Bard Music Festival — Program 11

“Leon Botstein, the conductor and tireless champion of overlooked works, considers Julietta an operatic masterpiece that at least deserves a place in the repertory…He has done his part by bringing a worthy and original opera to attention.” —The New York Times PROGRAM ELEVEN: The Opera of Dreams: Martinů’s Julietta Many consider Martinů’s eighth opera to be his finest…

Read More

Bard Music Festival — Program 9

PROGRAM NINE: The Epic Power of Tradition This program comprises choral and orchestral music by Martinů and perhaps his finest student, Moravia’s Jan Novák. Set to his own Latin text, Novák’s moving cantata Ignis pro Ioanne Palach commemorates a desperate young activist who immolated himself to protest the end of the Prague Spring. As a former professional…

Read More

Dalibor at Bard SummerScape

Experience the gripping drama of Bedřich Smetana’s Dalibor, a powerful Czech opera that weaves themes of revenge, love, and fate. Set against a backdrop of medieval intrigue, Dalibor follows its titular tragic hero as he faces a desperate struggle for redemption. With sweeping orchestral music and unforgettable arias, Dalibor captivates with its emotional depth and stirring melodies. Director Jean-Romain Vesperini…

Read More

Strauss’s Guntram

Completed in 1893, Richard Strauss’s very first opera is rarely performed today. The ASO’s presentation marks its first performance in New York City in this century. A riveting story of love, guilt and renunciation, Guntram reveals a young Strauss positioning himself as the successor to Wagner. In his very first opera, Strauss’s mastery of orchestral…

Read More

Chamber Ensemble at Bryant Park Upper Terrace

Following a 2023 commission for the ASO’s Chamber Series, percussionist-composer Javier Diaz curates “Contrapunto Musical”: Musical Counterpoint between Cuba and the United States, a selection of chamber music programs that highlight the rich musical history of Cuba and its influence on American concert music and culture, from the turn of the twentieth century through today.…

Read More

The Music of Louis Armstrong (Jazz Ensemble) at Bryant Park Upper Terrace

ASO’s jazz ensemble has performed numerous concerts dedicated to the great jazz composers of both the past and present, including Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Chick Corea, Count Basie, Charles Mingus, and many others. The ensemble’s next program will honor jazz trumpet virtuoso, and innovator, Louis Armstrong. The legendary artist was also composer of more than…

Read More

Tapping into the Twenties

The ASO’s first concert at the new David Geffen Hall focuses on music of composers who came of age in the 1920s. Chief among them was Edgard Varèse. Varèse’s symphonic poem Arcana (1925-27) explores the mysterious and powerful nature of the constellations above. Varèse took his inspiration for the work from topics of alchemy and…

Read More

Bach at St. Bart’s – Sold Out

This performance is now SOLD OUT. Doors will open at 6pm and seating will remain open through the pre-concert talk, which is free for all attendees. Within General and Priority sections, there are no assigned seats, please plan your arrival time accordingly. Long associated with the instrumental genre, Carl Phillipp Emanuel Bach is most well-known for…

Read More

Le prophète

“A riveting and rousing piece. [Director] Christian Räth’s astute production…[makes] a case for 19th-century French grand opera.” —Wall Street Journal “Leon Botstein has a penchant for reappraisal. He mounted a persuasive argument for Le prophète.” —The New York Times “Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra gave the audience unadulterated beauty.” —OperaWire Religion, power, ego, and manipulation…

Read More

Beyond the Hall

The ASO will co-present a free Saturday matinee with Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College/CUNY. Beyond the Hall explores music that draws its inspiration from outside the traditional concert setting. From the dance salon (Florence Price’s Suite of Dances) and the theater (Weill’s Threepenny Opera and Bernstein’s On the Town), and from the opera stage (Joplin’s Treemonisha), to the silver screen (Herrmann’s film score for…

Read More