BSO MUSIC DIRECTOR JAMES LEVINE LEADS THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, TANGLEWOOD FESTIVAL CHORUS, AND INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED CAST OF SOLOISTS IN TEN-CONCERT EUROPEAN TOUR, AUGUST 26 - SEPTEMBER 7
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THE BOSTON SYMPHONY’S FIRST INTERNATIONAL TOUR UNDER THE BATON OF MAESTRO
LEVINE INCLUDES PERFORMANCES IN SWITZERLAND, GERMANY, FRANCE,
AND GREAT BRITAIN
James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra will launch a two-week, ten-concert
European tour in Lucerne, Switzerland on Sunday, August 26, marking the inaugural
international tour in Maestro Levine’s tenure as the BSO’s Music
Director.
James Levine and the BSO will be joined on their seven-city tour by the Tanglewood
Festival Chorus, as well as an internationally renowned cast of soloists including
mezzo-sopranos Michelle DeYoung and Yvonne Naef, tenor Marcello Giordani,
baritone José van Dam, bass-baritone Albert Dohmen, bass Patrick Carfizzi,
narrator Örs Kisfaludy, and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. This Boston
Symphony tour, to take place August 26 through September 7, includes stops
in Lucerne (August 26-28), Hamburg (August 30), Essen (August 31), Düsseldorf
(September 1), Berlin
(September 3), Paris (September 4), and London (September 6-7), and features
music of Brahms, Ives, Carter, Ravel, Bartók, and Berlioz.
“I’m thrilled to lead the BSO on our first European tour together
during my work with this orchestra,” said BSO Music Director James Levine.
“The programs we’ll play include repertoire close to the artistic
heart of the BSO: important commissioned scores from Bartók and Carter,
Berlioz’ masterpiece The Damnation of Faust - long
regarded as a BSO signature work - plus music of Ravel, Ives, and Brahms,
which the orchestra plays so idiomatically. Together with the Tanglewood Festival
Chorus and soloists, we look forward to giving European audiences a chance
to hear the world-class ensemble that Boston has supported so proudly for
126 years.”
The tour repertoire includes Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust (Lucerne,
Essen, Paris, and London) with mezzo-soprano Yvonne Naef (Marguerite), tenor
Marcello Giordani (Faust), baritone José van Dam (Méphistophélès),
bass Patrick Carfizzi (Brander), and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John
Oliver, conductor. More so than any other United States orchestra, the Boston
Symphony has a long, rich tradition of
performing French orchestral music. The BSO first performed La Damnation de
Faust under the baton of legendary Music Director Serge Koussevitzky in 1934
and later recorded the work twice, under music directors Charles Munch and
Seiji Ozawa.
Maestro Levine also leads the orchestra in Ives’ Three Places in New
England (Lucerne and Berlin) and Carter’s Three Illusions (Lucerne,
Düsseldorf, Berlin, and London). The Three Illusions, composed in 2002
and 2004, are the first of several works commissioned from Carter by the BSO
since James Levine was named Music Director. Maestro Levine is a longtime
advocate of the composer, who remains
astonishingly prolific at age 98.
Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra (Lucerne, Düsseldorf, Berlin,
and London) was commissioned by former BSO Music Director Serge Koussevitzky
and was premiered by the orchestra in December 1944. One of the most important
works ever premiered by the BSO, it has long since become part of the standard
orchestral repertoire. The BSO tour repertoire also includes Brahms’
Symphony No. 1 in
C minor (Lucerne, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, and London) and Ravel’s
Piano Concerto in G (Lucerne and Berlin) with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard.
Performances in Lucerne and Hamburg include Bartók’s only opera,
Bluebeard’s Castle, with mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung, bass-baritone
Albert Dohmen, and narrator Örs Kisfaludy.
More than 30 high-level BSO donors will also travel on all or part of the
orchestra’s European tour and enjoy exclusive gala receptions and dinners
at historic, cultural venues. Highlights of their itinerary include a private
tour of the Rosengart Collection of modernist art, a welcome dinner and cruise
in Lucerne; lunch at the Reichstag and a gala party at Frank Gehry’s
Deutsche Genossenschaftsbank in Berlin; a private reception at Galerie J.
Kugel and tea at the American ambassador’s residence in Paris; and a
special visit of the British Library’s Musical Collection in London.
While accompanying the BSO on tour, these high-level donors will stay at some
of Europe’s finest deluxe hotels and enjoy outstanding regional cuisine.
Additional program information can be found in the listing at the end of this
release.
Source:
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Photo credit: Christian Steiner, courtesy of BSO
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