran, mezzo-soprano and multi-dimensional artist / The Morans offer a moving work to introduce the idea of “monumentalism”—the uniquely American celebration of commemorating certain people and deeds.

The Rift / Huang Ruo, award-winning composer / David Henry Hwang, Tony Award-winning playwright, librettist, and screenwriter / The controversial origin of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is at the heart of this story featuring interconnected yet conflicting characters: Maya Lin, the Chinese American student architect of the memorial’s design; a Vietnam War veteran; a Vietnamese refugee; and a government official.

Rise / bKamala Sankaram, acclaimed composer and instrumentalist / A.M. Homes, best-selling author and essayist / Bringing to life the often forgotten 1921 Portrait Monument featuring Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, and one face left uncarved, Sankaram and Homes give a voice to those whose stories have been left out of history.

it all falls down / Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Kennedy Center Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact, poet, playwright, and educator / Carlos Simon, Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence and 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient / In this story of love and reconciliation, a father and son meet on opposite sides of a rally about same-sex marriage outside of the Supreme Court.

March 31-April 2, 2022
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra / Avi Avital, mandolin
Mark Buller: The Parallactic Transits (ASO Commission — World Premiere)
Jennifer Higdon: Mandolin Concerto
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade

April 8- 9, 2022
Fort Worth Symphony (First year as Music Director Designate) / Angela Cheng, piano
Jennifer Higdon: Blue Cathedral
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Respighi: Fountains of Rome
Respighi: Pines of Rome

June 9-12, 2022
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra / Kelly O’Connor, mezzo-soprano; Gwinnett Young Singers; Women of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Mahler: Symphony No. 3
*Robert Spano’s final performance as Co-Artistic Advisor