From here to Faur茅, the classic arts scene in New York is never quiet. Here is just a sampling of some of the classic arts events happening this week.
New York City Ballet鈥檚 Spring Season will kick off April 22 with an all-Balanchine program, opening with Apollo, the earliest Balanchine work in the company鈥檚 repertory. The 1928 ballet was the first collaboration between George Balanchine and composer Igor Stravinsky. The program will also include three other Balanchine ballets, all of them in some form excerpts from larger works: Ballo della Regina, a setting of the ballet scene from Verdi鈥檚 opera Don Carlos, often cut from performances of the opera itself; Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, set to an excerpt from Swan Lake; and Chaconne, set to ballet music from Gluck鈥檚 opera Orfeo ed Euridice.
A second NYCB program, titled Innovators and Icons, will start performances April 24, and feature three ballets from choreographers closely connected with the company: George Balanchine鈥檚 Scotch Symphony, set to Mendelssohn鈥檚 Symphony No. 3; Jerome Robbins鈥� Glass Pieces, set to selections of music by Philip Glass; And Belles-Lettres, by NYCB Resident Choreographer Justin Peck, set to music by C茅sar Franck.
Performances continue at the Metropolitan Opera this week of Rossini鈥檚 Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) and Mozart鈥檚 Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). Though written independently of one another, the operas are based on two plays from a trilogy by Pierre Beaumarchais. Barbiere tells the story of how the Count and Countess Almaviva met and eloped, with the wily barber Figaro assisting in helping the Countess-to-be Rosina escape the eye of her guardian Doctor Bartolo. Nozze, set years later, concerns Figaro鈥檚 approaching marriage to the Countess鈥� maid Susanna, and the Count and Countess鈥� increasingly strained marriage. Both beloved staples of the comic opera repertoire, Barbiere and Nozze are often considered a set, and this week audiences at the Met will have the opportunity to take in both on consecutive days. This week will also feature this season鈥檚 final performances of another Mozart masterpiece, The Magic Flute.
Mozart will be well-represented at Lincoln Center this week, as conductor Iv谩n Fischer leads the New York Philharmonic in concerts April 25-27 featuring the overture to The Magic Flute, as well as Mozart鈥檚 Violin Concerto No. 5, with soloist Lisa Batiashvili. The program will also include a performance of the complete score of B茅la Bart贸k鈥檚 ballet The Wooden Prince.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra plays two concerts at Carnegie Hall this year, led by conductor Andris Nelsons. The orchestra will be joined by pianist Mitsuko Uchido April 23 for a performance of Beethoven鈥檚 Piano Concerto No. 4, followed by Shostakovich鈥檚 Symphony No. 15. The following day, cellist Yo-Yo Ma will join the orchestra for an all-Shostakovich program including the composer鈥檚 Cello Concerto No. 1 and Symphony No. 11.
Pianist Brad Mehldau will play music from his latest album Apr茅s Faur茅 at the 92nd Street Y April 23. The program will include Faur茅鈥檚 Four Nocturnes, original compositions reimagining Faur茅, and selections bridging the two. The 92nd Street Y will also host an appearance from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw and Gabriel Kahane, performing their collaborative work Hexagons April 25.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents a wide-ranging program at Alice Tully Hall April 26, which includes Mozart鈥檚 Duo in G Major for Violin and Viola; Arensky鈥檚 Trio No. 2 for Piano, Violin, and Cello; Gian Carlo Menotti鈥檚 Suite for Two Cellos and Piano; and Faur茅鈥檚 Piano Quintet No. 1. The concert will feature pianists Anna Geniushene and Wu Qian, violinists Lun Li and Alexander Sitkovetsky, violist Yura Lee, and cellists Nicholas Canellakis and Sterling Elliott.
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