The National Philharmonic, under the direction of Maestro Piotr Gajewski, bids audiences to come hear the music play as the 2010-11 concert season highlights the grand works of classical music alongside lesser-known works.
“Gustav Mahler’s ‘Resurrection Symphony’ in October and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s great ‘Symphony No. 5’ in June form the bookends of the [season],”
Gajewski said.
And the “books” in between all are best-sellers.
The season opener Oct. 9, Mahler’s “Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Resurrection” highlights the world-class voices of soprano Iwona Sobotka and mezzo-soprano Magdalena Wor offering the composer’s meditations on afterlife and resurrection.
Later in October, Maestro Gajewski welcomes cellist Zuill Bailey in a performance of Dvorak’s “Cello Concerto in B minor” followed by the composer’s iconic “Symphony No. 9,” popularly known as the “New World Symphony,” written as the composer said “in the spirit” of Native American music.
November celebrates Berlioz’s bravura “Requiem,” conducted by Stan Engebretson, the Philharmonic’s choral master, along with the chorus featuring the tenor voice of Robert Breault. Both chorus and orchestra are substantially gathered onstage and further accompanied by four antiphonal brass ensembles.
December rings in Handel’s “Messiah,” which is quintessentially associated with Christmas celebration. Stan Engebretson will once again conduct orchestra and chorus, which will feature the voices of soprano Audrey Elizabeth Luna and tenor Don Bernardini.
The 2011 concert lineup offers such musical “page turners” as Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” in January, with Chee-Yun on violin, followed by Brian Ganz’s appearance in a Chopin piano recital. February is all-Mozart month with Ganz returning to the Philharmonic in March to perform Grieg’s “Piano Concerto.”
April is all about Beethoven with Bach, and Mozart takes center stage in May. Verdi’s “Requiem” and the Tchaikovsky “Symphony No. 5” round out the season.
A subscription to the Philharmonic season includes Repeat Sunday matinee performances of the Philharmonic’s five most popular programs, along with the ever popular offering, “All Kids, All Free, All the Time” program. Subscribers enjoy a completely flexible, custom series of their own creation, while single-ticket sales range in price from $32 to $79.
All concerts are performed in the grand hall of the Music Center at Strathmore, where the Philharmonic celebrates its eighth year of residency.
