News
January 22, 2020Dame Evelyn Glennie, Beethoven Mega-Concert, and a North American Premiere by John Williams Top Heroic Albany Symphony Season
The Albany Symphony today unveiled its 2020-2021 season, which features music ranging from world premieres and contemporary classics to iconic, timeless masterworks. Curated by GRAMMY® Award-winning conductor and 2020 GRAMMY® nominee David Alan Miller, the season brings to life the inspirational music of giants like Beethoven, Bartok, and Rachmaninoff, and dazzling performances of artists including legendary Scottish percussionist, Dame Evelyn Glennie.
“The new season celebrates composers whose artistry and creativity reflect their triumph over adversity.” said Albany Symphony Music Director, David Alan Miller. “Inspired by the inextinguishable spirit of Beethoven, our season traces heroic journeys, especially for those who, like Bartok and Rachmaninoff, struggled to find a sense of place or belonging in a changing world, and others who overcame seemingly insurmountable adversity to create great art.”
The season includes twelve new or recent works by leading voices in American concert music, including the long-awaited North American premiere of John William’s Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra with pianist Gloria Cheng; world premieres by Bard College’s Distinguished Composer in Residence, George Tsontakis, Andre Myers, Viet Cuong, Nina Shekhar, Christopher Theofanidis and Molly Joyce;and recent works by Gabriela Lena Frank and Jessie Montgomery. The 2014 GRAMMY® Award-winning duo, Dame Evelyn Glennie and David Alan Miller, will reunite to perform and record a new percussion concerto by Turkish-American composer, Kamran Ince, starting the fourth recording in a quartet of albums featuring Evelyn Glennie and the Albany Symphony. The orchestra will also perform and record Christopher Rouse’s Bassoon Concerto, the only remaining unrecorded concerto by the late composer who passed away in September, 2019.
The centerpiece of the new season is an ambitious recreation of Beethoven’s 1808 “mega-concert” at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall on December 12 & 13, 2020, just days before his 250th birthday. “We wanted to do something unique to honor Beethoven’s legacy,” said Miller. “Like many composers today, Beethoven was a determined entrepreneur and on December 22, 1808 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, he curated and conducted a 4-hour “musical Akademie” in which he premiered not only the mighty Fifth Symphony, but six other major masterpieces.” Miller continued, “Listeners will be able to relive this mind-boggling historic performance in the perfect acoustic of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.” The Saturday performance will include his “Pastoral” Symphony No. 6 and Fourth Piano Concerto. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony will headline the Sunday matinee alongside his Choral Fantasy.
The 2020-2021 season also features many beloved classics. Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra open the season, followed by Holst’s The Planets in November. 2021 begins withs guest conductor Erina Yashima, conducting Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherezade at Proctors in Schenectady. The orchestra celebrates Valentine’s Day with De Falla’s The Three Corned Hat, Strauss’ Don Juan, and Robert Schumann’s “Rhenish” Symphony. David Alan Miller leads the orchestra in March at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall with music by Mozart, Haydn, and Vivaldi followed by Respighi’s Fountains of Rome and Debussy’s La Mer in April at the Palace Theatre. Leading up to the North American premiere of his Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra on June 12, 2021, the orchestra will perform a salute to John Williams on May 1, 2021, focussing on his classic film scores. Williams recently received his 52nd Oscar nomination, making him the most nominated living person in Oscar history.
The Albany Symphony will bring many great solo artists to the Capital Region during the new season. Violist Richard O’Neill, composer/performer Molly Joyce and Albany Pro Musica return, while the “stunningly virtuosic” (The New York Times) bassoonist, Peter Kolkay, pianist Inon Barnaton, 18-year old violin prodigy Maya Buchanan, The Bard College Chamber Singers and The Bard Festival Chorale, and pianist Gloria Cheng will make their Albany Symphony debuts. In March, the Albany Symphony’s Principal Oboist, Karen Hosmer will step forward to perform a Vivaldi Oboe Concerto.
The 2020-2021 season runs from October through the American Music Festival in June. Concerts will be held at the Palace Theatre in Albany, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Proctors in Schenectady, and EMPAC Rensselaer in Troy. With a growing audience, especially on Saturdays at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, subscriptions offer patrons the opportunity to purchase their favorite seat before tickets go on sale to the general public. The Compose Your Own season subscriptions offers flexibility and convenience. Subscriptions start at $102. Through the new Nielsen Associates’ Student Access Program, students can purchase discount subscriptions and enjoy the full benefits of being a subscriber for as little as $45.
2020-2021 SEASON
OPENING NIGHT:
RACHMANINOFF’S THIRD PIANO CONCERT
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020 at 7:30pm | Palace Theatre in Albany
David Alan Miller, conductor
Inon Barnaton, piano
JESSIE MONTGOMERY: Coincident Dances
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 3
BARTÓK: Concerto for Orchestra
THE PLANETS!
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020 at 7:30pm | Palace Theatre in Albany
David Alan Miller, conductor
Albany Pro Musica Women’s Chorus
VIET CUONG: Concerto for Orchestra (World Premiere)
ANDRE MYERS: World Premiere
HOLST: The Planets
THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS
Sunday. Dec. 6, 2020 at 3:00pm | Palace Theatre in Albany
David Alan Miller, conductor
A Capital Region holiday tradition featuring Christmas carols, sparkling holiday favorites and a sleighfull of talent from local schools and ensembles.
BEETHOVEN 250TH | A RE-CREATION OF BEETHOVEN’S 1808 “MEGA-CONCERT”
Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020 at 7:30pm & Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020 at 3:00pm | Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
David Alan Miller, conductor
Part 1: Saturday
Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral”
Ah! Perfido, concert aria
Gloria, from Mass in C major
Piano Concerto No. 4
Part 2: Sunday
Symphony No. 5
Sanctus, from the Mass in C major
Extemporized fantasia for piano
Choral Fantasy
SCHEHERAZADE AT PROCTORS!
Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021 at 7:30pm | Proctors in Schenectady
Erina Yashima, guest conductor
Maya Buchanan, violin
ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV: Violin Concerto
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Scheherazade
VIVIAN FUNG: A Child’s Dream of Toys
VALENTINE ROMANCE
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021 at 7:30pm
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021 at 3:00pm | Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
David Alan Miller, conductor
Peter Kolkay, bassoon
FALLA: Three-Cornered Hat, Suite No. 2
R.STRAUSS: Don Juan
CHRISTOPHER ROUSE: Bassoon Concerto (Recording)
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 3 “Rhenish”
SUNDAY SYMPHONY & MONDAY MUSIC
Sunday, Mar. 21 and Monday, Mar. 22, 2021 | Palace Theatre in Albany
MOZART, HAYDN & VIVALDI
Saturday, Mar. 13, 2021 at 7:30pm
Sunday, Mar. 14, 2021 at 3:00pm | Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
David Alan Miller, conductor
The Bard College Chambers Singers and The Bard Festival Chorale
Dr. Karen Hosmer, oboe
HAYDN: Symphony No. 46
GEORGE TSONTAKIS : Requiem (World Premiere)
MOZART: Symphony No. 39
VIVALDI: Oboe Concerto
FOUNTAINS OF ROME
Saturday, Apr. 24, 2021 at 7:30pm | Palace Theatre in Albany
David Alan Miller, conductor
Richard O’Neill, viola
DEBUSSY: La Mer
GABRIELA FRANK: Apu
RESPIGHI: Fountains of Rome
WALTON: Viola Concerto
A SALUTE TO JOHN WILLIAMS | STAR WARS & MORE, THE SEQUEL!
Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 7:30pm | Palace Theatre in Albany
David Alan Miller, conductor
The music of John Williams will transport you, setting your imagination free, and taking you on heart-stopping adventures. Be there as the Albany Symphony plays your John Williams favorites: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Superman, Raider of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jaws, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, Born on the 4th of July, and the Hymn to the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan. Plus, extra Sci-fi surprises!
DOGS OF DESIRE AT THE AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL
Friday, June 11, 2021 at 7:30pm | EMPAC Rensselaer
Captivating, fresh, and cutting edge, the Dogs of Desire returns to the American Music Festival with an unparalleled concert experience featuring newly penned works by today’s most adventurous composers. Hear it here first, before the ink dries.
AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL | DRUMS ALONG THE HUDSON
Saturday, Jun. 12, 2021 at 7:30PM | EMPAC Rensselaer
David Alan Miller, conductor
Evelyn Glennie, percussion
Gloria Cheng, piano
Molly Joyce, vocalist
NINA SHEKHAR: World Premiere
KAMRAN INCE: Cikirikcilar Hill -Percussion Concerto (Recording)
MOLLY JOYCE/CHRISTOPHER THEOFANIDIS: Songs (World Premiere)
JOHN WILLIAMS: Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra (North American Premiere)
