Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Danish String Quartet
Zlatomir Fung, Cello
Midori, Violin
New Jersey Symphony
Kelley O'Connor, Mezzo-Soprano
Robert Spano, Conductor
Michael Stern, Conductor
Takács Quartet - 50th Anniversary Season

*****

CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
David Finckel and Wu Han, Artistic Directors
2024-2025 Season Highlights

THE BEETHOVEN TRILOGY
12 Concerts Considering Beethoven's Three Distinct Periods
Complete Quartet Cycle by Calidore String Quartet

This season, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) presents The Beethoven Trilogy, a unique, in-depth series of 12 concerts that focus on Beethoven’s three distinct and storied compositional periods, and includes the complete survey of the composer’s string quartet cycle performed by the Calidore String Quartet. “In each phase of his life,” says CMS Artistic Director David Finckel, “Beethoven was like a different person, because he and his art evolved and transformed at a radical pace. There are four concerts that delve into each of these three periods, which correspond to standard life-stages: first, youthfulness, confidence, ambition, momentum; second, prime-of-life productivity, popularity, and strength; and third, maturity, reflection, visualizations of one’s afterlife, leaving behind the best of one’s self.”

Six of the 12 concerts are devoted to Beethoven’s complete string quartets performed by the Calidore Quartet, grouped according to the three periods of the composer’s life—early, middle and late). The Calidore is also in the process of releasing their recording of the complete cycle for Signum Records; the first recording, of the late Quartets, was released in February and won the Chamber Music Award at the 2024 BBC Music Magazine Awards. The middle Quartets are due out in September, and the last recording, of the early quartets, will follow.  

Complementing the complete Quartet cycle are concerts that provide a new context in which to experience these masterpieces, with a series of programs that offer music composed by Beethoven and other composers—including Brahms, Bartók, Corigliano and Montgomery—in the corresponding early, middle and late periods of their careers. 

Other highlights of the season

• Opening night, October 15, is an all-Haydn program featuring Stephanie Blythe and Pinchas Zukerman.
• CMS presents seven premieres this season—three world premieres, by Stephen Hough, Jyrki Linjama, and Elise Arancio, and four New York premieres, by Pierre Jalbert, Sebastian Currier, Joel Thompson and Perry Goldstein—in addition to offering reprise performances of past CMS-commissioned works.
• The extraordinary pianist and composer Sir Stephen Hough makes his CMS debut with the world premiere of his own piano quintet, Les Noces Rouges, performed with CMS Bowers Artists the Viano Quartet, on a program of Chopin, Liszt and Chaminade (Nov 24).
• The Sonic Spectrum series returns, with four programs spotlighting 17 contemporary composers (Nov 14, Jan 23 Feb 27, Apr 17).
• The annual winter Baroque festival returns in December.
• In the spring, vocal soloists Kathleen Battle, Frederica von Stade, Ben Bliss, and Thomas Hampson grace the CMS stage to celebrate the legacy of CMS Founding Artistic Director Charles Wadsworth (May 1 & 2).
• Throughout the season, audiences will have the opportunity to hear and see the newest class of CMS Bowers Program artists.

Concerts take place in Alice Tully Hall (ATH) and the Rose Studio (RS).
Selected concert dates below.

Tuesday October 15, 2024, 7:30 PM, ATH
OPENING NIGHT: HAYDN’S SURPRISE
STEPHANIE BLYTHE Mezzo-Soprano
PINCHAS ZUKERMAN, Violin
The season opens with an all-Haydn program featuring two superstar guest artists, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe (soloist for the cantata Arianna a Naxos), and violinist Pinchas Zukerman who performs the solo role in Haydn’s Concerto in C major for Violin and Strings. CMS veterans and co-artistic directors David Finckel and Wu Han, violinist Daniel Phillips, and violist Paul Neubauer appear on the program with members of the 2024-2027 Bowers Program: bassist Nina Bernat and the Viano Quartet. The grand finale is the iconic “Surprise” Symphony in its rarely-heard chamber configuration for piano, flute, two violins, viola, and cello.
Event page with artists and program

Thursday October 17, 2024, 7:30 PM, RS
ART OF THE RECITAL: SEBASTIAN MANZ & DANAE DÖRKEN
The masterful, award-winning German clarinetist Sebastian Manz welcomes his friend and collaborator, pianist Danae Dörken, for a program focusing on the late-19th and 20th centuries, with works by Gade, Messager, Lutosławski, Verdi/Bassi, Horovitz, Rossini, and Jörg Widmann. “Each work on this program represents a milestone from a certain time period in my career as a clarinetist,” says Manz. “At the same time, every work also reflects a different European composing style, with each composer on the program coming from a different country, except Verdi and Rossini. Both halves of the recital conclude ‘in Italy,’ so this odyssey can be interpreted either as a journey through my personal past and artistic oeuvre or as a journey through European Classical Music of the last 200 years (or both).”
Event page with artists and program

October 20–27
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY I: EARLY PERIOD
The first Beethoven Trilogy concerts present Beethoven’s first quartets, finished and released to the world in 1800, when Beethoven was 30 years old.

Sunday October 20, 2024, 5:00 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY I: BARTÓK AND BEETHOVEN
The concerts that complement the Quartets feature work by Beethoven and other composers from this energetic and ambitious time of their lives.  Beethoven’s hugely popular 41-minute Septet for mixed winds and strings of 1801—a masterpiece for its unusual instrumentation and vibrant melodies—is balanced by the impressive Piano Quintet by the young Bela Bartok (age 23) which clocks in at 42 minutes, and reflects the composer’s lifelong fascination with Hungarian folk tunes.
Event page with artists and program

Tuesday October 22, 2024, 7:30 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY I: BEETHOVEN QUARTET CYCLE I
Calidore String Quartet
CMS has presented the Beethoven Quartets multiple times, in many different ways. The first quartet to perform the cycle was the Emerson, with David Finckel on cello, in 1987. It has since been presented at CMS by the Orion, Takács and Danish String Quartets.  The Calidore become the next in line, beginning with Beethoven’s first quartets: Opus 18, Nos, 1, 2 & 3.
Event page with artists and program

Friday October 25, 2024, 7:30 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY I: BEETHOVEN, CORIGLIANO, AND BRAHMS
One of Beethoven’s first piano trios, composed at age 25, is followed by a work commissioned by CMS in 1970 from a 32-year-old John Corigliano, Poem in October, based on a Dylan Thomas poem that begins “It was my 30^th birthday…”  Concluding the program is the mighty first Piano Quartet of Brahms, a work of vast maturity the belied the composer’s age of only 28.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday October 27, 2024, 5:00 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY I: BEETHOVEN QUARTET CYCLE II
Calidore String Quartet
Opus 18, Nos. 4, 5 & 6.
Event page with artists and program

Thursday November 14, 2024, 7:30 PM, RS
SONIC SPECTRUM I
CMS’s series devoted predominantly to the work of living composers. This program features works by Guillaume Connesson, Chan Ka Nin, Shulamit Ran, Paul Dean, and George Crumb.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday November 24, 2024, 5:00 PM, ATH
AN EVENING WITH SIR STEPHEN HOUGH
In his CMS debut, celebrated pianist, composer, and author Sir Stephen Hough performs the world premiere of his Piano Quintet (Les Noces Rouges) with the Viano Quartet (Bowers Program artists). Sir Stephen’s Quintet, commissioned by CMS, is a tone-poem inspired by the story of Russian brothers Pavel and Peter in Willa Cather's novel My Antonia, who attend a friend’s wedding and drunken reception, which leads to a snowy nighttime sleigh ride and a “murder by wolves.” The recital portion of the program juxtaposes the musical personalities of Chopin and Liszt, two temperamentally different pianists who, each in their own unique way, created the romantic voice and technique of piano music as we know it today. Hough also performs short pieces by Chaminade—Automne, Autrefois, and Les Sylvains—that Hough says “show various sides of her musical personality, from her love of Baroque pastiche to her partiality for an irresistible romantic tune.” 
Event page with artists and program

December 6–17
CMS’s ANNUAL BAROQUE FESTIVAL

Friday December 6, 2024, 7:30 PM, ATH
BACH CONCERTOS
The opening program of this year’s Baroque Festival is dedicated to J.S. Bach’s concerto output, with works spotlighting solo oboe, violin, and keyboard in various combinations.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday December 8, 2024, 5:00 PM, ATH
Tuesday December 10, 2024, 7:30 PM, ATH
BAROQUE ORGAN
On December 8 and 10, Alice Tully Hall’s 4,200-pipe organ is the focus, with transcriptions of Bach by eight Baroque masters—Scarlatti, Walther, Biber, Bach, Daquin, Telemann, Handel, and Vivaldi—that each showcase the organ, performed by Paolo Bordignon, organist and choirmaster of St. Bartholomew’s Church on Park Avenue.
Event page with artists and program

Friday December 13, 2024, 7:30 PM, ATH
Sunday December 15, 2024, 5:00 PM, ATH
Tuesday December 17, 2024, 7:30 PM, ATH
ANNUAL PRESENTATION OF BACH’S BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS
Bach's Brandenburg Concertos stand at the pinnacle of Baroque music. CMS’s iconic holiday tradition of performing all six is not to be missed.
Event page with artists and program

* * *

Thursday January 23, 2025, 7:30 PM, RS
SONIC SPECTRUM II: NEW YORK PREMIERES BY JOEL THOMPSON AND PERRY GOLDSTEIN
New York Premieres of a new work by Joel Thompson for Mezzo-Soprano, Viola, and Piano, and Perry Goldstein’s Birding by Ear for Baritone, Violin, Cello, and Piano. Plus, works by Carlos Simon and Johannes Brahms.
Event page with artists and program

January 26 – February 4
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY II: MIDDLE PERIOD

Sunday January 26, 2025, 5:00 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY II: HAYDN, MOZART, AND BEETHOVEN
In the midst of his spectacularly successful career, Beethoven also faced a crisis of impending deafness, forcing him to decide between defeat and defiance. This concert features music by Haydn and Mozart, skillfully crafted at the height of their compositional achievements, complemented by a Beethoven piano trio.
Event page with artists and program

Tuesday January 28, 2025, 7:30 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY II: BEETHOVEN QUARTET CYCLE III
Calidore String Quartet
The three “Razumovsky” quartets, composed in 1806.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday February 2, 2025, 5:00 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY II: BRUCKNER’S STRING QUINTET
Anton Bruckner’s monumental String Quintet offers a rare opportunity to experience the talents of this composer, mostly known for his large symphonies, in a chamber music setting. Two instrumental sonatas by Beethoven—including the G-major Violin Sonata performed by Pinchas Zukerman—complete the program.
Event page with artists and program

Tuesday February 4, 2025, 7:30 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY II: BEETHOVEN QUARTET CYCLE IV
Calidore String Quartet
“Harp” and “Serioso” and Quartet in E-flat major, Opus 127
Event page with artists and program

* * *

Thursday May 1, 2025, 7:00 PM, ATH
Friday May 2, 2025, 7:30 PM, ATH
THE WADSWORTH LEGACY
Kathleen Battle, Frederica von Stade, Ben Bliss, Thomas Hampson
CMS honors the legacy of Founding Artistic Director Charles Wadsworth, who expanded awareness and appreciation for chamber music at Lincoln Center and beyond over his two-decade tenure. The program pays homage to the many facets of Wadsworth’s programmatic style, including his fondness for vocal music and French chamber music, through a selection of lieder by Robert Schumann and Saint-Saëns’s Septet in E-flat major for Trumpet, Two Violins, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, and Piano. An all-star vocal quartet of soprano Kathleen Battle, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, tenor Ben Bliss, and baritone Thomas Hampson joins CMS Co-Artistic Director and pianist Wu Han and pianist Ken Noda for Schumann’s Spanisches Liederspiel. Opening the program is Goldberg’s Trio Sonata for Two Violins and Continuo — the same work that opened CMS’s first-ever concert on September 11, 1969.
Event page with artists and program

May 6–18
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY III: LATE PERIOD

Tuesday May 6, 2025, 7:30 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY III: ELGAR’S QUINTET
The first concert in CMS’s exploration of the late period Beethoven’s career—an era of transcendent innovation that offered works of closure and glimpses into the future—features Elgar’s A-minor Quintet, composed later in his career, during a time of reflection just after World War I. Likewise, Brahms’s Third Violin Sonata has a sense of nostalgia, written toward the end of his compositional career. Beethoven’s fifth and final cello sonata is arguably his first “late-period” work.
Event page with artists and program

Friday May 9, 2025, 7:30 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY III: BEETHOVEN QUARTET CYCLE V
Two of Beethoven’s last quartets: the Quartet in A Major, Op. 132, and Quartet in B-flat major for Strings, Op. 130, with “Grosse Fuge,” Op. 133.
Event page with artists and program

Tuesday May 6, 2025, 7:30 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY III: MONTGOMERY, WIDMANN, AND TAN DUN
“Beethoven composed music near the end of his life that sounds contemporary,” says David Finckel. “People in his time barely understood it: they knew it was great because it was Beethoven, but scratched their heads nevertheless. His genius and vision are still unfathomable.” As a tribute to Beethoven’s uncanny connection to the music of our time, CMS offers works of bracing individuality written by five living composers from around the globe. Jessie Montgomery’s Duo for Violin and Cello; Evgeny Kissin’s Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello; Brett Dean’s Quartet No. 2 for Strings and Soprano “And once I played Ophelia”; Jörg Widmann’s String Quartet No. 8 “Study on Beethoven III”; and Tan Dun’s Concerto for String Quartet and Pipa, with soloist Wu Man.
Event page with artists and program

Sunday May 18, 2025, 5:00 PM, ATH
BEETHOVEN TRILOGY III: BEETHOVEN QUARTET CYCLE VI
The Calidore String Quartet brings the CMS season to a close with the conclusion of its season-long survey of Beethoven’s string quartets. On the program are the Quartet in C-Sharp minor, Op. 131, and Beethoven’s last major completed work, Quartet in F Major, Op. 135.  

DANISH STRING QUARTET
2024-2025 Season Highlights (North America)

“The Danes are among the most skilled and intelligent interpreters of late Schubert and Beethoven, affecting but not overly emotional, organic and sometimes shockingly daring, but unified in their vision... Thursday’s excellent performance of [Schubert’s Quintet] had the power to make you grateful for the existence of music. ”
—The New York Times

The Grammy-nominated Danish String Quartet continue to assert their preeminence among the world’s finest string quartets, with a palpable joy in music-making that has made them one of today’s most highly acclaimed and in-demand classical quartets. The Quartet’s inventive and intriguing programming and repertoire choices have produced critically acclaimed original projects and commissions as well as sophisticated arrangements of Scandinavian and Northern-European folk music. 

This season, the Danish String Quartet celebrate ten years of exploring Scandinavian folk music through their long-awaited third album of traditional tunes, Keel Road, to be released August 30, 2024, on ECM. The fourteen-track album—all arrangements and compositions by the Danish String Quartet—is a retracing of musical pathways across the North Sea, from Denmark and Norway to the Faroe Islands, England, and Ireland.  Two videos for advance singles have already been released:  Once a Shoemaker and Stormpolskan.

More about Keel Road
More about DSQ’s Exploration of Traditional Tunes

The Quartet embark on three tours across North America this season, with 24 tour stops around the US and Canada, featuring programs of classical repertoire—including performances of commissions by Thomas Adès as part of their DOPPELGÄNGER initiative—as well as original tunes and elegant arrangements of traditional tunes from their new ECM album, Keel Road. 

The Quartet also go into the studio this season to record their ambitious DOPPELGÄNGER project, a four-year international commissioning initiative pairing a new work with its Schubert quartet or quintet “doppelgänger.” The Quartet has performed these programs around the world and continue to tour DOPPELGÄNGER in the 2024–2025 season (dates noted below).

Fall Tour in North America, November 12-20, 2024

November 12, 2024 / Charlottesville, VA / Tuesday Evening Concert Series
HAYDN: Quartet in G minor, Op. 20/3
STRAVINSKY: Three Pieces for String Quartet
TURLOUGH O’CAROLAN: Three melodies
MOZART: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138
SCHUBERT: Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887

November 14, 2024 / Ithaca, NY / Cornell Concert Series
CAROLINE SHAW: Entr'acte
HAYDN: Quartet Op. 77/2: III, Andante
SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83
DANISH STRING QUARTET (ARR): Original Compositions and Traditional Tunes

November 15, 2024 / Pawling, NY / Pawling Concert Series
Program TBA

November 17, 2024 / Louisville, KY / Chamber Music Society of Louisville
HAYDN: Quartet in G minor, Op. 20/3
STRAVINSKY: Three Pieces for String Quartet
TURLOUGH O’CAROLAN: Three melodies
MOZART: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138
SCHUBERT: Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887

November 18, 2024 / Nashville, TN / Nashville Symphony Chamber Music Series
CAROLINE SHAW: Entr'acte
HAYDN: Quartet Op. 77/2: III, Andante
SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83
DANISH STRING QUARTET (ARR): Original Compositions and Traditional Tunes

November 19, 2024 / Chattanooga, TN / String Theory at the Hunter
CAROLINE SHAW: Entr'acte
SCHUBERT: Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887

November 20, 2024 / Washington, DC / Library of Congress Chamber Music Concert Series
HAYDN: Quartet in G minor, Op. 20/3
STRAVINSKY: Three Pieces for String Quartet
TURLOUGH O’CAROLAN: Three melodies
MOZART: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138
SCHUBERT: Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887

Winter Tour in North America, January 31 – February 6, 2025

January 31, 2025 / Santa Barbara, CA / UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures Series
SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73
MOZART: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138
STRAVINSKY: Three Pieces for String Quartet
TURLOUGH O’CAROLAN: Three melodies
DANISH STRING QUARTET (ARR): Original Compositions and Traditional Tunes

February 1, 2025 / Irvine, CA / Philharmonic Society of Orange County
Same as Jan 31

February 2, 2025 / Berkeley, CA / Cal Performances
CAROLINE SHAW: Entr'acte
HAYDN: Quartet Op. 77/2: III, Andante
STRAVINSKY: Three Pieces for String Quartet
TURLOUGH O’CAROLAN: Three melodies
SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartet No. 15 in E minor, Op. 144

February 3 & 4, 2025 / Portland, OR / Portland Friends of Chamber Music
Programs TBA

February 5, 2025 / Denver, CO / Friends of Chamber Music Denver
DANISH STRING QUARTET (ARR): Original Compositions and Traditional Tunes
Additional repertoire & venue TBA

February 6, 2025 / Denver, CO / Friends of Chamber Music Denver
SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartet No. 3 in F major, Op. 73
MOZART: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138
STRAVINSKY: Three Pieces for String Quartet
TURLOUGH O’CAROLAN: Three melodies

Spring Tour in North America, April 2–10, 2025

April 2, 2025 / Philadelphia, PA / Philadelphia Chamber Music Society (DOPPELGÄNGER)
SCHUBERT: Quartet in G Major, D. 887
SØRENSEN: Doppelgänger
SCHUBERT: Der Doppelgänger, D. 957 (Arr. DSQ)

April 4, 2025 / New York, NY / Carnegie Hall (DOPPELGÄNGER)
SCHUBERT: Quartet in G Major, D. 887
SØRENSEN: Doppelgänger New York Premiere
SCHUBERT: Der Doppelgänger, D. 957 (Arr. DSQ)

April 5, 2025 / Bridgehampton, NY / Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival
Program TBA

April 7, 2025 / Spartanburg, SC / Carlos Moseley Chamber Music Series at Converse University
Program TBA

April 8, 2025 / Camden, SC / Arts Center of Kershaw County
Program TBA

April 9 & 10, 2025 / Savannah, GA / Savannah Music Festival
Program TBA

Selected Press Quotes

“The inimitable Danish Quartet was joined by Finnish cellist Johannes Rostamo for a night of exquisite music-making at Carnegie Hall. The opening Allegro of Schubert’s magnificent C major String Quintet was mesmerising from the first chord – its energy, bow speed and vibrato all immaculately matched among the players. This movement was a study in unhurried elegance – every note, every phrase given with care and attention. The start to the Adagio was bravely quiet, while the F minor middle section was appropriately formidable. Joy and humour characterised the Scherzo, which was followed by a stately Trio. In the finale, delicate arpeggios contrasted with moments of rusticity to magical effect.”
—The Strad

“What made this performance [of Schubert’s Quintet] particularly special was how the musicians brought out the extreme, almost feral, emotional and musical contrasts.…They were always alive to the rhythmic variety and vitality of the quintet and phrased with astonishing refinement and unanimity.”
—San Francisco Classical Voice

“When it comes to the simple idea of a classical string quartet performing folk tunes, the Danish musicians have exceeded all expectations.”
—NPR Music

“The Danish are remarkable, as ever – capable of intense blend, extreme dynamic variation (in which they seem glued together), perfect intonation even on harmonics, and constant vitality and flow.”
—Gramophone

“But nothing could have truly prepared me for the tornado of energy that the quartet unleashed with its performance of Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14, ‘Death and the Maiden.’… So what is it about them that prompts such acclaim? …For my part, I’ve got to give it to two things: their commitment to connecting and contextualizing music from all areas of the concert music tradition and beyond, and the unbridled joy they take in playing with one another.”
—The Boston Globe

“The group’s respect and appreciation for the music [Schubert’s Quintet] was palpable and their clear connection and friendship kept the audience thoroughly engaged… The interpretation…was a masterful demonstration of five musical voices.”
—Capital Current, Ottawa

ZLATOMIR FUNG
2024-2025 Season Highlights

“Local audiences were left slack-jawed by his artistry…His intonation was impeccable, his tone warmly expressive, his feeling for long-breathed phrases altogether sensitive...Mark well the name Zlatomir Fung. You will be hearing a good deal from this already-accomplished cellist in the years to come.”
John von Rhein, Chicago Classical Review

“What stood out for me was Fung’s careful attention to dynamics…with a beautifully sustained high line, yet also exploiting the full range of his instrument with dazzling leaps of virtuosity…”
Alexander Hall, Bachtrack

Cellist Zlatomir Fung burst onto the scene as the first American in four decades (and youngest musician ever) to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division. He has since garnered accolades, critical acclaim and standing ovations at performances around the world, more and more widely recognized as one of the preeminent cellists of our time. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, the 25-year-old has already proven himself a star among the next generation of world-class musicians.

In March 2025, Signum Records releases Fung’s debut album, a collection of opera fantasies and transcriptions for cello and piano, which is emblematic of Fung’s endless curiosity and his interest in unusual repertoire. The recording includes Fung’s own fantasy on Janáček’s Jenůfa and world premiere recordings of Marshall Estrin’s Fantasia Carmén and a virtually unknown transcription of Rossini’s William Tell by 19th-century composer François-George Hainl. Several recitals this season offer selections from the recording.

In the 2024–2025 season, Fung gives recitals in New York City, Boston, and St. Louis, and performs the complete Bach Cello Suites at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts and in Arcata, California. He returns to the Aspen Music Festival and makes his debut at the Ravinia Festival. As concerto soloist, he joins the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the San Antonio Philharmonic and the Billings Symphony Orchestra, among others. Internationally, he performs with the Barcelona Symphony in Spain, the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan with Jaap van Zweden conducting, and he returns to the London Philharmonic Orchestra; he also appears in France, Poland, Romania, Korea, Japan, China, and Italy. 

Fung served as Artist-in-Residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2023–2024 season, appearing at London’s Cadogan Hall and touring the UK with the orchestra. In the past several seasons, Fung has debuted with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, and BBC Philharmonic, as well as the Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Seattle, Milwaukee, Utah, Rochester, and Kansas City Symphonies. In addition to demonstrating a mastery of the canon with his impeccable technique, Fung brings exceptional insight into the depths of contemporary repertoire, championing composers such as Unsuk Chin, Katherine Balch, and Anna Clyne. The Nippon Music Foundation just named Fung as a recipient of its Instrument Loan Project, which provides fine instruments to notable artists under the age of 35.

Season Highlights – North American and U.K. Concerts

Sep 21, 2024 / Billings, MT / Billings Symphony, Anne Harrigan, Conductor
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme

Sep 25, 2024 / New York, NY / Peggy Rockefeller Series at The Rockefeller University / with pianist Dina Vainshtein
BACH Cello Suite No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012
DEBUSSY Cello Sonata
WAGNER Walther's Prize Song from Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (arr for cello and piano)   
RODION SHCHEDRIN “Quadrille” from the opera “Not Love Alone”
MARSHALL ESTRIN Fantasia Carmen (2022)

Sep 29, 2024 / Arcata, CA / Cal Poly Humboldt / Solo Recital
BACH Complete Cello Suites

Oct 20, 2024 / St. Louis, MO / Washington University in St. Louis
Chamber Music with pianist Juho Pohjonen and violinist Erin Schreiber
PROKOFIEV, CHRISTOPHER STARK, DEBUSSY, FAZIL SAY 

Oct 26, 2024 / Worcester, MA / Music Worcester at Mechanics Hall / Solo Recital
BACH Complete Cello Suites

Nov 3, 2024 / Vancouver, BC / Vancouver Recital Society / BRAHMS FEST
BRAHMS Chamber Music Selections

November 22, 2024 / Providence, RI / Brown University / with pianist Benjamin Hochman
ERIC NATHAN Missing Words III for Cello and Piano

November 23, 2024 / Providence, RI / Brown University Orchestra, Eric Nathan, conductor
ANNA CLYNE DANCE! for Cello and Orchestra (featuring Zlatomir Fung, cello soloist)

Nov 29–30, 2024 / London, UK / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Tianyi Lu, Conductor
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme

Feb 15, 2025 / Greensburg, PA / Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Meyer, Conductor
DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto

Apr 10 & 12, 2025 / Rochester, NY / Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Andreas Delfs, Conductor
DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto

Apr 16, 2025 / Cambridge, MA / Celebrity Series of Boston
Apr 17, 2025 / Groton, MA / Celebrity Series of Boston
BRAHMS Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 (arr. for cello and piano) 
JUSTIN DELLO JOIO Due Per Due for cello and piano
BERNARD HERRMANN “Scène D'amour” from Vertigo (arr. by Zlatomir Fung)
TCHAIKOVSKY “Lensky's Aria” from Eugene Onegin (arr. by Mikhail Bukinik) 
MARSHALL ESTRIN Fantasia Carmen (2022)

May 2–3, 2025 / San Antonio, TX / San Antonio Philharmonic, Jeffrey Kahane, Conductor
BRAHMS Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, with violinist Elena Urioste

MIDORI
2024-2025 Season Highlights

Midori, a Kennedy Center Honoree and United Nations Messenger for Peace, is one of the most outstanding violinists of our time. This season, she appears in recital and as a soloist with leading orchestras in the U.S. and in concerts around the world. 

Midori’s new recital program, performed with pianist Özgür Aydin, is a musical reflection on suffering and loss, inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca’s poem “Casida of the Lament.”  On the program is the world premiere of Spirituals, written for Midori by the young New York-based violinist and composer Che Buford. Also on the program are sonatas by Brahms and Poulenc, and Ravel’s Kaddish and Tzigane. She brings the recital to the Edinburgh Festival this summer, and in March 2025 to Celebrity Series of Boston, the 92nd Street Y, New York, San Francisco Performances, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Colburn Celebrity Recital series.

This summer, Midori joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Tanglewood for Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, performing Dvořák’s Violin Concerto on an all-Dvořák program. She also appears this summer at the Aspen Music Festival, and later in the season with Louisville Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and Oklahoma City Philharmonic, among others. 

In addition to her U.S. appearances, Midori joins the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic under Andris Nelsons in Vienna and on tour in Asia; in February, she joins the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Jonathan Nott on a tour of Spain. And in the spring, she makes two appearances at Berlin Philharmonic Hall, with the German National Youth Orchestra in May and with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) in June. 

Midori also stepped into her new role as Artistic Director of the prestigious Ravinia Steans Music Institute’s Piano & Strings program at the Ravinia Festival this summer. 

In addition to her performances and teaching, Midori is deeply committed to furthering humanitarian and educational goals. Midori continues to be involved in the nonprofit organizations she founded; the New York City-based Midori & Friends and Japan-based MUSIC SHARING have both been active for over three decades. With the Orchestra Residencies Program (ORP), which supports youth orchestras, Midori visits a different youth orchestra each season; this season, she is working on creating a video recording of Derek Bermel’s Spring Cadenzas (which she commissioned), with an accompanying tutorial. Midori’s Partners in Performance (PiP) helps to bring chamber music to smaller communities in the U.S. 

SUMMER 2024 IN THE US
August 16, 2024 / Lenox, MA
Tanglewood / Boston Symphony Orchestra, Samy Rachid, Conductor / Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1
August 20, 2024 / Los Angeles, CA
Hollywood Bowl / Los Angeles Philharmonic, with conductor Christian Reif / Dvořák Violin Concerto

VIENNA PHILHARMONIC WITH ANDRIS NELSONS
Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1
October 18–20, 2024 / Vienna, Austria 
October 23, 2024 / Seoul, South Korea
November 9, 2024 / Osaka, Japan
November 12, 2024 / Tokyo, Japan

WINTER 2025 IN THE US
January 17–18, 2025 / Louisville, KY / Louisville Orchestra / Sibelius Violin Concerto
January 23, 25, 26, 2025 / Seattle, WA / Seattle Symphony, with conductor Anja Bihlmaier / Brahms Violin Concerto
February 1, 2025 / Albuquerque, NM / New Mexico Philharmonic, with conductor Ricardo Minczuk / Mendelssohn Violin Concerto

ORCHESTRE DE LA SUISSE ROMANDE WITH JONATHAN NOTT
Geneva, Switzerland and Tour in Spain
Sibelius Violin Concerto
February 5–6, 2025 / Geneva, Switzerland
February 11, 2025 / Madrid, Spain
February 12, 2025 / Zaragoza, Spain
February 13, 2025 / Barcelona, Spain / Palau de la Música Catalana
February 15, 2025 / Tenerife / Canary Islands International Music Festival 
February 16, 2025 / Gran Canaria / Canary Islands International Music Festival 

US RECITALS
Featuring Premiere of Che Buford’s “Spirituals”
March 5, 2025 / Oberlin, OH / Oberlin Conservatory
March 6, 2025 / Groton, MA / Celebrity Series of Boston
March 7, 2025 / Boston, MA / Celebrity Series of Boston
March 9, 2025 / New York, NY / 92nd Street Y, New York
March 11, 2025 / San Francisco, CA / San Francisco Performances
March 13, 2025 / Los Angeles, CA / LA Philharmonic Colburn Celebrity Recital

NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF GERMANY TOUR
April 25, 2025 / Cologne, Germany
April 26, 2025 / Ludwigshafen, Germany
April 30, 2025 / Berlin, Germany

NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY
2024-2025 Season Highlights

This season, the New Jersey Symphony and Music Director Xian Zhang introduce compelling new works alongside classical masterworks, present world-class guest artists, and initiate important artistic conversations through partnerships with composers and other local institutions.

The season-opening gala features legendary soprano Renée Fleming on a program inspired by her 2023 Grammy-winning album, Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene, with accompanying film images from National Geographic. The Symphony’s commitment to living composers continues this season with the world premiere of a new work by double bassist Xavier Foley, commissioned by the Symphony; Foley himself is soloist on that work as well as his earlier work Soul Bass. Also this season is Can You See? by the New Jersey Symphony’s new Resident Artistic Partner Allison Loggins-Hull, and works by Gabriela Ortiz, Caroline Shaw, Donghoon Shin, Qasim Naqvi, Billy Childs, Daniel Freiberg, and Arturo Márquez. Throughout the season, the Symphony partners with other New Jersey-based artists and institutions including Grammy-winning clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera and Nimbus Dance.

Reflecting on the upcoming season, Zhang says, “This season’s repertoire will bring audiences to faraway lands and familiar places, all from the comfort and splendor of the concert hall. I invite our patrons to take a musical journey with us, and together we’ll revel in the artistic ambition of New Jersey Symphony.”

Season Announcement Press Release

Season Highlights

Concert Locations
Newark: New Jersey Performing Arts Center
Red Bank: Count Basie Center for the Arts
Morristown: Mayo Performing Arts Center
Princeton: Richardson Auditorium
New Brunswick: State Theatre New Jersey

Sun, Oct 6, 3 pm (Newark)
OPENING GALA & CONCERT: VOICES OF NATURE: THE ANTHROPOCENE WITH RENÉE FLEMING
Xian Zhang, Conductor | Renée Fleming, Soprano
The breathtaking start to the 2024–2025 season features international superstar Renée Fleming, in a program inspired by her 2023 Grammy Award-winning album, Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene. This special performance, accompanied by stunning visuals from the National Geographic Society, spans Classical, Romantic and contemporary music, exploring nature as both inspiration and victim of humanity.
Link to Event

Fri, Nov 1, 8 pm (Princeton)
Sat, Nov 2, 8 pm (Red Bank)
Sun, Nov 3, 3pm (Newark)
OPENING WEEKEND: XIAN ZHANG CONDUCTS RIMSKY-KORSAKOV AND GABRIELA ORTIZ
Xian Zhang, Conductor | Inon Barnatan, Piano
GABRIELA ORTIZ Kauyumari
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 17
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade
Link to Event

Thu, Nov 7, 1:30 pm (Newark)
Fri, Nov 8, 8 pm (Newark)
Sun, Nov 10, 3 pm (Morristown)
PAQUITO D’RIVERA WITH NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY
Part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival
Carlos Miguel Prieto, Conductor | Paquito D’Rivera, Guest Artist & Co-Curator |
Paquito D’Rivera Quintet | Amber Monroe, Soprano
Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera—a New Jersey resident—and his Quintet join the Symphony for a program of Latin Jazz, Gershwin and Mexican favorites. The concert is presented in partnership with the TD James Moody Jazz Festival at New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
DANIEL FREIBERG Latin American Chronicles
MOZART/PAQUITO D’RIVERA Adagio on a Mozart Theme
GEORGE GERSHWIN/PAQUITO D’RIVERA Medley for Jazz Quintet and Orchestra
CARLOS CHÁVEZ Symphony No. 2, “Sinfonía India”
ARTURO MÁRQUEZ Danzón No. 2
JOSÉ PABLO MONCAYO Huapango
Link to Event

Thu, Jan 9, 1:30 pm (Newark)
Fri, Jan 10, 8 pm (Princeton)
Sat, Jan 11, 8 pm (Newark)
Sun, Jan 12, 3 pm (New Brunswick
DONGHOON SHIN’S OF RATS AND MEN, AND RAVEL’S PIANO CONCERTO IN G WITH JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET
Kevin John Edusei, Conductor | Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Piano
DONGHOON SHIN Of Rats and Men
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2
Link to Event

Sat, Jan 25, 7:30 pm (Newark)
XIAN ZHANG CONDUCTS: 2025 LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION CONCERT
Xian Zhang, Conductor | Min Kwon, Piano | Peking University Alumni Chorus |
Starry Arts Children’s Chorus (Rebecca Shin, Director)
Join the NJ Symphony for this evening of community and cultural exchange that is wonderful for families and children, celebrating the Year of the Snake.
Link to Event

Thu, Jan 30, 7:30 pm (New Brunswick)
Fri, Jan 31, 8 pm (Newark)
Sat, Feb 1, 8 pm (Newark)
Sun, Feb 2, 3 pm (Morristown)
XIAN ZHANG CONDUCTS: HOLST AND CAROLINE SHAW
Xian Zhang, Conductor | Nancy Zhou, Violin | Montclair State University Prima Voce
(Heather J. Buchanan, Director)
CAROLINE SHAW The Observatory
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending
HOLST The Planets — An HD Odyssey
Link to Event

Thu, Feb 20, 1:30 pm (Newark)
Sat, Feb 22, 8 pm (Red Bank)
Sun, Feb 23, 3 pm (New Brunswick)
BRAHMS, CHOPIN, AND NEW JERSEY SYMPHONY RESIDENT ARTISTIC PARTNER ALLISON LOGGINS-HULL
Christoph König, Conductor | Tony Siqi Yun, Piano
ALLISON LOGGINS HULL Can You See?
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 1
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1
Link to Event

Fri, Mar 7, 8 pm (Newark)
Sat, Mar 8, 8 pm (Red Bank)
Sun, Mar 9, 3 pm (Newark)
XIAN ZHANG CONDUCTS: STRAVINSKY, CAROLINE SHAW, AND QASIM NAQVI
Xian Zhang, Conductor | Jonathan Spitz, Cello | Nimbus Dance (Samuel Pott, Artistic
Director & Choreographer)
J.S. BACH Prelude from Cello Suite No. 2
CAROLINE SHAW Valencia
QASIM NAQVI God Docks at Death Harbor (Piano Quintet Version)
STRAVINSKY Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss
STRAVINSKY Suite from The Firebird
Link to Event

Thu, Mar 13, 1:30 pm (Newark)
Fri, Mar 14, 8 pm (Princeton)
Sat, Mar 15, 8 pm (Newark)
Sun, Mar 16, 3 pm (Morristown)
XIAN ZHANG CONDUCTS: XAVIER FOLEY AND RACHMANINOFF
Xian Zhang, Conductor | Xavier Foley, Double Bass
DEBUSSY Claire de Lune
XAVIER FOLEY Soul Bass for Double Bass and Orchestra
XAVIER FOLEY New Work for Double Bass and Orchestra (World Premiere, New Jersey
Symphony Commission)
RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2
Link to Event

Thu, Mar 20, 7:30 pm (New Brunswick)
Sat, Mar 22, 8 pm (Red Bank)
Sun, Mar 23, 3 pm (Newark)
SCHUMANN, BRAHMS, AND GABRIELA ORTIZ’S CLARA
Lina González-Granados, Conductor | Vadim Gluzman, Violin
R. SCHUMANN Overture, Scherzo, and Finale
GABRIELA ORTIZ Clara
BRAHMS Violin Concerto
Link to Event

Thu, Apr 3, 1:30 pm (Newark)
Fri, Apr 4, 8 pm (Newark)
Sat, Apr 5, 8 pm (Newark)
Sun, Apr 6, 3 pm (New Brunswick)
XIAN ZHANG CONDUCTS: BEETHOVEN’S NINTH SYMPHONY AND BILLY CHILDS’S DIASPORA
Xian Zhang, Conductor | Steven Banks, Saxophone | Felicia Moore, Soprano | Kelley O’Connor, Mezzo-Soprano | Issachah Savage, Tenor | Reginald Smith Jr., Baritone |
Montclair State University Chorale (Heather J. Buchanan, Director)
TCHAIKOVSKY Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
BILLY CHILDS Diaspora
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9, “Choral”
Link to Event

Thu, Jun 5, 7:30 pm (Morristown)
Fri, Jun 6, 8 pm (Princeton)
Sat, Jun 7, 8 pm (Red Bank)
Sun, Jun 8, 3 pm (Newark)
XIAN ZHANG CONDUCTS: SEASON FINALE CONCERT WITH CONRAD TAO
Xian Zhang, Conductor | Conrad Tao, Piano
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
Link to Event

KELLEY O'CONNOR
2024-2025 Season Highlights

Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor is one of the most compelling vocal artists of her generation, known for a commanding intensity on stage, a velvet vocal tone, and the ability to create sheer magic in her interpretations. 

A performer sought after by many of today’s leading composers, this season Kelley O’Connor premieres a newly extended version of Thomas Adès’s America (A Prophecy) in her debut with the Gewandhaus Orchester under Andris Nelsons; she also performs the new work, conducted by the composer, with The Cleveland Orchestra and The Hallé (in Manchester, UK). Originally composed in 1999 and described by The Guardian as a “searing work of visionary power,” this expanded version of America (A Prophecy) provides a virtuosic showcase for O’Connor. 

Other highlights of the season include Verdi’s Requiem with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and appearances with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and New Jersey Symphony. She also gives a recital at Chamber Music Detroit with Robert Spano, which will be recorded for future release; the program features Spano’s Sonnets to Orpheus alongside works by Debussy, Crumb, and Grieg. 

O’Connor makes her debut this season with the Seattle Opera, as Anna in a concert version of Berlioz’s Les Troyens.

Season Highlights

Oct 18-20, 2024
Denver, CO / Colorado Symphony Orchestra / Alexander Shelley, conductor
VERDI Messa da Requiem

Nov 9–10, 2024
St. Louis, MO / St. Louis Symphony Orchestra / Stéphane Denève, conductor
MOZART Requiem, K. 626

Nov 14, 2024
Napa, CA / Chamber Music in Napa Valley with the Prazak Quartet
DVOŘÁK Cypresses

Nov 16, 2024
Detroit, MI / Chamber Music Detroit with Robert Spano
DEBUSSY Chanson de Bilitis
SPANO Sonnets to Orpheus
CRUMB Three Early Songs
GRIEG Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), Op. 67

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European Performances

Dec 19–20, 2024
Leipzig, Germany / Gewandhaus Orchester / Andris Nelsons, conductor
ADÈS America (A Prophecy) (Premiere of Expanded Version)

Dec 31, 2024
Baden-Baden, Germany / Philharmonie Baden-Baden / Daniel Hope & Friends
New Year’s Concert

====================================

Jan 17 & 19, 2025
Seattle, WA / Seattle Opera / Ludovic Morlot, conductor
BERLIOZ Les Troyens in Concert

Feb 20 & 22, 2025
Cleveland, OH / The Cleveland Orchestra / Thomas Adès, conductor
ADÈS America (A Prophecy) (US Premiere of Expanded Version)

Mar 22, 2025
Charleston, WV / West Virginia Symphony / Maurice Cohn, conductor
BIZET Carmen in Concert

====================================

Mar 27, 2025
Manchester, UK / The Hallé / Thomas Adès, conductor
ADÈS America (A Prophecy) (Expanded Version)

====================================

Apr 3–6, 2025
Newark, NJ / New Jersey Symphony / Xian Zhang, conductor
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9

May 23–25, 2025
Nashville, TN / Nashville Symphony / Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand”

ROBERT SPANO
2024-2025 Season Highlights

"As the cacophonies piled up and the rhythms came apart and the whole thing got really loud—with percussionist Tom Sherwood whacking the life out of the big bass drum, which was positioned high and in back, like a sacrificial altar—Spano's concept turned from modesty to savage brilliance."
— Atlanta Journal Constitution

Robert Spano—conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher—is known worldwide for the intensity of his artistry and distinctive communicative abilities, creating a sense of inclusion and warmth among musicians and audiences that is unique among American orchestras. 

Spano has been Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra since August 2022, and was recently appointed Music Director of the Washington National Opera (beginning in 2025–2026). An avid mentor to rising artists, he is responsible for nurturing the careers of numerous celebrated composers, conductors, and performers. He is Music Director of the Aspen Music Festival and School and directs the Aspen Conducting Academy, which offers participants unparalleled training and valuable podium experience. After 20 seasons as Music Director with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, he now serves as Music Director Laureate. He was appointed Principal Conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School in 2024, and will transition to Principal Guest Conductor in 2025-2026 following the appointment of their new Music Director. 

Spano’s busy 2024–2025 season includes appearances with the many institutions at which he serves as Music Director, Music Director Designate, or Principal Conductor. Throughout the season, he conducts cornerstones of the classical repertoire and new works by living American composers.

This season, Spano leads six concerts at the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, including the world premiere of “Earth 2.0” by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Anita Amirrezvani. As WNO’s Music Director Designate, Spano leads the company’s new production of Beethoven’s Fidelio, directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. He also conducts WNO’s one-night-only event “Gods and Mortals: A Celebration of Wagner.”

As Principal Conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, he leads an evening of music by Beethoven, Jennifer Higdon and Shostakovich in January; two concerts in May: Brahms’s Requiem, with the extraordinary singers soprano Jessica Rivera and tenor Will Liverman, and a free concert for Philharmonic subscribers with the incomparable Yo-Yo Ma; and a side-by-side performance with students from the RI Philharmonic Music School. He also returns to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, where he now serves as Music Director Laureate, for two successive weeks in March. 

Spano will be at the piano in a recital at Chamber Music Detroit with mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor that features his own Sonnets to Orpheus alongside works by Debussy, Crumb, and Grieg; the concert will be recorded for future release. 

Season Highlights

Sep 6–8, 2024 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / OPENING WEEKEND
James Ehnes, Violin
BERLIOZ Roman Carnival Overture
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D minor
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Pathétique

Oct 11–13, 2024 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Allan Steele, Cello
DEBUSSY Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
SCHUMANN Cello Concerto in A minor
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

Oct 25 – Nov 4, 2024 / WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA / OPENING WEEKEND: FIDELIO 
Spano makes his first appearance as Music Director Designate with a new production of Beethoven’s Fidelio that marks the first WNO collaboration between Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and Spano. 

Oct 26, 2024 / WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA / GODS & MORTALS: A CELEBRATION OF WAGNER
Christine Goerke, Soprano | Brandon Jovanovich, Tenor | Derek Welton, Bass-Baritone | Solomon Howard, Bass
This one-night-only celebration of Wagner features video projections and staged selections from the vast repertoire of Wagner, including Tannhäuser, the Ring Cycle, The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, Parsifal, and more [opera repertoire subject to change]. 

Nov 16, 2024 / CHAMBER MUSIC DETROIT
Kelley O’Connor, Mezzo-Soprano | Robert Spano, Piano
DEBUSSY Chanson de Bilitis
SPANO Sonnets to Orpheus
CRUMB Three Early Songs
GRIEG Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid), Op. 67

Dec 6–8, 2024 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / WORLD PREMIERE BY JAKE HEGGIE
The FWSO gives the world premiere performance of American composer Jake Heggie’s and librettist Anita Amirrezvani’s, Earth 2.0, which explores ecology and the environment through music, featuring star countertenor Key’mon Murrah with dancers from New York-based dance troupe Urban Bush Women. 
HEGGIE Earth 2.0 (World Premiere)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Eroica

Jan 10 & 11, 2025 / JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY
Marcus Roberts, Piano
Jacksonville native Marcus Roberts, widely known as one of today’s eminent jazz pianists, joins the orchestra with his trio for Gershwin's Concerto in F.  Carlos Simon’s Motherboxx Connection, which tells the inspiring stories of African American heroes, opens the concert, and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony brings the evening to a dramatic conclusion. 
SIMON Motherboxx Connection
GERSHWIN Concerto in F
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5

Jan 18, 2025 / RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC
SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture (side-by-side performance with students from the RI Philharmonic School of Music)
HIGDON All Things Majestic
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Eroica

Jan 31 – Feb 2, 2025 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
glo Dancers, Lauri Stallings, Choreographer/Director
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade
STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring with glo Dancers

Feb 7–9, 2025
COLORADO SYMPHONY
Stephen Hough, Piano
RAVEL Mother Goose Suite
GRIEG Piano Concerto in A minor
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor

Feb 23, 2025
FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT
Robert Spano, Piano
SCHOENBERG Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4
BRAHMS Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25

March 1, 2025 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / GALA CONCERT
Joyce DiDonato, Mezzo-Soprano
Repertoire TBA.

March 14–16, 2025 / FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
MAHLER Symphony No. 9

March 20 & 22, 2025 / ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Elisabeth Remy Johnson, Harp
In between Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Vaughan Williams' Fifth Symphony, the Orchestra’s Principal Harpist, Elisabeth Remy Johnson, performs the Grammy-winning Harp Concerto by Atlanta School composer Jennifer Higdon.
COPLAND Appalachian Spring Suite
JENNIFER HIGDON Harp Concerto
VAUGHN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 5

March 27 & 29, 2025
ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Jae Hong Park, Piano (Winner of the 2021 Busoni International Piano Competition)
SIBELIUS Tapiola
SCRIABIN Piano Concerto
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade

Apr 11–13, 2025
FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: CLOSING WEEKEND
Greer Grimsley, Bass-Baritone | Heidi Melton, Soprano | Kyle Van Schoonhoven, Tenor | Raymond Aceto, Bass | Luretta Bybee, Mezzo-Soprano | Bille Bruley, Tenor
An all-star vocal cast and chorus bring this spectral story to life in a special semi-staged production.
WAGNER The Flying Dutchman

May 4, 2025
FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA / Chamber Music Concert
Robert Spano and Pedja Mužijevic, Piano
BARBER Summer Music
LIGETI Sonatina for Piano Four-Hands
LIGETI Allegro for Piano Four-Hands
LIGETI Induló
LIGETI Három lakodaimi tànc
BEACH Summer Dreams
DEBUSSY En blanc et noir
MENDELSSOHN Octet in E-flat Major

May 10, 2025
RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC
Jessica Rivera, Soprano | Will Liverman, Baritone | Providence Singers, Christine Noel, Artistic Director
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915
BRAHMS A German Requiem

May 17, 2025
FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Stas Chernyshev, FWSO Principal Clarinetist
MOZART Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, KV492
MOZART Clarinet Concerto in A Major, KV622
MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, KV543

MICHAEL STERN
2024-2025 Season Highlights

Conductor Michael Stern is known for building and leading orchestras that equally prioritize impeccable musicianship, creative programming, and service to their communities, and for his work shaping the next generation of orchestra musicians. Stern is Music Director of Orchestra Lumos (formerly the Stamford Symphony) and the National Repertory Orchestra (NRO). This season, he makes guest appearances with the Jacksonville Symphony, Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra.

Orchestra Lumos’s 2024-2025 season, “Our Shared Journey,” explores music that connects our common humanity to the world around us. Michael Stern takes up this theme in four programs that include music by Beethoven, Sibelius, and Tchaikovsky alongside works by George Walker and Carlos Simon, as well as Gabriel Kahane’s piano concerto for his father, Jeffrey Kahane (a work that Stern led in its world premiere with the Kansas City Symphony in 2021). Cellist and Stern’s longtime friend Yo-Yo Ma joins Orchestra Lumos for its season finale, performing Dvořák’s Silent Woods and Haydn’s first Cello Concerto.

Summer 2024 is Michael Stern’s fourth season as Music Director of the NRO, which for 60+ years has provided an intensive fellowship program for aspiring young musicians who have gone on to populate every major orchestra across the United States.

In June, 2024, Michael Stern concluded his 19-year tenure as Music Director of the Kansas City Symphony in a concert streamed live on medici.tv (available worldwide with a free registration until September 21, 2024). On the program were three masterworks that are part of the fabric of Stern’s long connection with the Kansas City Symphony musicians: Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Barber’s First Symphony, and Sibelius’ Second Symphony.

Stern continues to serve as Artistic Advisor to the recently reimagined Iris Collective, which he founded and where he served as Artistic Director for over two decades when it was the Iris Orchestra.

Season Highlights

October 5, 6, 2024
ORCHESTRA LUMOS: ORPHEUS SINGS
Anwen Dang, Piano | André De Shields, Host
This season Orchestra Lumos explores music that connects our common humanity to the world around us through the Myth of Orpheus. Every work on this program was inspired by Orpheus in the Underworld: glorious music by Franz Liszt, George Walker, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Jacques Offenbach, and Ludwig van Beethoven.
More information at Orchestra Lumos 

November 9, 10, 2024
ORCHESTRA LUMOS: SHAKESPEARE ON LOVE
Michael Gill and Jayne Atkinson, Hosts
Shakespeare’s love stories have inspired many composers. Lumos presents stunning music from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet by multiple composers, including Felix Mendelssohn, Hector Berlioz and Tchaikovsky.
More information at Orchestra Lumos 

November 15-17, 2024
MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: MOMENTUM
Garrick Ohlsson, Piano
The program opens with the work of a composer Stern has long championed, Jonathan Leshnoff; his Rush for Orchestra is a driving and exciting work that builds a tremendous amount of energy throughout. Garrick Ohlsson is the soloist in Grieg’s Piano Concerto, infused with the spirit of his Norwegian homeland. Shostakovich’s powerful Symphony No. 5, which he humbly described as “the practical answer of a Soviet artist to justified criticism” in a subtle and bitter reaction to the Russia of Joseph Stalin, brings this concert to a close.
More information at Madison Symphony Orchestra

January 31-February 1, 2025
JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY: BEETHOVEN & RACHMANINOFF
Beethoven's Seventh Symphony is paired with Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, presenting a dynamic fusion of Russian and American influences, and Connesson's Flame Writing, which captures French classical music with its energetic and colorful character.
More information at Jacksonville Symphony

February 22, 23, 2025
ORCHESTRA LUMOS: MUSIC OF MEMORY AND RECONCILIATION
Gabriel Kahane, Host and Singer
Jeffrey Kahane, Piano
Celebrated singer/songwriter Gabriel Kahane joins as host, and sings with Orchestra Lumos in songs of his family’s flight from Europe to America during World War II. Their family salvation inspired Kahane to write a piano concerto for his father, the renowned pianist Jeffrey Kahane. This emotional concept unfolds with Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 2, and music by American composer Carlos Simon inspired by the exodus of Black American families from the South to the North during what is known as the Great Migration.
More information at Orchestra Lumos

March 28, 2025
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE
Hector Berlioz wrote semi-autobiographical program notes for this piece that allude to the romantic sufferings of a gifted artist who has poisoned himself with opium because of his unrequited love for a beautiful and fascinating woman. The artist’s reveries take him to a ball and to a pastoral scene in a field, which is interrupted by a hallucinatory march to the scaffold, leading to a fantastic dance.
More information at University of Georgia PAC

May 24, 25, 2025
ORCHESTRA LUMOS: OUR COMMON WORLD, FEAT. YO-YO MA
Yo-Yo Ma, Cello
In the final concert of the season, Yo-Yo Ma will join Orchestra Lumos in Franz Josef Haydn’s Cello Concerto No.1, a miracle of the Classical style’s essence to balance nature in the world around us and human nature. He will also play Antonín Dvořák’s Silent Woods, Dvořák’s farewell to his homeland in the old country as he embarked on his momentous trip to New York City and the New World.
More information at Orchestra Lumos