Albany Symphony Unveils 2019-20 Schedule
Editors Note: This post is especially for people who like to plan. But remember that Albany Symphony’s current season is happening now, and worthy of your attention – visit AlbanySymphony.com for details on all.- AG
ALBANY – The Albany Symphony unveiled its 2019-2020 season today, featuring phenomenal women in music, encounters with thrilling new music, and masterworks that have withstood the test of time. Curated by GRAMMY®- winning conductor and 2019 GRAMMY® nominee, David Alan Miller, the season presents many new works by living American composers, solidifying the Capital region’s status as an international center for new music, while also presenting great classic masterpieces.
Following the theme of the upcoming 2019 American Music Festival and the symphony’s 2019 summer tour, “Sing Out, New York!” the 2019-2020 season gives listeners the opportunity to hear scintillating music by leading female composers as well as performances by some of the best female musicians of today. Music Director David Alan Miller said: “The new season celebrates phenomenal women and the incredible contributions they have made and continue to make to the music world.”
Highlights of the season include seven new or recent works by leading female American composers, including world premieres of new pieces by Albany Symphony Composer-Educator Angélica Negrón and Water Music NY composer, Loren Loiacono. Negrón’s premiere will be composed in collaboration with students from the Albany City School District as part of the Albany Symphony’s composer-educator residency, Literacy Through Songwriting. The Albany Symphony will also premiere new works by Sleeping Giant composer Christopher Cerrone and GRAMMY®-nominated composer and Yale Professor Christopher Theofanidis.
The Symphony’s Clara Schumann Festival in January is a centerpiece of the new season. “Clara Schumann was an absolutely unique figure in the world of 19th century music,” said Miller. “She was a remarkable person – one of the century’s greatest piano virtuosi, a brilliant composer, astute business person, and dedicated wife and mother to her eight children. But, like many 19th century women, Clara’s contributions were often overshadowed by her husband’s artistic achievements.” Miller continued. “Listeners will have a rare opportunity to hear almost every work Clara Schumann composed and get to experience the breadth of her artistic genius firsthand.” The weekend Festival includes performances of Clara’s and Robert’s Piano Concertos, performed by 13-year old piano virtuoso, Harmony Zhu. Before each orchestral concert, students from Bard College Conservatory will perform chamber and piano works as well as songs composed by Clara and Robert Schumann.
The 2019-1920 season also features many beloved classics and iconic works. Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition opens the season, followed by Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony in November and Mozart’s “Linz” Symphony in December. Joann Falletta returns to conduct Prokofiev’s romantic classic, Romeo & Juliet on Valentine’s Day at Proctors in Schenectady, and David Alan Miller leads the orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in April, which Beethoven playfully referred to it as “my little Symphony in F.” In May, David Alan Miller and Kevin Cole will team up for “Gershwin in the Roaring ‘20s,” an exploration of Gershwin’s works written for and arranged by iconic band-leader, conductor, and the “King of Jazz,” Paul Whiteman, whose music archive is at Williams College.
The symphony will bring many great solo artists to the Capital Region during its new season. Soprano Talise Trevigne and Albany Pro Music return to the Albany Symphony stage, while the GRAMMY®-nominated quintet Imani Winds, pianist Shai Wosner, theremin virtuoso Carolina Eyck, Buffalo Philharmonic Principal Horn Jacek Muzyk, and the Brasilian Guitar Duo will make their Albany Symphony debuts. Albany Symphony’s Principal Trumpeter, Eric Berlin, will perform and record Christopher Rouse’s Heimdall’s Trumpet for release on Albany Records.
The 2019.20 season runs from October through the American Music Festival in June. Concerts will be held at the Palace Theatre, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Proctors in Schenectady, and EMPAC. With a growing audience, especially on Saturdays at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, subscriptions offer patrons the opportunity to purchase their favorite seat before tickets go on sale to the general public. Flexible Compose Your Own season subscriptions offers flexibility and convenience for professionals. Subscriptions start at $102. Students can purchase discount subscriptions and enjoy the full benefits of being a subscriber for as little as $45. See Albany Symphony’s WEBSITE to purchase tickets for the current and 2019-20 season.
SCHEDULE: 2019-2020 Season:
Opening Night
PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 at 7 pm Palace Theatre
David Alan Miller, conductor | Imani Winds
VALERIE COLEMAN: Phenomenal Women
BERNSTEIN: Suite from “On the Waterfront”
MUSSORGSKY: Pictures at an Exhibition
RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONY NO. 2
Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019 at 7:30 pm Palace Theatre
David Alan Miller, conductor | Carolina Eyck, theremin
BORODIN: Prince Igor, Overture
DALIT WARSHAW: Theremin Concerto
RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 2
MOZART’S “LINZ” SYMPHONY
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019 at 7:30 pm Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
David Alan Miller, conductor | Talise Trevigne, soprano
PACHELBEL: Canon in D
BARBER: Knoxville, Summer of 1915
ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN: New Collaborative Work with Albany City Schools (World Premiere)
MOZART: Symphony No. 36, “Linz”
Clara Schumann Festival
A MODERN WOMAN: THE COMPLETE WORKS OF CLARA SCHUMANN
Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020 at 3 pm Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
David Alan Miller, conductor | Harmony Zhu, piano
BRAHMS: “Tragic” Overture
ROBERT SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
CLARA SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 7
LOREN LOIACONO: New Work (World Premiere)
Clara Schumann Festival Add-ons
FESTIVAL RECITALS FEATURING THE MUSIC OF CLARA SCHUMANN
Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 at 3 pm
Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020 at 11 am
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
Watch albanysymphony.com/clarafestival for additional program announcements in Summer 2019
Valentine’s Day
JOANN FALLETTA CONDUCTS ROMEO & JULIET
NEW DAY Friday, Feb. 14, 2020 at 7:30 pm Proctors, Schenectady, NY
JoAnn Falletta, guest conductor
Jill Levy, violin | Jacek Muzyk, horn
DAME ETHEL SMYTH: Concerto for Horn and Violin
ROUSSEL: Bacchus and Ariana Suite
PROKOFIEV: Romeo and Juliet, Suite
BEETHOVEN’S EIGHT
Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 15, 2020 at 3 pm Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
David Alan Miller, conductor | Shai Wosner, piano
MOZART: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
CHRISTOPHER CERRONE: Piano Concerto (World Premiere)
JOAN TOWER: Last Dance
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 8
BRAHMS SYMPHONY NO. 1
Saturday, April 4, 2020 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 5, 2020 at 3 pm Venue to be determined
David Alan Miller, conductor | Eric Berlin, trumpet
CHRISTOPHER ROUSE: Heimdall’s Trumpet
STEVEN STUCKY: Radical Light
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1
KEVIN COLE RETURNS: GERSHWIN IN THE ROARING 20s
Saturday, May 9, 2020 at 7:30 pm Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
David Alan Miller, conductor | Kevin Cole, piano
Kevin Cole performs the original Jazz-band version of Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue, Classic Gershwin songs, Broadway overtures, & more!
AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL
Saturday, May 30, 2020 at 7:30 pm EMPAC
David Alan Miller, conductor | Albany Pro Musica | Brasilian Guitar Duo
REENA ESMAIL: “This Love Between Us”
CLARICE ASSAD: Double Guitar Concerto
CHRISTOPHER THEOFANIDIS: New Work (World Premiere)