Nikolaj SzepsZnaider conducts the world premiere of a new work for cello by Thomas Larcher on April 3-5, with Alisa Weilerstein as soloist. The program also includes Mendelssohn’s incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2. https://www.nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/2425/weilerstein-larcher/
The Milwaukee Symphony welcomes Ji Su Jung, the first percussion player to win an Avery Fisher Career Grant, to debut with Kevin Puts’ Marimba Concerto on April 4-5. MSO assistant conductor Ryan Tani also leads Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4. https://www.mso.org/concerts/coplands-appalachian-spring/62548/
The world premere of a work by Roydon Tse, a commission through the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, will have its world premiere with members of the Annapolis Symphony April 4-5. The chamber-music program also includes Sonia Morales-Matos’ Fiesta No. 2 and Suites 1 and 2 from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. https://annapolissymphony.org/events/fiesta/
With music and libretto by Grigory Frid, the monodrama The Diary of Anne Frank (for soprano and chamber orchestra) premiered in 1972. It will be presented by Opera Birmingham, with soprano Kathleen Buccleugh singing 21 excerpts from Frank's journal. Lester Seigel conducts. (April 5-6) https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=243958
Matthias Pintscher will lead the Kansas City Symphony in the world premiere of a new work by Catalan composer Jan Magrané Figuera. This April 5-6 program also features Jean-Yves Thibaudet playing Saint-Saëns’ Fifth Piano Concerto plus Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, Pathétique. https://tickets.kcsymphony.org/22172/22214
On April 5-6, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra presents a feast of pièces des résistances thoughtfully curated by Margaret Batjer. The works include Louise Farrenc’s masterful Nonet, virtuosic string quartets by Caroline Shaw and Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, and an innovative trio by Nokuthula Ngwenyama. https://www.laco.org/events/farrencs-nonet/
The world premiere of Reinaldo Moya’s Home, Run Away from Me, commissioned by Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and inspired by Greek poetry and the plight of refugees, will be performed by ICO on April 5, conducted by Matthew Kraemer. Then audiences will land in sunny California with Martinu’s Sinfonietta La Jolla. The program concludes with Haydn’s Mass […]
The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra has commissioned a new work for chorus and orchestra by Reinaldo Moya. Home, Run Away From Me will receive its world premiere April 5 with the ICO. Matthew Kraemer, marking his 10th year as music director, will also conduct Haydn’s Mass in the Time of War, plus works by Martinů and Ukrainian […]
On April 8, cellist Alisa Weilerstein continues her innovative series “Fragments,” in which she combines new music by compelling contemporary composers with Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello. This is the third installment of the once-a-year series. https://www.sandiegosymphony.org/performances/alisa-weilerstein-fragments-iii/
Canadian composer Kevin Lau’s Kimiko’s Pearl takes inspiration from a powerful ballet about hope, resilience, and transformation. It will receive its world premiere April 9-11 with the Toronto Symphony. Gustavo Gimeno conducts this program, which also includes Takemitsu’s Requiem for Strings, Saint-Saëns’s First Cello Concerto (featuring Kian Soltani), and Ravel’s balletic Daphnis et Chloé. https://www.tso.ca/concerts-and-events/events/romantic-treasures/
Ontario’s Opera Atelier will present the North American premiere of the 1688 opera David and Jonathan by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The staging and choreography, originally produced in Versailles in 2022, was created by co-artistic directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. (April 9-13) https://www.operaatelier.com/shows/david-and-jonathan/
As part of the New York Philharmonic’s Project 19 commissioning effort to support women composers, the orchestra will give the world premiere of a new work by Jessie Montgomery on April 9-11. Jakub Hrůša conducts this program, which features Patricia Kopatchinskaja playing Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto and concludes with Brahms’ First Symphony. https://www.nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/2425/hrusa-montgomery/
On April 9 the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, along with Les Violons du Roy and a group of pow wow singers and Native drummers, will present the world premiere of a new work by Katia Makdissi-Warren. Her piece is inspired by the spirit of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which will also be performed, with soloists Kirsten […]
Jörgen van Rijen is the soloist for the U.S. premiere of Andrew Norman’s Concerto for Trombone with the Dallas Symphony under Aziz Shokhakimov on April 10-12. The second half of the program is Stravinsky’s complete ballet score, The Rite of Spring. https://www.dallassymphony.org/productions/stravinksys-the-rite-of-spring/
Eric Jacobsen leads the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in John Adams’ Harmonium and Anna Clyne’s This Moment on April 11. The program concludes with Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. https://virginiasymphony.org/concert/symphonie-fantastique-2/
As part of the Boston Symphony’s Shostakovich cycle, music director Andris Nelsons will lead Yo-Yo Ma in the composer’s politically fraught Cello Concerto on April 11. The second half of the program is Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11, written in 1957. It was subtitled The Year 1905, in reference to the so-called First Russian Revolution. https://www.bso.org/events/andris-nelsons-conducts-shostakovich-with-yoyo-ma?performance=2025-04-11-20:00
Presented by the Phoenix Symphony, REVERB is a contemporary music festival on April 12, in the form of concerts, panel discussions, and behind-the-scenes events to celebrate works from the current musical landscape. Tito Muñoz conducts. https://tickets.phoenixsymphony.org/Online/default.asp
Local students will illustrate the New Hampshire Philharmonic’s April 12-13 space-inspried program. These artistic interpretations of music will accompany Holst’s The Planets Mason Bates’ The B Sides, with its other-worldly orchestration depicting space walks. https://nhpo.booktix.com/dept/main/e/Planets
Vancouver’s Friends of Chamber Music welcomes the Isidore Quartet for its series debut on April 15, closing the season. The ensemble will play works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Billy Childs. https://friendsofchambermusic.ca/concert/isidore-quartet/
The Dallas Symphony, under Fabio Luisi, will give the world premiere of Sean Shepherd’s Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon, with principals from the orchestra as soloists. Also on the April 17-19 program is Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, evoking the ruins and moors of Scotland. https://www.dallassymphony.org/productions/mendelssohns-scottish-symphony/
Experience the awe-inspiring power of Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony with the Houston Symphony under the baton of dynamic conductor Dalia Stasevska. Leila Josefowicz will play Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto on the April 18-19 concert. https://houstonsymphony.org/tickets/concerts/sibelius-5/
Astronomer Jeffrey Hull will present cosmic projections while the Anchorage Symphony plays Holst’s The Planets in the season finale April 19. Anchorage Symphony. The program will include the world premiere of ASO cellist Brett Lindsay’s Of Sunlight & Solace as well as Nina Shekhar’s Lumina and an orchestral arrangement of Debussy’s Clair de lune. https://www.anchoragesymphony.org/concerts-events/2025seasonfinale
Houston Grand Opera will present Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vivrek’s adaptation of Lars von Trier’s film Breaking the Waves, the work’s Houston premiere. The bcast will be led by soprano Lauren Snouffer as Bess and bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as Jan. Sara Brodie directs the revival of Tom Morris’s production, with Patrick Summers conducting. (April 19-May […]
Stéphane Denève welcomes cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason in his New World Symphony debut, performing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1. The April 19 program begins with John Williams' Suite from The Book Thief and concludes with Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. https://www.nws.edu/events-tickets/concerts/2024-2025/deneve-symphonie-fantastique/
Flutist Jasmine Choi makes her debut with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra on April 24-27, playing Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 2. The program also includes two works by Prokofiev: Sonata for Two Violins and Sonata No. 7, Stalingrad, in an arrangement for chamber orchestra. Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen for Flute and Orchestra (arr. by Choi) concludes the concert. […]
Conductor Marie Jacquot will make her debut with the North Carolina Symphony on April 25-26. She will conduct Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture, Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (with Marie-Ange Nguci), and Saint-Saëns’s Symphony 3, Organ. https://www.ncsymphony.org/events/633/saint-saens-organ-symphony/
Conducted by interim music director Deanna Them, the Portland Chamber Orchestra will performa a program called “Cultural Kaleidoscope” April 25. Local poets and wordsmiths share their reflections on music that was written to highlight our universal connection. The contemporary music list includes works by Jessie Montgomery, Valery Coleman, Jerod Tate, and Osvoldo Golijov. https://www.portlandchamberorchestra.org/events/cultural-kaleidoscope
On April 25-27, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra will present the world premiere of a work by Nathaniel Heyder, commissioned by the SFCO. The program opens with Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and concludes with Bartók’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, featuring Pearl de la Motte. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mainstage-concert-presentation-rising-stars-tickets-995625892847
The world premiere of Jennifier Higdon’s Woman with Eyes Closed will take place at Pittsburgh Opera on April 26-May 4. The opera, with a libretto by Jerre Dye, tells the story of an art heist. https://pittsburghopera.org/season/woman-with-eyes-closed
Osvaldo Golijov’s dramatic, flamenco-inspired score meets a poignant libretto by David Henry Hwang in LA Opera’s production of Ainadamar. Lina González-Granados conducts this company premiere, featuring Daniela Mack as Federico García Lorca and Ana María Martínez as his inspiration and friend, Margarita Xirgu. (April 26 - May 18) https://www.laopera.org/performances/2025/ainadamar
Alexander Borodin’s Symphony No. 2 is a muscular and vituosic work sure to test the fortitude of the Atlanta Symphony under guest conductor Andrew Manze on April 24-26. The rousing opener will be three movements from various works by Khachaturian. Clara-Jumi Kang solos in Sibelius’ magnificent Violin Concerto. https://www.aso.org/events/detail/sibelius-violin-concerto
Cellist Joshua Roman will join the Baltimore Symphony for the world premiere of James Lee III’s Cello Concerto on May 1-4, part of a season exploring the works of Baltimore native Lee. The program, under the direction of Jonathan Heyward, also includes Elgar’s Froissart and Brahms’ lush and rhythmically complex Symphony No. 1. https://my.bsomusic.org/18937/18994
May 2 marks the world premiere of Gulli Björnsson’s ljósíd (light), performed by members of the Seattle Symphony, featuring JIJI on electroacoustic guitar & electronics with visuals by Björnsson. This performance is part of the SSO’s Octave 9 series. https://www.seattlesymphony.org/en/concerttickets/calendar/2024-2025/24octave5
At the West Virginia Symphony’s season finale on May 3, music director Maurice Cohn will focus on Ravel: Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé and Bolero. In the first half of the concert, the West Virginia Youth Symphony will play onstage with the pros for Gabriela Ortiz’s Antrópolis. Then Joyce Yang will solo in […]
On May 3, Benjamin Britten’s Noah’s Flood will be performed by Boston Lyric Opera in collaboration with Boston Children’s Chorus, Boston String Academy, Back Bay Ringers, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory Preparatory School, and more. Conductor David Angus will rally the forces in what promises to be an epic experience for the whole family. https://blo.org/noahs-flood/
While Grieg’s Peer Gynt is an orchestral standard, staging the work is a novel idea. This production, written and directed by Bill Barclay adapted from the play by Henrik Ibsen, will feature the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Stéphane Denève. Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling is a guest soloist for this May 3 performance, which promises to […]
