Concerts
Beyond Beethoven
There are many tributes to Beethoven’s 250th – now here’s one unlike anything else. Piano phenom, Lucas Debargue, makes his Carnegie Hall Debut BEYOND BEETHOVEN. Beethoven’s 250th has inspired celebrations the world over – now, the ASO unearths four “hidden gems” for a fascinating illumination of his legacy. ROMANTIC RETELLINGS. The lushness of Franz Liszt,…
Read MoreSons of Bach
Discover the music of four fellows who followed in the footsteps of their famous father. These rarely-performed works by W.F. Bach, J.C.F. Bach, J.C. Bach, and C.P.E. Bach showcase the compositional mastery they learned from Johann Sebastian, while also revealing how they each were able to develop their own unique style. Leon Botstein shares the…
Read MoreThe Kingdom
Following on the success of our 2017 performance of The Apostles, the ASO opened its 58th season with Edward Elgar’s oratorio The Kingdom. Picking up where The Apostles left off, this massive choral work focuses on the apostle Peter and the beginnings of the Christian Church in Jerusalem. Leon Botstein shares the stories behind the…
Read MoreThe Key of Dreams
Based on the French play Juliette, ou La clé des songes (Juliette, or The Key of Dreams) by Georges Neveux, Martinů’s operatic masterpiece Julietta, one of the greatest 20th-century works for the stage, explores the intersection of dreams and reality. Set in a seaside town, this psychological drama follows Michel, a traveling salesman, who finds…
Read MoreSounds of the American Century
Robert Mann Photo by Charles AbbottNew York City composers of the mid-20th century sought to define a new American sensibility in orchestral music. The abstract works of Robert Mann, the legendary founder of the Juilliard Quartet, and Jacob Druckman explored the possibilities of orchestral color and sound. Vivian Fine and William Schuman brought their compositional…
Read MoreA Walt Whitman Sampler
Walt Whitman, the defining 19th-century poetic voice of America, inspired several generations of European composers. In the 20th century, Whitman’s poetry was beautifully adapted during World War I by Othmar Schoeck. The catastrophe of World War II inspired Kurt Weill to turn to Whitman’s writings. Franz Schreker and Ralph Vaughan Williams were drawn to Whitman’s…
Read MoreIntolerance
In post-Fascist Italy, Luigi Nono attempted to reverse the darkness of Mussolini and rescue art from being the handmaiden of the state. His one-act opera Intolleranza 1960 speaks out against dictatorship. It follows a migrant worker travelling home as he gets caught up in a political protest, is tortured in prison, and escapes to fight…
Read MoreHollow Victory: Jews in Soviet Russia after the World War
Despite the brutal suppression of Jewish culture in the late 1940s under Stalin, Jewish composers sustained a vibrant and active musical culture, as these grippingly beautiful works reveal. Explore the tenacity of Jewish culture through one of its most embattled phases. Expression cannot be silenced, especially when friends like Shostakovich have the courage to help.…
Read MoreTriumph of Art
Each of these composers was influenced by confrontation with authoritarian regimes, both fascist and communist. This concert reveals the compositional response to resistance, inner emigration, and exile by three leading twentieth-century composers from Russia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. Leon Botstein shares the stories behind the music in a lively 30-minute Conductor’s Notes Q&A at 7 PM…
Read MoreThe Sounds of Democracy
American democracy was shaped by the ideals, vision, and principles of its leaders, particularly Roosevelt and Kennedy. These presidents protected our liberties, including freedom of expression, and stood by the common people against the interests of the rich and powerful. Their legacy inspired the music of Sessions, Bernstein, and Copland, who wrote Canticle of Freedom…
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