Monday, February 6, 2017 at 8:00 pm

Symphonic Masters

Budapest Festival OrchestraIván Fischer, ConductorLaura Aikin, SopranoKelley O’Connor, Mezzo-SopranoRobert Dean Smith, TenorMatthew Rose, BassConcert Chorale of New YorkJames Bagwell, Choral Director

ALL-BEETHOVEN PROGRAM

Symphony No. 8 in F major (1812)Allegro vivace e con brioAllegretto scherzandoTempo di MenuettoAllegro vivace

Intermission

Symphony No. 9 in D minor (1822–24)Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestosoScherzo: Molto vivaceAdagio molto e cantabile—Presto—Allegro ma non troppo—Allegro assai (Choral finale)

These programs are supported by the Leon Levy Fund for Symphonic Masters.

Symphonic Masters is made possible in part by endowment support from UBS.

This performance is made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center.

The Program

David Geffen Hall

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Great Performers

Support is provided by Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser, Audrey Love Charitable Foundation,Great Performers Circle, Chairman’s Council, and Friends of Lincoln Center.

Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support ofGovernor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Endowment support for Symphonic Masters is provided by the Leon Levy Fund.

Endowment support is also provided by UBS.

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Nespresso is the Official Coffee of Lincoln Center

NewYork-Presbyterian is the Official Hospital of Lincoln Center

UPCOMING GREAT PERFORMERS EVENTS:

Sunday, February 26 at 3:00 pm in David Geffen HallLondon Philharmonic OrchestraVladimir Jurowski, conductorJan Lisiecki, pianoSofia Fomina, soprano (New York debut)GLINKA: Valse-FantaisieCHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minorMAHLER: Symphony No. 4

Monday, February 27 at 8:00 pm in David Geffen HallLondon Philharmonic OrchestraVladimir Jurowski, conductorPatricia Kopatchinskaja, violinGLINKA: Summer Night in Madrid PROKOFIEV: Violin Concerto No. 2 RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 1 Pre-concert lecture by Harlow Robinson at 6:45 pm in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse

Thursday, March 9 at 7:30 pm in Alice Tully HallTakács QuartetAnthony McGill, clarinetBRAHMS: Clarinet QuintetHAYDN: String Quartet in F major, Op. 77, No. 2RAVEL: String Quartet in F majorPre-concert lecture by Christopher H. Gibbs at 6:15 pm in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse

For tickets, call (212) 721-6500 or visit LCGreatPerformers.org. Call the Lincoln Center InfoRequest Line at (212) 875-5766 to learn about program cancellations or to request a GreatPerformers brochure.

Visit LCGreatPerformers.org for more information relating to this season’s programs.

Join the conversation: #LCGreatPerfs

We would like to remind you that the sound of coughing and rustling paper might distract the performers and your fellow audience members.

In consideration of the performing artists and members of the audience, those who mustleave before the end of the performance are asked to do so between pieces. The takingof photographs and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in the building.

Great Performers

By Christopher H. Gibbs

Beethoven’s last two symphonies werecomposed a decade apart and could hardlybe more different. After the powerful inno-vations of his earlier symphonies, perhapsmost notably in the Third and Fifth, helooked back lovingly in the Eighth to theClassical past from which he came, specifi-cally to his teacher, Franz Joseph Haydn.This delightful work is brimming with goodcheer and chock full of witty touches.

If Beethoven had earlier challenged expecta-tion about what a symphony should be anddo, his Ninth went even further with its mys-terious opening, unconventional order ofmovements, daunting length, and—mostextraordinarily—use of solo voices and cho-rus for the finale setting of FriedrichSchiller’s “Ode to Joy.” It is a piece thatchanged the course of Western music his-tory both for its musical qualities and itsextra-musical implications. The musical inno-vations and ambition of Beethoven’s NinthSymphony, together with its humanisticmessage, have inspired musicians and audi-ences for nearly two centuries, even if itsutopian ideals have yet to be achieved.

—Copyright © 2017 by Christopher H. Gibbs

Snapshot

1812Symphony No. 8 Jacques-Louis David paintsNapoleon in His Study.

1822Symphony No. 9 Poet Percy Bysshe Shelleydies.

1812The New England Journal ofMedicine is founded in Boston.

1822Botanist Gregor Mendel, whohelped lay the foundation ofgenetics, is born.

1812City Hall is completed.

1822Fulton Fish market opens atSouth Street Seaport.

SCIENCE

ARTS

IN NEW YORK

Timeframe

Notes on the Program

Great Performers I Notes on the Program

By Christopher H. Gibbs

Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93 (1812)LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVENBorn December 16, 1770, in Bonn, GermanyDied March 26, 1827, in Vienna

Approximate length: 26 minutes

Beethoven was given to composing and presenting symphonies in pairs.He wrote the Fifth and Sixth symphonies—so different in many respects—around the same time, and they were premiered on the same concert. Thegestation of his next two symphonies, the Seventh and Eighth, was like-wise joined, as were some of their earliest performances. Both these pairsof non-identical twins raise the common perception of advance inBeethoven’s odd-numbered symphonies and of retreat in the even ones.

Beethoven composed his Seventh and Eighth symphonies at a criticalperiod in his life, and concentrated on the latter during the summer of1812. For health reasons he found it advisable to leave Vienna during thehot months, which had the added benefit of getting him closer to thenature that he loved so much. In 1812 he traveled to spas in Bohemia.Meeting the great poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was not the onlyevent of biographical interest that summer. It was then that Beethovenpenned his famous letter to the “Immortal Beloved,” a reciprocated love,but one whose future course was in serious doubt. He completed theEighth Symphony in October while in Linz, where he had gone to visit hisbrother. His health was poor and one can only speculate about the difficul-ties with the mystery woman. Despite what appear to be trying circum-stances, the symphony is one of the composer’s most delightful andhumorous works.

The first movement is dominated by a buoyant opening theme, from whicha related second theme emerges. One of Beethoven’s witty touches isthat the first and last measures of the movement are the same—it is thesort of thing his teacher Haydn might have done, and indeed the older mas-ter’s spirit is often evident in this symphony. In the second movement,Beethoven delights in the recent invention of the “chronometer” (an earlyversion of the metronome) made available to him by his colleague JohannNepomuk Maelzel, who also fashioned various hearing aids for his use. Theincessant ticking of wind instruments sets the pace. Beethoven chose notto follow the already humorous Allegretto with a scherzo (literally, joke) andemployed the more Classical minuet and trio for the third movement. Yetthe amusing touches do not entirely disappear. Just try dancing to this min-uet and you may find yourself tripping over the false downbeats. In theextended rondo finale, Beethoven experiments with sudden shifts indynamics and concludes with a long, spirited coda.

Great Performers I Notes on the Program

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (1822–24)LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Approximate length: 67 minutes

Throughout his career, Beethoven was a fervent believer in Enlightenment val-ues and sought ways to express his beliefs in many of his compositions. Oneof the reasons for the broad and sustained appeal of his Ninth Symphony isthat people enjoying or seeking freedom see this work as exquisitely express-ing a message they wish loudly to proclaim. The message is simple, almostembarrassingly naïve—one we learn as children: People should live togetherin joyous brotherhood.

As a child of the Enlightenment, Beethoven grew up during the American andFrench revolutions. He followed political events throughout his life and expe-rienced war close at hand when Napoleon’s troops invaded Vienna in 1805 and1809. His first large-scale composition, written at the age of 19, was animpressive cantata commemorating the death of Emperor Joseph II, who haddone so much to liberalize the Austrian empire during the early 1780s. Yearslater, Beethoven wrote his lone opera, Fidelio, which tells the story of a lovingwife’s brave efforts to save her husband, an unjustly jailed political prisoner.

For his final symphony, Beethoven turned to a lengthy poem by FriedrichSchiller that he had long wanted to set to music: the “Ode to Joy” (1785).Schiller’s famous words state that in a new age, the old ways will no longerdivide people; that “all men shall become brothers.” Ever since the May 1824premiere of the Ninth Symphony in Vienna, performances of the work havebecome almost sacramental occasions, as musicians and audiences alike areexhorted to universal fraternity.

On a purely musical level, few pieces of music have exerted such an impacton subsequent composers. How, many wondered, should one write a sym-phony after the Ninth? Schubert, Berlioz, Brahms, Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler—the list goes on—all dealt with this question in fascinating ways that funda-mentally shaped 19th-century music. Schubert, who most likely attended thepremiere, briefly quoted the “joy” theme in his own final symphony, writtenthe following year. Most Bruckner symphonies begin in the manner of theNinth. Mendelssohn, Mahler, and Shostakovich are among those who fol-lowed the model of a choral finale. Wagner was perhaps the composer mostinfluenced by the work, arguing that in it Beethoven pointed the way to the“Music of the Future,” a universal drama uniting music and words that, inshort, was realized in Wagner’s own operas.

Composers are not the only people who have become deeply engaged withthe Ninth, and struggled with its import and meaning. For nearly two cen-turies, the work has surfaced at crucial times and places, appropriated forwidely diverse purposes. As the ultimate “feel-good” piece, the Ninth has

Great Performers I Notes on the Program

been used to open the Olympic Games and bring nations together in song. Yetduring the Nazi era it was performed to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. Its melodyis the official anthem of the European Union—but it was also the anthem ofIan Smith’s racist regime in Rhodesia during the 1970s. Within recent mem-ory, protestors played recordings on Tiananmen Square in Beijing and jubilantstudents chose it as a theme as the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. There were com-memorative performances in the wake of 9/11, when the Ninth was onceagain enlisted for its hopeful message.

The opening of the first movement grows out of a void. Against the murmur-ings of the low strings emerge falling fifths in the violins that build to a loudand imposing first theme. It has been likened to the creation of the world; cer-tainly no symphony before had sounded anything like it. Beethoven switchedthe expected order of movements (another feature later composers wouldimitate) by following the allegro with the scherzo. A favorite with audiencesfrom the beginning (especially the prominent role given to the timpani), it pro-jects both humor and power. The lyrical slow movement seems to exploremore personal, even spiritual realms.

The finale opens with what Wagner called the “terror fanfare,” a dissonantand frantic passage that leads to a “recitative” (so marked in the score) for thecellos and basses. Fragments from the previous three movements pass inreview—a few measures of the opening theme of each—but are in turnrejected by the strings. After this strange, extended instrumental recitativecomes an aria-like melody: the famous “Ode to Joy” tune to which words areadded later. After some seven minutes, the movement starts over again: The“terror fanfare” returns, this time followed by a true vocal recitative, with thebass soloist singing “O friends, not these sounds! But let us raise our voicestogether in joyful song.” (These words are Beethoven’s own, which he addedas a preface to Schilller’s poem.) The chorus and four vocal soloists take upthe “joy” theme, which undergoes a series of variations, including a brief sec-tion in the Turkish manner, with cymbals, triangle, drum, piccolo, and trum-pets. The music reaches a climax with a new theme: “Be embraced, you mil-lions...above the stars surely lives a loving Father,” which is later combined incounterpoint with the joy theme and eventually builds to a frenzied coda.

Christopher H. Gibbs is James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Music at Bard College.

—Copyright © 2017 by Christopher H. Gibbs

Great Performers I Texts and Translations

Final Chorus from Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy”

Bass:O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! Sondern lasst uns angenehmere Anstimmen und freudenvollere.

Bass with Chorus:Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt. Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Soloists and Chorus:Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen, Eines Freundes Freund zu sein, Wer ein holdes Weib errungen, Mische seinen Jubel ein! Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund! Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!

Freude trinken alle Wesen An den Brüsten der Natur; Alle Guten, alle Bösen Folgen ihrer Rosenspur. Küsse gab sie uns und Reben, Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod; Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben, Und der Cherub steht vor Gott!

Tenor and Chorus:Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen Durch des Himmels prächt’gen Plan, Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.

O friends, not these sounds!But let us raise our voices together in joyful song.

Joy, divine spark of the Gods,daughter of Elysium,we come drunk with fire,Goddess, to your sanctuary!Your magic brings togetherall whom earthly laws divide.All mankind shall be brotherswhere you spread your wings.

He who has had the fortuneto his friend a friend to be, he that’s won a noble wife,let him now rejoice with us!Yes, and he who anothersoul does love like his own!But he who does not shall stealaway weeping from our band!

All beings drink in joyfrom Nature’s breast;all good and all evilfollow her rose-strewn path.Kisses she gives us, and wine,friendship faithful unto death;joy of life the worm receives,and the Seraph stands by God!

Joyful as the sun’s rays thatcourse through heavenly expanse,hurry, Brothers, on your ways,joyful as a hero in triumph.

Great Performers I Texts and Translations

Chorus: Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum. Deine Zauber binden wiederWas die Mode streng geteilt. Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Seid umschlungen, Millionen!Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt! Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Ihr stürtz nieder, Millionen? Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt! Über Sternen muss er wohnen.

Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, Wir betreten feuertrunken, Himmlische, dein Heiligtum.

Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt! Ihr stürtz nieder, Millionen? Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt? Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt!Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Soloists and Chorus:Freude, Tochter aus Elysium,Deine Zauber binden wieder, Was die Mode streng geteilt. Alle Menschen werden Brüder, Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt! Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium, Freude, schöner Götterfunken!

Joy, divine spark of the Gods,daughter of Elysium,we come drunk with fire,Goddess, to your sanctuary.Your magic brings togetherall whom earthly laws divide.All mankind shall be brotherswhere you spread your wings.

Be embraced, you millions!This kiss is for all the world!Brothers, above the starssurely lives a loving Father.

Do you kneel, O millions?Do you fear your Creator?Seek Him beyond the stars!There He must dwell.

Joy, divine spark of the Gods,daughter of Elysium,We come drunk with fire,Goddess, to your sanctuary.

Be embraced, you millions!This kiss is for all the world!Do you kneel, O millions?Do you fear your Creator?Seek Him beyond the stars!Brothers, above the starssurely lives a loving Father.

Joy, Daughter of Elysium,your magic brings togetherall whom earthly laws divide.All mankind shall be brotherswhere you spread your wings.

Be embraced, you millions!This kiss is for all the world!Brothers, above the starssurely lives a loving Father.

Joy, divine spark of the Gods,daughter of Elysium,Joy, divine spark of the Gods!

Great Performers I Meet the Artists

Iván Fischer is the founder and music director of the BudapestFestival Orchestra, as well as music director of the Konzerthaus andKonzerthausorchester Berlin. The BFO’s international tours and aseries of critically acclaimed records, released by Philips Classics andChannel Classics Records, have contributed to Mr. Fischer’s reputa-tion as one of the world’s most successful orchestra leaders. He isalso active as a composer, with his works being performed in theU.S., the Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, and Austria.

Mr. Fischer regularly guest conducts, collaborating with orchestrasincluding the Berlin Philharmonic, Amsterdam’s Royal ConcertgebouwOrchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra. As musicdirector, he has led the Kent Opera and Opéra National de Lyon, andhe was principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra inWashington, D.C. Many of his recordings have been awarded interna-tional prizes.

Mr. Fischer is a founder of the Hungarian Mahler Society and a patronof the British Kodály Academy. He has received the Golden MedalAward from the president of Hungary and the Crystal Award from theWorld Economic Forum for his services in promoting internationalcultural relations. The government of France made him a member ofthe Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 2006 he washonored with the Kossuth Prize, Hungary’s most prestigious artsaward. In 2011 he received the Royal Philharmonic Society MusicAward, Hungary’s Prima Primissima Prize, and the Dutch OvatiePrize. In 2013 he was accorded honorary membership to the RoyalAcademy of Music in London, and in 2015 he was presented with theAbu Dhabi Festival Award.

Meet the Artists

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American soprano Laura Aikin is afamiliar presence in the world’s greatopera houses and concert halls, per-forming with such conductors asDaniel Barenboim, Sylvain Cam -breling, William Christie, Christophvon Dohnányi, Iván Fischer, DanieleGatti, and Riccardo Muti. Her reper-toire embraces works from theBaroque to the contemporary. She isa regular guest at leading operahouses, including the MetropolitanOpera, Vienna State Opera, La Scala,

Opernhaus Zurich, Netherlands Opera, Opéra National de Paris, SemperoperDresden, and Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona.

Recent highlights include a new production of Janácek’s Vec Makropulos atthe Vienna State Opera, Die ägyptische Helena at Deutsche Oper Berlin, aswell as a new production of Pierrot Lunaire at Oper Frankfurt. Highlights of the2016–17 season include Don Giovanni at Deutsche Oper Berlin, a concert per-formance of Janácek’s Vec Makropulos in Paris, as well as Elegie für jungeLiebende in Vienna. Ms. Aikin’s many acclaimed recordings includeBeethoven’s Christus am Ölberge with Daniel Barenboim on the ChicagoSymphony Orchestra’s Centennial Edition Recording, Ned Rorem: Songs andCycles with pianist Donald Sulzen, Schönberg’s Die Jakobsleiter with SWRSymphony Orchestra, Respighi’s La campana sommersa with Opéra Nationalde Montpellier, and a DVD of Lulu at Opernhaus Zurich. Other DVD releasesinclude Henze’s L’upupa, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the SalzburgFestival and Dialogues des Carmelites at La Scala with Muti.

Grammy–winning mezzo-sopranoKelley O’Connor has emerged as oneof the most compelling performers ofher generation. Her 2016–17 seasonincludes Wagner’s WesendonckLieder with Matthias Pintscher andthe Indianapolis Symphony Or ches tra,John Adams’s The Gospel Accordingto the Other Mary with Simon Rattleand the Berlin Phil harmonic as wellas with David Robertson and the St.Louis Symphony, and Mahler’s Das

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Great Performers I Meet the Artists

Kelley O’Connor

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Great Performers I Meet the Artists

Lied von der Erde with Louis Langrée and the Detroit Symphony Orchestraand with Donald Runnicles and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In perfor-mances with Jaap van Zweden and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Ms.O’Connor sings Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, and she sings the role of Erda inconcert performances of Wagner’s Das Rheingold with the New YorkPhilharmonic and Alan Gilbert conducting.

Recent seasons include performances of John Adams’s El Niño (VladimirJurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra), Ravel’s Shéhérazade (Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Edinburgh Festival),Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (Jirí Belohlávek and the BBC Symphony Orchestra),Berio’s Folk Songs (Daniel Harding and the London Symphony Orchestra), andBach’s St. Matthew Passion (Robert Spano and the Atlanta SymphonyOrchestra). Ms. O’Connor’s discography includes a Grammy Award–winningrecording of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar and Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songswith Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Adams’s The GospelAccording to the Other Mary with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los AngelesPhilharmonic, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Franz Welser-Möst andthe Cleveland Orchestra.

Tenor Robert Dean Smith made hisdebut at the Bayreuth Festival in1997 as Walther von Stolzing in DieMeister singer von Nürnberg, return-ing in lead roles in Tristan und Isolde,Lohen grin, and Die Walküre. Addi -tional engagements include perfor-mances with the Bavarian StateOpera (Fidelio, Aida, Tristan undIsolde, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, DieWalküre, Tosca), Metropolitan Opera(Madama Butterfly, Ariadne aufNaxos, Tosca, Tristan und Isolde),

Vienna State Opera, La Scala, Paris Opera Bastille, Deutsche Oper Berlin,Dresden State Opera, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Lyric Opera ofChicago, among many others throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. InSeptember 2014 he made his Otello debut in Oviedo, Spain.

Mr. Smith has performed in concert with the Royal ConcertgebouwAmsterdam, Vienna Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, BayerischeRundfunkorchester, London Symphony Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale diSanta Cecilia Rome, and Staatskapelle Berlin, among others. His CD recordingof Wagner scenes, released by Arte Nova, was awarded the Orphée d’Or bythe Académie du Disque Lyrique. Born in Kansas, he studied at Pittsburg

Robert Dean Smith

Great Performers I Meet the Artists

(Kansas) State University with Margaret Thuenemann, at The Juilliard Schoolwith Daniel Ferro, and with Janice Harper in Europe.

British bass Matthew Rose studiedat the Curtis Institute of Musicbefore becoming a member of theYoung Artist Programme at the RoyalOpera House, Covent Garden. In2006 he made an acclaimed debut atthe Glyndebourne Festival asBottom in A Midsummer Night’sDream and has since sung the role atLa Scala, Royal Opera House, OpéraNational de Lyon, Houston GrandOpera, and at the MetropolitanOpera. Recent opera engagements

include Mr. Rose’s debut as Baron Ochs for the Lyric Opera of Chicago,Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor for the Royal Opera House and King Markein Tristan und Isolde for English National Opera. This season he singsMasetto, Leporello, and Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette at the Met, BaronOchs at Covent Garden, and Bottom at the Aldeburgh Festival.

In concert Mr. Rose has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, BBC Proms, andthe Mostly Mozart Festival, and performed with the London SymphonyOrchestra with Colin Davis, Daniel Harding, and Michael Tilson Thomas; theLos Angeles Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel; and the BBC SymphonyOrchestra with Andrew Davis, among many others. His recital appearancesinclude the Brighton, Chester, and Cheltenham International Festivals, and atthe Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, and the Kennedy Center. His recordingsinclude a critically acclaimed Winterreise with pianist Gary Matthewman andSchwanengesang with Malcolm Martineau (Stone Records). His most recentrelease is Arias for Benucci with Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen (Hyperion).

Budapest Festival Orchestra

Founded in 1983, the Budapest Festival Orchestra has established itself asone of the leading orchestras of the world. It is beloved by audiences and crit-ically praised for its intensive and emotionally gripping performances. Asmusic director, Iván Fischer has been directing the BFO’s artistic work formore than 30 years, maintaining the orchestra’s experimental spirit, and shap-ing and reshaping orchestral work in the name of constant renewal.

The orchestra is a regular guest at the world’s most important music venuesand concert halls, including Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Vienna’s

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Musikverein, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Philharmonie de Paris, andLondon’s Royal Albert Hall. As a special guest, the BFO is regularly invited tothe Lucerne, Edinburgh, and San Sebastian festivals, and to the BBC Promsand Salzburger Festspiele. The BFO is also a returning guest to the MostlyMozart Festival.

The BFO’s recordings have twice won Gramophone Awards, and its rendi-tion of Mahler’s First Symphony was nominated for a 2013 Grammy. In 2014,its recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 was awarded the Diapason d’Orand Italy’s Toblacher Komponierhäuschen for Best Mahler Recording. In2016 the Association of Music Critics of Argentina selected the BFO as bestforeign symphonic orchestra.

Concert Chorale of New York

The Concert Chorale of New York’s performance highlights include Handel’sMessiah with Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic, Beethoven’sSymphony No. 9 with Gianandrea Noseda, Mozart’s Requiem with LouisLangrée, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with Gustavo Dudamel and the LosAngeles Philharmonic. Other credits include performances in productions ofPhilip Glass’s the CIVIL warS and John Adams’s Nixon in China, as well as inproductions of Dido and Aeneas, Jesu, meine Freude, and L’Allegro, ilPenseroso ed il Moderato. The Chorale has worked with Gerard Schwarz atthe 92nd Street Y, Opéra Français de New York conducted by Yves Abel. andthe American Symphony Orchestra under Leon Botstein.

Notable past highlights include performances in Les noces at Lincoln Center,the New York premiere of Paul McCartney’s Ecce Cor Meum, and a perfor-mance of John Adams’s The Death of Klinghoffer conducted by the com-poser. The Chorale participated in the Performing Arts Center, PurchaseCollege’s performances of works by Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as a concertseries of works by Haydn, Bach, and Beethoven. It also performed in thehighly acclaimed concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carouselconducted by Leonard Slatkin. Members of the Chorale have been featuredin performances with the Pet Shop Boys and Sting. The ensemble men sangwith the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Tristan und Isolde,and they performed in The Tristan Project with the Los Angeles Philharmonicat Avery Fisher Hall. Founded by Jacqueline Pierce, who also serves as artisticadministrator, the Chorale has recorded with CBS and Nonesuch Records.

James Bagwell

James Bagwell maintains an active international schedule as a conductor ofchoral, operatic, and orchestral music. He was most recently named associateconductor of The Orchestra Now, and in 2009 he was appointed as principalguest conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra. From 2009–15 he

Great Performers I Meet the Artists

Great Performers I Meet the Artists

served as music director of the Collegiate Chorale. Highlights of his tenure withthe group include conducting a number of operas-in-concert at Carnegie Hall,including Bellini’s Beatrice di Tenda, Rossini’s Moïse et Pharaon, and Boito’sMefistofele. He conducted the New York premiere of Philip Glass’s SymphonyNo. 7 (“A Toltec Symphony”) and Golijov’s Oceana, both at Carnegie Hall. Since2011 he has collaborated with singer and composer Natalie Merchant, joiningher for performances with a number of major orchestras across the country.

Mr. Bagwell has trained choruses for numerous orchestras around the world,including the Budapest Festival Orchestra, New York and Los AngelesPhilharmonics, and Boston and American Symphony Orchestras. He has workedwith such renowned conductors as Gustavo Dudamel, Alan Gilbert, GianandreaNoseda, Valery Gergiev, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Riccardo Muti, Esa-PekkaSalonen, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Mr. Bagwell frequently appears as guestconductor for orchestras around the country and abroad, including the CincinnatiSymphony Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. He is a professorof music at Bard College, director of performance studies, and co-director of thegraduate conducting program at the Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Lincoln Center’s Great Performers

Initiated in 1965, Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series offers classical andcontemporary music performances from the world’s outstanding symphonyorchestras, vocalists, chamber ensembles, and recitalists. One of the mostsignificant music presentation series in the world, Great Performers runs fromOctober through June with offerings in Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall,Alice Tully Hall, Walter Reade Theater, and other performance spaces aroundNew York City. From symphonic masterworks, lieder recitals, and Sundaymorning coffee concerts to films and groundbreaking productions speciallycommissioned by Lincoln Center, Great Performers offers a rich spectrum ofprogramming throughout the season.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: pre-senter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and com-munity relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter ofmore than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educa-tional activities annually, LCPA offers 15 programs, series, and festivals includ-ing American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, LincolnCenter Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival,and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award–winning Live FromLincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the LincolnCenter campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Centercomplex and the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2 billioncampus renovation, completed in October 2012.

Great Performers I Meet the Artists

Budapest Festival OrchestraIván Fischer, Conductor and Music Director

Violin I Giovanni GuzzoVioletta EckhardtÁgnes BíróMária Gál-TamásiRadu HribErika IllésiIstván KádárPéter KostyálEszter Lesták BedóGyöngyvér OláhGábor SiposCsaba CzenkeTímea IvánEmese Gulyás

Violin IIJános PilzGyörgyi CzirókTibor GátayKrisztina HajákZsófia LezsákLevente SzabóZsolt SzefcsikAntónia BodóNoémi MolnárAnikó MózesZsuzsa SzlávikErika Kovács

Viola Ferenc GáborÁgnes CsomaMiklós BányaiCecília BodolaiZoltán FeketeBarna JuhászNikoletta ReinhardtNao YamamotoCsaba GálfiJoshua Newburger

Cello Péter SzabóLajos DvorákÉva EckhardtGyörgy KertészGabriella LiptaiKousay MahdiRita SoványOrsolya Mód

BassZsolt FejérváriAttila MartosKároly KaszásGéza LajhóLászló LévaiCsaba Sipos

Flute Erika SebókAnett JóföldiBernadett Nagy

Oboe Nóra SalviNehil Durak

Clarinet Ákos ÁcsRudolf Szitka

Bassoon Andrea BressanDániel TalliánSándor Patkós

Horn Zoltán SzókeAndrás SzabóDávid BereczkyZsombor Nagy

Trumpet Zsolt CzeglédiTamás Póti

Trombone Balázs SzakszonAttila SztánJustin Clark

Timpani Roland Dénes

Percussion László HerbolyIstván KurcsákNikolai Petersen

Budapest Festival Orchestra AdministrationStefan Englert, Executive DirectorBence Pócs, Tour ManagerIvett Wolf, Tour AssistantRóbert Zentai, Stage ManagerSándor Kathi, TechnicianInga Petersen, Personal Assistant to Iván Fischer

Great Performers I Meet the Artists

Lincoln Center Programming DepartmentJane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic DirectorHanako Yamaguchi, Director, Music ProgrammingJon Nakagawa, Director, Contemporary ProgrammingJill Sternheimer, Director, Public ProgrammingLisa Takemoto, Production ManagerCharles Cermele, Producer, Contemporary ProgrammingMauricio Lomelin, Producer, Contemporary ProgrammingAndrew C. Elsesser, Associate Director, ProgrammingRegina Grande Rivera, Associate ProducerNana Asase, Assistant to the Artistic DirectorLuna Shyr, Senior EditorOlivia Fortunato, Programming Assistant

Concert Chorale of New YorkJacqueline Pierce, Artistic Administrator

SopranoWendy BakerMiriam ChaudoirEileen ClarkToni DolcePhenisher HarrisLaura InmanMelissa Casey JoseMargarita MartinezAdrienne PardeeNonie SchusterRachel RosalesElisa SingerLara StevensAmaranta Viera

AltoKatherine BenferTeresa BuchholzBo ChangMichele EatonEmily EyreSarona FarrellBJ FredricksWendy GillesJudith MalafronteGeorga OsborneRosa PascarellaJacqueline PierceRhesa WilliamsJanice Wilson

TenorJames BassiJonathan BlalockDavid BryanMatthew DemingBrian DoughertyBrian GieblerWalker JacksonChad KranakDrew MartinStephen RosserDavid WhiteVictor Ziccardi

BassDennis BlackwellRoosevelt CreditMischa FrusztajerRoderick GomezTimothy KrolEnrico LagascaSteven MooreJoseph NealGregory PurnhagenWaundell SaavedraCharles SprawlsLewis White

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