Enargeia is a work for voice and orchestra, a compilation of songs by Hildegard von Bingen, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Missy Mazzoli, and Sarah Kirkland Snider as arranged by Jarkko Riihimäki. The piece will receive its North American premiere by the Toronto Symphony May 1-2, with mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo. Under the baton of Gustavo Gimeno, the program […]
Composer Jake Heggie’s new work for string quartet will receive its New York premiere May 2 at the hands of the Miró Quartet as part of the Sonic Spectrum series at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Hornist David Byrd-Marrow will also be on hand to join the Miró for quintets by Dai Fujikura and […]
Composer Bryce Dessner will be in the spotlight for two weekends at the Cincinnati Symphony, the second featuring the U.S. premiere of his new piano concerto, with Alice Sara Ott as soloist. Dessner’s short work, Mari, opens the May 3-4 program, which concludes with Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony under the baton of Louis Langrée. https://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2324-cso-season/beethoven-symphony-no.-7--dessner-premieres/
Jean-Joseph Mouret (1682-1738) broke with operatic tradition with his ballet-opera Les Fêtes de Thalie, daring to include contemporary characters in the story rather than only historical or mythological ones. Opera Lafayette will present the modern premiere of this opera on May 4 in Washington, D.C., and on May 5 in New York. With music direction […]
On May 5 at Carnegie Hall, Simon Rattle will conduct the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in the U.S. premiere of a new work by Thomas Adès. The program also includes the Prelude and “Liebestod” from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde as well as Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, Pastoral. https://www.carnegiehall.org/calendar/2024/05/03/bavarian-radio-symphony-orchestra-0800pm
Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan makes her Minnesota Orchestra debut with a May 9-10 program that opens with Unsuk Chin’s subito con forza. Benjamin Beilman plays Korngold’s Violin Concerto, and the program closes with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2, inspired by Ukrainian folk tunes. https://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/tickets/calendar/classical/tchaikovsky-korngold-and-chin/
Conductor Daniele Rustioni, music director of the Ulster Orchestra, makes his National Symphony debut May 9-11, conducting the East Coast premiere of Bryce Dessner’s Mari, an NSO co-commission inspired by a forest goddess in Basque mythology. Benjamin Grosvenor will play Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 before the orchestra follows Berlioz’s autobiographical journey through love and […]
As a fitting farewell to music director Louis Langrée, who is leaving the Cinncinati Symphony after the 2023-34 season, the orchestra has commissioned a new “orchestral song cycle” by Anthony Davis. The world premiere will take place May 10-12. Soprano Latonia Moor will be the soloist. The second half of the program will be Stravinsky’s […]
Joseph Young makes his debut on the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s podium conducting Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, From the New World on May 10-11. Alexi Kenny will be the guest soloist for Barber’s Violin Concerto. https://www.mso.org/concerts/dvoraks-new-world/
The Arditti Quartet, celebrating its 50th season, will present world premiere of a new work by Sarah Nemtsov on May 11 at the Elbphilharmonie. The program consists of works from the late 20th century (Elliott Carter, Iannis Xenakis, Helmut Lachenmann) as well as the 21st (Olga Neuwirth, Brian Ferneyhough). https://www.elbphilharmonie.de/en/whats-on/50-years-of-the-arditti-quartet/20269
Violinist Pekka Kuusisto has collaborated with singer/pianist Gabriel Kahane on a new work which will have its New York Premiere on May 11 at the 92nd St. Y. The program also offers works by Bach. Both in-person and streaming tickets are available. https://www.92ny.org/event/pekka-kuusisto-and-gabriel-kahane
Since 2008, Carnegie Hall has co-sponsored a two-year fellowship for young musicians called Ensemble Connect. In 2012, a group of those fellows formed Decoda – Carnegie’s first-ever affiliate ensemble. Decoda will give the New York premiere of a new work by Adam Schoenberg on May 14. The intriguing program also includes Hannah Kendall’s Vera, Hanns […]
The world premiere of a new orchestration for violin and chamber orchestra by Michi Wiancko of Jessie Montgomery’s Rhapsody No. 2 will open the Knights’ May 16 appearance at Carnegie Hall. Gabriel Kahan’s Heirloom and Anna Clyne’s Shorthand for cello and orchestra will also receive their New York premieres on a program that includes Mozart’s […]
On May 16 and 18, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will give the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff’s oratorio Sacrifice of Isaac. The ASO’s music director laureate, Robert Spano, conducts a program that includes another work involving sacrifice, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. https://www.aso.org/events/detail/robert-spano-rite-of-spring
South Korean composer Unsuk Chin was co-commissioned to write Alaraph ‘Ritus des Herzschlags’ for the San Francisco Symphony, which will give its U.S. premiere on May 16-18. Chin has described the work as having two main inspirations: pulsating binary stars and the traditions of Korean courtly and folk music. Ryan Bancroft conducts this program, which includes […]
Accompanied by musicians from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Florentine Opera will give performances of Astor Piazzolla’s sensual María de Buenos Aires on May 17-19. Composed in 1968 with a libretto by Horacio Ferrer, the fantastical opera tells the story of a girl swallowed up by the city, only to haunt it after death. Catalina […]
On May 17-19, guest conductor Markus Stenz will lead the New Jersey Symphony in the East Coast premiere of their co-commission from Anna Clyne, her new piano concerto called ATLAS. Jeremy Denk will be the soloist. The program opens with Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture and concludes with Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the Eroica. https://www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/jeremy-denk-anna-clyne-beethovens-eroica
A program on May 18 called Crowning Glory by Milwaukee’s Concordia Chamber Orchestra will feature a rarely heard symphonic work, Bränningar (“Breaking Waves”), by Swedish composer Helena Munktell (1852-1919). Two movements from Max Richter’s re-imagining of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 complete the program. http://www.concordorchestra.org/concerts.html
Renowned composer Tan Dun will grace the podium for a May 18-19 program, leading the Baltimore Symphony in his own music plus two works by Stravinsky: Fireworks and Song of the Nightingale. Besides Tan Dun’s Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds, the composer/conductor will present the U.S. premiere of his Five Muses of Dunhuang. https://my.bsomusic.org/overview/18302
Inspired by John Dowell’s photographs of workers in the cotton fields, COTTON is a song cycle for two voices and piano, setting new texts by eight poets. The work will receive its New York premiere on April 18 at the 92nd St Y, with mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, baritone Justin Austin, and pianist Laura Ward. https://www.92ny.org/event/denyce-graves-and-justin-austin
Working with the U.K.-based collective Distractfold, pianist Conrad Tao will play the world premiere of Andrew Greenwald’s A Thing Made Whole VIII. Also on this May 23 program at Kaufman Music Center are recent works by Jürg Frey, Hanna Hartman, and Mauricio Pauly. https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/distractfold-with-conrad-tao/
The Dallas Symphony has commissioned a new work from Italian composer Andrea Basevi, which will receive its world premiere under the baton of Vasily Petrenko at the DSO’s season finale on May 23-26. Basevi, a tenor himself, specializes in vocal writing; his new work will feature the Dallas Symphony Children’s Chorus. Guest soloist for the […]
Cleveland Orchestra music director Franz Welser-Möst will conduct the world premiere of Jüri Reinvere’s Concerto for Violin and Harp, featuring violinist Leila Josefowicz and harpist Trina Struble. This May 23-25 program also includes the “Prelude and Liebestod” from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Mozart’s Serenade No. 10, the Gran Partita, for 12 wind instruments and […]
Although she is not yet 30, composer Nina Shekhar has already won a long list of awards and accepted commissions from some of America’s leading orchestras. The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra will give the world premiere of her work Sound Investment on the May 24-25 concert conducted by Jaime Martín. Gabriela Montero will be the […]
Composer Layale Chaker and librettist Lisa Schlesinger will see the world premiere of their opera Ruinous Gods May 24-June 1 at Spoleto USA. With stage direction by Omar Abi Azar and Maya Zbib and conducted by Kamna Gupta, the opera, loosely based on the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, explores the psychological toll experienced […]
In its 90th season, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal hopes to draw attention to the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique, the spectacular organ in its home all, the Maison Symphonique de Montréal. Thus, the season finale on May 28-30 features four organists: Shin-Young Lee, Isabelle Demers, Jean-Willy Kunz, and Olivier Latry. With Rafael Payare on the podium, […]
Mitsuko Uchida will play Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major with the Philadelphia Orchestra May 30-June 2, 2024, in a program closing with Debussy’s La mer. Sandwiched between these French classics is a world premiere by an American: Valerie Coleman’s Concerto for Orchestra. This is the fourth commission by the Philadelphia Orchestra from this composer. […]
Thomas Adès leads the London Symphony Orchestra in the U.K. premiere of his new violin concerto, Air, with Anna Sophie Mutter as soloist. The May 30 program also includes two works by Stravinsky—Orpheus and Agon—as well as Witold Lutosławski’s Partita. https://www.lso.co.uk/whats-on/myth-and-magic-thomas-ades/
In a May 31 program, the Spoleto Festival USA Chorus blends the atmospheric music of Arvo Pärt’s The Deer’s Cry and The Woman with the Alabaster Box with two early-music masterpieces: Josquin des Prez’s Missa Pange Lingua and Heinrich Schütz’s St. Matthew Passion. Conducted by Joe Miller. https://spoletousa.org/events/chorus/
