AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS REQUIEM AND REVELATION AT NEW YORK CITY’S ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S CHURCH ON NOVEMBER 13

 U.S.  Premiere of Peter Cornelius’ Stabat Mater and Rare Performance of Cherubini’s Requiem in C Minor

 Soloists are Soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer, Mezzo-Soprano Krysty Swann, Tenor Eric Taylor, and Bass Harold Wilson

New York, NY, October 22, 2025 — Music Director Leon Botstein conducts the American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in a program of sacred works at St. Bartholomew’s Church—the venue where ASO founder and conductor Leopold Stokowski began his U.S. music career—on Thursday, November 13 at 8 PM. Maestro Botstein will give an illuminating pre-concert talk at 7 PM. The second of five full-orchestra performances this season, the evening presents seldom-heard scores of sacred music by Peter Cornelius (a U.S. premiere) and Luigi Cherubini, two composers who were mostly known for their stage and opera works.

The four vocal soloists—all featuring credentials with The Metropolitan Opera—include soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer, who appears in Turandot at the Met this season, and mezzo-soprano Krysty Swann, with a voice described by the Washington Post as “an instrument of immense power, natural beauty of tone and luscious legato line.” Also in the spotlight is tenor Eric Taylor, making his Met Opera stage debut in The Magic Flute; and bass Harold Wilson, a performer of more than 30 major roles at Deutsche Oper Berlin, who recently sang in Aida at the Met.

Requiem and Revelation
Thursday, November 13, 2025 at St. Bartholomew’s Church, 325 Park Ave.
Pre-concert Talk at 7PM
Concert at 8PM

American Symphony Orchestra
Leon Botstein, conductor
Wendy Bryn Harmer, soprano
Krysty Swann, mezzo-soprano
Eric Taylor, tenor
Harold Wilson, bass
Bard Festival Chorale
James Bagwell, Music Director of the Bard Festival Chorale
Peter Cornelius: Stabat Mater (U.S. Premiere)
Luigi Cherubini: Requiem in C minor
Peter Cornelius, known primarily for his comic opera Der Barber von Bagdad, devoted his early career almost entirely to sacred and chamber music writing. His 1849 setting of the Stabat Mater—performed here in its U.S. premiere—is a score of stunning originality: its bold harmonic language, unusual formal design, and dramatic flair make the work a standout in the composer’s oeuvre. Luigi Cherubini, long associated with opera, was lauded for works like his famous opera Medea, which Maria Callas widely recorded and performed at La Scala, worldwide, and on the silver screen to electric acclaim. In addition to dramatic stage works, and like Cornelius, Cherubini left behind an impressive sacred music catalogue, including his Requiem in C minor. Written in 1816 to commemorate the twenty-fourth anniversary of the execution of King Louis XVI, Cherubini’s first of two requiem settings blends a dark, somber tone, with astonishing orchestral effects, tender moments of reflective beauty, and profound expressivity. Since its creation, the score—one of striking freshness and innovation—has been regarded highly by some of classical music’s most influential figures, from legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini, to Schumann, Beethoven, and Brahms.

 Tickets, priced at $25-$65, are available at americansymphony.org.

The ASO’s next performance will celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with a concert showcasing American composers and Wagner’s rarely performed American Centennial March, at Carnegie Hall on January 30.

American Symphony Orchestra
The American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) was founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski with the mission of providing great music for everyone. Leon Botstein expanded that focus when he joined the ASO as Music Director in 1992 by creating concerts that explore music through the lens of the visual arts, literature, religion, and history, as well as by reviving rarely performed works that audiences would otherwise never hear performed live.

The ASO’s signature programming includes its Vanguard Series, which features concerts of seldom-performed orchestral repertoire presented at Carnegie Hall, Bryant Park, and other historic venues, and its Chamber Series—curated by ASO’s musicians—offering concert programs dedicated to reflecting the diverse perspectives of American culture. During the summer, the ASO is the orchestra-in-residence at Bard’s SummerScape and performs at the Bard Music Festival. All ASO presentations comprise a year-round series of vital and innovative programming for audiences of all backgrounds.

As part of its commitment to expanding the standard orchestral repertoire and ensuring accessibility to musical masterpieces, the ASO offers free streaming of exclusive live recordings on its digital platform, ASO Online. Content includes SummerScape operas, chamber performances, and short films. In many cases, these are the only existing recordings of some of the forgotten works that have been restored through ASO performances.

Details of the ASO’s 2025-26 season are available at americansymphony.org.

Leon Botstein
Leon Botstein has been music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992. He is also music director of The Orchestra Now, an innovative training orchestra composed of top musicians from around the world. He is co-artistic director of Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival, which take place at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, where he has been president since 1975. Mr. Botstein is also active as a guest conductor and can be heard on numerous recordings with the London Symphony (including a GRAMMY nominated recording of Popov’s First Symphony), the London Philharmonic, NDR-Hamburg, and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Botstein has revived numerous neglected operas, creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences for concertgoers and global audiences. Including rare repertoire such as Schoenberg’s massive Gurre-Lieder and the accompanying short-film, which documented the monumental undertaking, Strauss’s first opera, Guntram, and the U.S. Premiere of Sergei Taneyev’s final work, At the Reading of a Psalm. His recording of Paul Hindemith’s The Long Christmas Dinner with the ASO was named one of the top recordings of 2015 by several publications, and his recent recording of Gershwin piano music with the Royal Philharmonic was hailed by The Guardian and called “something special…in a crowded field” by Musicweb International. He is a prolific author and music historian and the recipient of numerous honors for his contributions to the music industry. In 2019, The New York Times named Leon Botstein a “champion of overlooked works…who has tirelessly worked to bring to light worthy scores by neglected composers.”

More info online at LeonBotstein.com.

Presented in collaboration with the Mid-Manhattan Performing Arts Foundation.

The ASO’s Vanguard Series is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

 The programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

 Images from left to right: Wendy Bryn Harmer, ©Arielle-Doneson; Krysty Swann, ©Dario Acosta; Eric Taylor, ©Daniel Welch; and Harold Wilson, ©Ken Jones.

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