The world premiere of Billy Childs’ Concerto for Orchestra will take place Jan. 31-Feb. 1 with the San Diego Symphony under Rafael Payare. Alexander Malofeev will play Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, and the program ends with Beethoven’s Third Symphony, Eroica. https://www.sandiegosymphony.org/performances/orchestral-evolution-childs-premiere-and-beethovens-eroica/
As part of its 30th-anniversary season, Opera Lafayette, in collaboration with OperaCréole, will give the world-premiere concert performance of Edmund Dédé’s Morgiane, the first complete opera by a Black American. The four acts in French cover themes from Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves. Patrick Quigley directs a transcription co-written by OperaCréole founder Givonna Joseph […]
Fabio Luisi and the Dallas Symphony will give the world premiere of a new work by Native American, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Raven Chacon Feb. 6-9; it will be Chacon’s first major composition for orchestra. In that same program, Alexander Kerr will play the Bruch Violin Concerto, and Luisi will lead Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. https://www.dallassymphony.org/productions/beethovens-5th-symphony/
Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents its New Works Collective, a trio of new short operas: Black Coffee, by Concert Black and Alicia Revé Like, deals with building a life after a move. Family Style, by Meilina Tsui and Melisa Tien, deals with sacrifices made by immigrant parents. Tim Amukele and Jarrod Lee’s Kandake takes […]
The Escher Quartet with Jordan Bak, viola, will play the world premiere of a new Viola Quintet by Chris Rogerson, presented by Chamber Music Houston, which commissioned the work. Also on the Feb. 11 program are Mendelssohn’s Quartet in F minor and Brahms’ Viola Quintet No. 2. https://chambermusichouston.org/concerts/2025-02-11-escher/
PALETTE, a new work by Anna Clyne, will receive its world premiere by the St. Louis Symphony under conductor Stéphane Denève. Nikolai Lugansky will solo in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and the program closes with Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy (appropriate for the Feb. 14 concert). https://shop.slso.org/8095
On Feb. 20 at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, pianist Juho Pohjonen will give the world premiere of Jyrki Linjama’s Prélude oublié. Other works in this recital include two sonatas by Scriabin, Liszt’s Après une Lecture du Dante, and Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 27, No. 1. https://www.chambermusicsociety.org/our-concerts/at-lincoln-center/events/24-25/juho-pohjonen/
The world premiere of a new work by Hannah Ishizaki will be played by the Pittsburgh Symphony Feb. 21-23. In this program conducted by Manfred Honeck, Emanuel Ax will be the soloist for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25, and the evening concludes with Korngold’s Symphony in F-Sharp Major. https://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/production/92957/emanuel-ax-plays-mozart-plus-world-premiere
On Feb. 21-23, the San Francisco Symphony will present the world premiere of a new work by Xavier Muzik, winner of the 2023 Emerging Black Composers Project Michael Morgan Prize. Daniil Trifonov will solo in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and music director Esa-Pekka Salonen will close the program with Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. https://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2024-25/salonen-trifonov
On Feb. 24 at Chamber Music Pittsburgh, Grammy-nominated vocalist Nicholas Phan and early music ensemble Les Délices weave together Baroque masterpieces with the world premiere of a new work by Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong. The program also includes works by Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, Marin Marais, and François Couperin. https://www.chambermusicpittsburgh.org/lesdelices-nicholasphan/
In its third installment of the Sonic Spectrum series this season, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will present the world premiere of a new work for flute, piano, and percussion by Philadelphia-based composer Elise Arancio. Other composers on the Feb. 27 bill are Liza Lim, Tonia Ko, Elaine Lillios, and more. https://www.chambermusicsociety.org/our-concerts/at-lincoln-center/events/24-25/sonic-spectrum-iii-2425/
Na’Zir McFadden conducts the world premiere of a new work by (and featuring) DSO trumpeter Kris Johnson. The Feb. 28-March 1 program, called Classical Roots, also features two pieces by Jessie Montgomery: Snapshots and Rounds, the latter featuring pianist Awadagin Pratt. https://www.dso.org/events-and-tickets/events/24-25-winter/classical-roots
