 Carnegie Hall launches its 2014–2015 season on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m. with an Opening Night Gala concert featuring the Berliner Philharmoniker and Music Director Sir Simon Rattle. The program includes Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with Carnegie Hall Perspectives artist Anne-Sophie Mutter as well as Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances and Stravinsky’s closing scenes from The Firebird.
The opening night concert marks the first of Ms. Mutter’s six Perspectives programs this season as well as her first-ever US appearance with the Berliner Philharmoniker, having first performed with the orchestra in 1977 at the age of 13 at the Salzburg Easter Festival. Ms. Mutter debuted at the Berlin Philharmonie the following year.
The performance also launches an extended New York residency by the orchestra. Following Opening Night, Sir Simon and the Berliner Philharmoniker return to Carnegie Hall for three more performances. On Thursday, October 2 at 8:00 p.m., they perform Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances and Stravinsky’s complete Firebird. Over two nights, on Sunday, October 5 at 8:00 p.m. and Monday, October 6, at 8:00 p.m., Sir Simon conducts the orchestra in a Schumann symphony cycle, works they recently recorded on CD and Blu-ray as the first release of the orchestra’s recently-launched label. The October 6 program also includes the US premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’s dark dreams, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the Berliner Philharmoniker. The orchestra’s week-long October residency in New York City also includes a performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion directed by Peter Sellars, which opens Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival in a co-presentation with Park Avenue Armory on October 7 and 8.
The black-tie Opening Night Gala event on October 1 will mark the first public celebration on Carnegie Hall’s new Weill Terrace and Terrace Room with a post-concert dinner in the spaces within the Hall’s new Resnick Education Wing located on the Hall’s upper floors (opening in September 2014). Marina Kellen French is the Gala Lead Chairman, with Gala Chairs Mercedes T. Bass, Annette and Oscar de la Renta, Bruce and Suzie Kovner, Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis, The Marc Haas Foundation, Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert, Beatrice Santo Domingo, Sydney and Stanley S. Shuman, David M. Siegel and Dana Matsushita, Margaret and Ian Smith, S. Donald Sussman, and Joan and Sanford I. Weill. PwC is the Opening Night Gala Sponsor for the 11th consecutive season, and Dennis M. Nally is the Corporate Chairman for the event. The gala benefits Carnegie Hall’s artistic and education programs. Gala tickets for the concert and post-concert dinner start at $3000 and include premier concert seating and entry to the dinner in the Weill Terrace and Terrace Room. Tickets for the concert and pre-concert cocktail reception in Carnegie Hall’s Rohatyn Room are priced at $1250. All gala tickets are available by calling 212-903-9679 or online at carnegiehall.org/openingnightgala.
A limited number of concert-only tickets, priced $75–$250, are currently available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or online at carnegiehall.org.
Carnegie Hall’s Opening Night concert airs on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York, kicking off the fourth annual Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series, produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall and hosted by WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon. Concerts in the series are available for live streaming on wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr. During every live broadcast, WQXR and Carnegie Hall will host live web chats, including Twitter commentary by the broadcast team, from backstage and in the control room, connecting national and international fans to the music and to each other.
About the Artists
World-renowned violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter has appeared in all the major concert halls of Europe, North and South America, and Asia. In addition to performing and recording the established masterpieces of the violin repertoire, she is an avid champion of contemporary violin repertoire in both orchestral and chamber music settings. She also devotes her time to numerous charity projects and supports the development of young, exceptionally talented musicians through the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. Ms. Mutter was awarded the Atlantic Council’s 2012 Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award for her encouragement of young music talent through her foundation and was inducted as a 2013 Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Since making her international debut at the Lucerne Festival in 1976, she has been widely recognized for her passionate commitment to artistic excellence and her dedication to the growth of classical music—both core themes of her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series. In addition to her appearance as soloist with the Berliner Philharmoniker, she performs with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and New World Symphony, as well as chamber concerts with renowned performers, including cellist Lynn Harrell and pianists Yefim Bronfman and Lambert Orkis. She also plays contemporary works written for her by Sebastian Currier, Norbert Moret, and André Previn. She also appears with the Mutter Virtuosi, an ensemble of young students and professional string players who are alumni of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation.
Sir Simon Rattle was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. As a regular guest conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker for 15 years, Simon Rattle became its Chief Conductor and Artistic Director in September 2002. As well as fulfilling a concert schedule in Berlin, the partnership tours extensively, and has garnered many awards for its recordings and pioneering educational work. An exclusive EMI artist for many years, Rattle has made over 70 recordings for the label, and has received numerous prestigious international awards. His most recent releases are Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms (recipient of the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance), Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Ravel: L’enfant et les Sortilèges, and Brahms: The Symphonies. Sir Simon Rattle was knighted in 1994 by the Queen of England, and he has received many other distinctions in recognition of his artistic activities. He and the Berliner Philharmoniker were appointed International UNICEF Ambassadors, the first time this honor has been conferred on an artistic ensemble. The formal appointment took place in November 2007 in New York before the performance of the dance project, The Rite of Spring, at the United Palace Theater in Harlem, which was a highlight of Carnegie Hall’s Berlin in Lights festival.
The history of the Berliner Philharmoniker has been written by the legendary music directors who preceded Simon Rattle. They include Hans von Bülow, who helped establish the orchestra’s high musical standards; Arthur Nikisch, who during his 27-year tenure brought the ensemble to international stature; Wilhelm Furtwängler, who significantly expanded its repertoire to include works by major 20th-century composers; Herbert von Karajan, who cultivated the orchestra’s distinctive sound, made countless recordings, and founded its Salzburg Easter Festival; and Claudio Abbado, who developed cycles of concerts having specific thematic concepts, and who brought more than half of the current players to the ensemble. Under Simon Rattle’s direction, while upholding this tradition of excellence, the Berliner Philharmoniker is expanding its cultural mission by developing projects designed to bring music and music education to the widest possible audiences.
Program Information
Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
CARNEGIE HALL’S OPENING NIGHT GALA
BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER
Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director and Conductor
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Violin
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
MAX BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26
IGOR STRAVINSKY Closing Scenes from The Firebird
Perspectives: Anne-Sophie Mutter
Opening Night Gala Lead Sponsor: PwC
Tickets: $75–$250 (limited availability)
Gala Tickets: $1250–$3000
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Thursday, October 2, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER
Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director and Conductor
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
IGOR STRAVINSKY The Firebird (complete)
Tickets: $70–$230
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Sunday, October 5, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER
Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director and Conductor
ALL-SCHUMANN PROGRAM
Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38, “Spring”
Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61
Tickets: $70– $230
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Monday, October 6, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER
Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director and Conductor
ROBERT SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120 (original version, 1841)
GEORG FRIEDRICH HAAS dark dreams (US Premiere, commissioned by Carnegie Hall and Berliner Philharmoniker)
ROBERT SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97, “Rhenish”
Tickets: $70–$230
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The Carnegie Hall presentations of the Berliner Philharmoniker are made possible by a leadership gift from Marina Kellen French and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.
Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.
Ticket Information
Tickets for Carnegie Hall’s Opening Night Gala on October 1: Gala Benefit tickets—priced at $3000—include concert seating and the post-concert dinner in the Weill Terrace and Terrace Room. Tickets priced at $1250 include the concert and a pre-concert cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m. in Carnegie Hall’s Rohatyn Room. All gala benefit tickets are available by calling the Carnegie Hall Special Events office at 212-903-9679 or online at carnegiehall.org/specialevents.
A limited number of Opening Night concert-only tickets—priced at $75 to $250—are now available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or online at carnegiehall.org.
For additional Berliner Philharmoniker concerts: Tickets—priced at $70 to $230—will be available to Carnegie Hall subscribers and donors on August 18 at 8:00 a.m. and the general public beginning August 25 at 8:00 a.m. at the Carnegie Hall Box Office (154 West 57th Street), or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org. In addition, MasterCard cardholders will receive early access to single tickets beginning on August 22 at 11:00 a.m. through August 24.
For all Carnegie Hall presentations taking place in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.
In addition, for all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. |
Image of Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker at top of release by © Steve J. Sherman
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