News
February 8, 2018Albany Symphony Announces 2018-2019 Concert Season, Bringing Contemporary Composers and Classics to Capital Region Audiences
The Albany Symphony today unveiled its 2018-2019 season, featuring close encounters with new music and timeless classics to inspire and engage audiences of all ages. Following Water Music NY, the orchestras intrepid 7-day tour of the Erie Canal, and its upcoming debut at the Kennedy Center in April, the Albany Symphony remains focused on championing living American composers and solidifying the region’s status as a new music incubator and a destination for the culturally curious. “We are so excited to present a new season of innovative programs and continue our commitment to the community through our hands-on education programs,” said Music Director David Alan Miller.
Highlights of the season include five world premiere performances including works by Viet Cuong, Water Music NY composers Benjamin Wallace and Annika Socolofsky, Sleeping Giant composer Rob Honstein and Albany favorite, acclaimed composer Michael Torke. The Albany Symphony will also perform and record pivotal works by David Del Tredici, John Corigliano and the late Steven Stucky.
Music Director David Alan Miller feels the Symphony’s Armistice Day Centennial concert in November is particularly meaningful. “Benjamin Britten’s incredibly moving War Requiem, which we perform to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, is one of the greatest choral masterpieces of the 20th century. We are delighted to collaborate with Albany Pro Musica in a work that requires adult chorus, children’s chorus, two orchestras and vocal soloists. It is a profound and ultimately life-affirming reflection on the horrors of war,” said Miller. “The War Requiem uses traditional Latin text from the Mass of the Dead interspersed with war poems written during WWI by Lieutenant Wilfred Owen, who was a casualty of the Great War. We will perform this monumental work at Proctors in Schenectady, which allows us accommodate the forces required for the War Requiem and will allow for additional programming focused around World War I.”
A 100th birthday memorial concert in December will honor Dr. Heinrich Medicus, a long-time supporter and beloved friend of the organization, and his love of Bruckner and chocolate.
The Albany Symphony has drawn adventurous listeners from outside the region through its popular American Music Festival at the end of its season in early June. The American Music Festival features adventurous concerts, reading sessions, and new music happenings in a variety of Troy venues including EMPAC at RPI. The Festival will feature two seminal American works: John Corigliano’s magnificent Piano Concerto, and David Del Tredici’s Pop-Pourri, the composer’s very first Alice in Wonderland- inspired piece. Both works will be recorded for commercial release. This will be the first recording project by David Alan Miller and John Corigliano have collaborated on since the duo won the GRAMMY® Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo in 2014.
The Albany Symphony secures top soloists to perform with the ensemble. Percussionist Colin Currie, violinist Chee Yun and pianist Orion Weiss will return to Albany while acclaimed violinists Stefan Jackiw and Tessa Lark will make their Albany Symphony debuts. The orchestra is delighted to welcome guest conductor Lawrence Loh in April.
The Albany Symphony is focused on engaging its concert subscribers as well as connecting with students, families, and new audiences. The orchestra continues to reach broader and more diverse audiences. In 2017, the Albany Symphony sold out two Saturday performances at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and saw growth in the overall number of new subscribers. Next season, families and young people will find it easier to enjoy the symphony with the launch of student subscriptions. For the first time students will be able to enjoy the full benefit of being a subscriber of the Albany Symphony at an affordable price. “We look forward to welcoming more young audience members and students of all ages to celebrate the music of our time. We are committed to showcasing the music that shapes and is shaped by what is happening in our lifetime. As someone who has worked with many other orchestras, I can tell you that our Capital Region audiences are extraordinary for being such open and adventurous listeners,” said Anna Kuwabara, Executive Director of the Albany Symphony.
While Kuwabara loves to see new faces at individual concerts, she notes there is value in purchasing a subscription. “Certain concerts are sold out early and seating can be limited. People with subscriptions get first access and the best deals on the best seats in the house. While each performance is a special event, the season is designed to give listeners an adventure throughout the year. Those who take the whole journey with us find it wonderfully rewarding.”
The 2018-2019 season runs from October through June. Concerts will be held at the Palace Theatre, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Proctors and EMPAC. Patrons can purchase a season subscription online, by phone or visiting the box office (see info below).
2018-2019 Season:
Opening Night: Ride of The Valkyries / October 13, 2018 / Palace Theatre
Viet Cuong, World Premiere
Brahms, Violin Concerto in D Major
Stefan Jackiw, Violin
Selections from Grand Opera, including “The Ride of the Valkyries,” “Carmen Suite,” and “Forza del Destino”
“Armistice Centennial” Britten’s Moving War Requiem / November 10, 2018
/ Proctors Theatre
Britten, War Requiem
With Albany Pro Musica
Classics from Vienna : Heinrich Medicus 100th Birthday Memorial Concert / December 15 & 16, 2018 / Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
- Strauss, Jr. Wine, Women and Song Waltzes, Champagne Polka
- Strauss, Jr. Die Fledermaus Overture
Benjamin Wallace, Chocolate Waltzes (World Premiere)
Bruckner, Symphony No. 6
Beethoven Seventh / January 4 & 5, 2019 / Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
Steven Stucky, Chamber Concerto
Michael Torke, Violin Concerto
Tessa Lark, violin
Beethoven, Symphony No. 7
Valentines Weekend: Romantic Chopin / February 9 & 10, 2019 / Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
Annika Socolofsky, World Premiere
Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 2
Orion Weiss, piano
Schumann, Symphony No. 2
Bolero! / March 9, 2019 / Palace Theatre
Hindemith, Mathis der Maler
Honstein, Percussion Concerto (World Premiere)
Colin Currie, soloist
Gould, Fall River Legend
Ravel, Bolero
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto / April 6 & 7, 2019 / Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
Lawrence Loh, guest conductor
Rossini, Overture to “La Scala di Seta”
Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto
Chee Yun, violin
Polina Nazaykinskaya, New Work
Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4 “Italian”
American Music Festival: June 1, 2019 (EMPAC)
John Corigliano, Piano Concerto
Philip Fisher, Piano
David Del Tredici, “Pop-Pourri”
To Purchase a Season Subscription:
Tickets for all Albany Symphony performances can be purchased by calling 518.694.3300, online at www.albanysymphony.com, or by visiting the Albany Symphony Box Office at 19 Clinton Ave., Albany, NY 12207. Special rates are available to groups of ten or more. Contact: 518.465.4755 ext. 35.
