NSO Classical: 2010-2011 Season

Past Events

• Season Opening Ball Concert

  Sat., Sep. 25, 2010, 7:00 PM
  In his inaugural performance as Music Director of the NSO and the Kennedy Center, Christoph Eschenbach conducts a program of music by Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss Jr, and Liszt with pianist Lang Lang and soprano Renée Fleming.

• Christoph Eschenbach, conductor / Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

  Sep. 30 - Oct. 2, 2010
  In his first concerts of the regular season, Christoph Eschenbach conducts the DC premiere of Pintscher's Hérodiade-Fragmente with soprano Marisol Montalvo. Also on the program is Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

• Christoph Eschenbach, conductor / Christian Tetzlaff, violin, plays Beethoven

  Oct. 7 - 9, 2010
  Christoph Eschenbach conducts Beethoven's Violin Concerto with soloist Christian Tetzlaff, continuing a season-long focus on Beethoven. Also on the program is Bruckner's Symphony No. 6.

• Christoph Eschenbach, conductor / Mozart & Mahler

  Oct. 14 - 16, 2010
  Christoph Eschenbach leads the NSO in performances of Mozart's Symphony No. 34 and Mahler's Symphony No. 5.

• Xian Zhang, conductor / Gil Shaham, violin, plays Prokofiev

  Nov. 4 - 7, 2010
  Gil Shaham, whom the New York Times calls "a highly physical player," is the soloist in Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 conducted by Xian Zhang. Also on the program are works by Debussy, Stravinsky, and Bartók.

• Susanna Mälkki, conductor / Garrick Ohlsson, piano, plays Beethoven

  Nov. 18 - 20, 2010
  Garrick Ohlsson plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" conducted by Finnish maestra Susanna Mälkki.

• Emmanuel Krivine, conductor / Louis Lortie, piano, plays Beethoven

  Dec. 2 - 4, 2010
  Pianist Louis Lortie plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2. Conducted by Emmanuel Krivine, the program also includes Beethoven's Overture to Egmont, Liszt's Les Préludes, and R. Strauss's Don Juan.

• Handel's Messiah

  Dec. 16 - 19, 2010
  Get in the holiday spirit with Handel's epic masterpiece, performed by the NSO, conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini, four guest vocal soloists, and the University of Maryland Concert Choir.

• Kirill Karabits, conductor / Sergey Khachatryan, violin, plays Shostakovich

  Jan. 13 - 15, 2011
  Young star violinist Sergey Khachatryan plays Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 2 conducted by Kirill Karabits. Also on the program are Silvestrov's Elegy for Strings and Sibelius's Symphony No. 1.

• Christoph Eschenbach, conductor / Tzimon Barto, piano, plays Gershwin

  Jan. 22 - 24, 2011
  Christoph Eschenbach conducts Tzimon Barto in Gershwin's Piano Concerto. Also on the program is Remembering JFK (An American Elegy) by Peter Lieberson, with narration by Richard Dreyfuss of text taken from President Kennedy's speeches and writings.

• Christoph Eschenbach, conductor / Berg & Beethoven

  Jan. 27 - 29, 2011
  Christoph Eschenbach conducts Beethoven's Triple Concerto played by violinist Nurit Bar-Josef, cellist David Hardy, and pianist Lambert Orkis. Also on the program are Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and Berg's Three Orchestral Pieces.

• Gianandrea Noseda, conductor / Radu Lupu, piano, plays Beethoven

  Feb. 10 - 12, 2011
  Renowned pianist Radu Lupu plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 conducted by Gianandrea Noseda in his NSO debut. The program also includes Smetana's Overture to The Kiss and Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony.

• Christoph Eschenbach, conductor / Zakir Hussain, tabla / Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano

  Mar. 3 - 5, 2011
  As part of maximum INDIA, Christoph Eschenbach conducts an NSO-commissioned world premiere from tabla player/composer Zakir Hussain and excerpts from Roussel's opera Padmâvatî.

• Christoph Eschenbach, conductor / Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie

  Mar. 10 - 12, 2011
  As part of the maximum INDIA festival, Christoph Eschenbach conducts Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie. Joining the NSO are pianist Cédric Tiberghien and ondes martenot player Tristan Murail.

• Christoph Eschenbach, conductor / Mozart & Zemlinsky

  Mar. 17 - 20, 2011
  Christoph Eschenbach conducts Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony with baritone Matthias Goerne and soprano Twyla Robinson. Also on the program is Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, played by Eschenbach and conducted from the piano.

• Iván Fischer, conductor / Jozsef Lendvay Jr., violin, plays Paganini

  Mar. 31 - Apr. 2, 2011
  Former Principal Conductor Iván Fischer returns to lead József Lendvay Jr. in Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1. Also on the program are Rossini's Overture to La gazza ladra and Schumann's Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish."

• Christoph Eschenbach, conductor / Dawn Upshaw, soprano, sings Golijov & Mahler

  Apr. 7 - 9, 2011
  Soprano Dawn Upshaw sings the NSO debut performance of Golijov's She Was Here and in Mahler's Symphony No. 4 conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. Also on the program is Webern's Im Sommerwind.

• Kurt Masur, conductor / Sarah Chang, violin, plays Bruch

  Apr. 28 - 30, 2011
  The Times of London says conductor "Kurt Masur has extraordinary joie de vivre." Violinist Sarah Chang plays Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1. Also on the program are Mendelssohn's Overture to Ruy Blas and Brahms's Symphony No. 1.

• Neeme Järvi, conductor / Yefim Bronfman, piano, plays Tchaikovsky

  May 5 - 7, 2011
  "One of the greatest pianists active today" (The New York Times), Yefim Bronfman plays Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. The all-Russian program also includes Glazunov's Concert Waltz No. 1 and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 6 conducted by Neeme Järvi.

• Thomas Dausgaard, conductor / Nikolai Lugansky, piano, plays Beethoven

  May 19 - 21, 2011
  Both making their NSO debut, Nikolai Lugansky plays Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 conducted by Thomas Dausgaard. Also on the program are Sibelius's En saga and Nielsen's Symphony No. 4 "The Inextinguishable."

• John Axelrod, conductor / Samuel Pisar, narrator & Kelley Nassief, soprano, Bernstein's Symphony No. 3 "Kaddish"

  Jun. 2 - 4, 2011
  In his NSO debut, John Axelrod conducts the NSO, narrator Samuel Pisar, and the Cathedral Choral Society in Bernstein's Kaddish symphony. Also on the program are works by Kernis and Barber.

• Christoph Eschenbach, conductor / Jennifer Koh, violin, plays Augusta Read Thomas

  Jun. 9 - 11, 2011
  Violinist Jennifer Koh, who plays with "energy and velvety richness" (The New York Times), returns to play Thomas's Violin Concerto No. 3, a US premiere NSO Co-Commission conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. Also on the program are works by Schumann.

• Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor / Steven Isserlis, cello, plays Walton

  Jun. 16 - 18, 2011
  Steven Isserlis, "the cello's best ambassador" (The Times, London), plays Walton's Cello Concerto, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. Also on the program are Walton's overture Portsmouth Point and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10.

• 2011-2012 Season Preview Concert

  Wed., Jun. 29, 2011, 8:00 PM
  

All programs are subject to change.