On March 11 the 92nd St. Y plays host to a Met Opera production, the New York premiere of Karen Slack’s African Queen. This multimedia work features new art songs exploring the legacy of seven powerful African queens through history who were revered as rulers but under-celebrated in the western world. Participating composers include Damien […]
Pairing The Four Season with other arias and instrumental movements by Vivaldi, a new opera called The Seasons will receive its world premiere at Boston Lyric Opera on March 12-16. The work, co-conceived by librettist Sarah Ruhl and famed countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, will be directed by Zack Winokur. https://blo.org/theseasons/
Two works for double bass and orchestra by Xavier Foley—including a world premiere—will be presented by the New Jersey Symphony on March 13-16, with the composer as soloist. Xian Zhang conducts the program, which opens with Debussy’s Clair de lune and closes with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. https://www.njsymphony.org/events/detail/rachmaninoff-symphony-no-2
On March 13-15, the Philadelphia Orchestra will play the world premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Picaflor, inspired by a Peruvian myth about a hummingbird. Marin Alsop will also conduct Randall Goosby in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, and the program ends with Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Haydn. https://www.philorch.org/performances/our-season/events-and-tickets/2024-2025-season/verizon-hall/marin-alsop-leads-brahms-mendelssohn-and-frank/
Inspired by the fantastical inventions of a 12th-century Islamic polymath, K. Al-Zand’s Al-Jazari’s Ingenious Clocks will receive its world premiere by the Houston Symphony on March 14-16. Simone Lamsma will be on hand to play Korngold’s Violin Concerto, and the program concludes with Prokofiev’s Cinderella Suite, with Juraj Valčuha on the podium. https://houstonsymphony.org/tickets/concerts/korngolds-violin-concerto-cinderella/
Lawrence Power will be on hand to solo in the U.S. premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Viola Concerto with the St. Louis Symphony on March 14. Kaija Saariaho’s atmospheric Ciel d'hiver opens the program, which culminates in Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C major. Hannu Lintu conducts. https://shop.slso.org/8098
American pianist Michelle Cann is soloist in Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in her debut with the Phoenix Symphony. Katharina Wincor conducts this March 14-16 program, which also includes Mozart’s 39th Symphony and Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier Suite, as well as one of the Phoenix Symphony’s patented “Mystery Pieces.” https://tickets.phoenixsymphony.org/Online/default.asp
Pianist Awadagin Pratt makes his debut with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra on March 15, playing Mozart’s Concerto No. 23. The program, conducted by Jeannette Sorrell, also includes Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni, selections from Handel’s Water Music, and Haydn’s Eighth Symphony, Le soir. https://www.laco.org/events/mozart-haydn-handel/
On March 16, the Ulysses String Quartet makes its San Francisco debut as part of the Chamber Music SF series. The program includes Haydn’s Op. 33, No. 2, Mozart’s K. 516, and Dvořák’s Op. 105. https://chambermusicsf.org/
Arcis Saxophon Quartett closes the Mobile Chamber Music season with a kaleidoscopic tribute to J.S. Bach. Works on the March 16 concert include excerpts from Nikolai Kapustin’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues, and Leonhard Kuhn’s Fugue & Loops. https://www.mobilechambermusic.org/crnt_season.php