REN脡E FLEMING & SONGSTUDIO / ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER / KRONOS QUARTET
Carnegie Hall
Stern Auditorium ( /
Ren茅e Fleming chaperones SongStudio, a week-long series of master classes with ten rising young singers and accompanists, featuring diva El墨na Garan膷a and accompanist Hartmut H枚ll, plus public conversations on the artistry of the vocal recital with young groundbreakers like soprano Julia Bullock and composer Gabriel Kahane.
Prima violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter offers her own all-Beethoven program for the composer鈥檚 250th birth anniversary focused on three of his most beloved works, the 鈥淪pring鈥� Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, the 鈥淕host鈥� Piano Trio in D Major, and the 鈥淜reutzer鈥� Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major.
Zankel Hall
Kronos Quartet returns for another cutting-edge expansion of the string quartet repertoire with works by Glass, Reich, Riley, Missy Mazzoli and a World Premiere by Bryce Dessner, among others.
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC: DUDAMEL
David Geffen Hall &
He鈥檚 here! Gustavo Dudamel, arguably the most charismatic conductor in classical music today, slips away from his Los Angeles Philharmonic to lead New York鈥檚 for two weeks, commencing with a program comprising Dvo艡谩k鈥檚 Bohemian elegy, his Symphony No. 9, From the New World; Charles Ives鈥� modernist conundrum, The Unanswered Question; and a New York Premiere, Esteban Benzecry鈥檚 Piano Concerto, Universos infinitos.
Dudamel then tackles two extravagant masterworks of evanescence, Mahler鈥檚 valedictory Das Lied von der Erde (鈥淪ong of the Earth鈥�) and Schubert鈥檚 Tragic Symphony No. 4.
THE CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY: STOCKHAUSEN
A rare opportunity to hear electronic chamber music as it was meant to be heard, in a picturesque setting like the Kaplan Penthouse, ostensibly with a drink in hand. Karl Stockhausen鈥檚 Kontakte for Piano, Percussion, and Electronic Sounds (1958-60) will be performed with more recent works by his indirect descendants: Kaija Saariaho鈥檚 Trois rivi猫res for Percussion Quartet and Electronics (1994) and Thomas Meadowcroft鈥檚 Cradles for Percussion Duo with Wurlitzer e-Piano (2013).
WOZZECK / LA DAMNATION DE FAUST / PORGY AND BESS
William Kentridge鈥檚 new production of Alban Berg鈥檚 apocalyptic Wozzeck, commands the month, with Met Music Director Yannick N茅zet-S茅guin in the pit and Peter Mattei in the title role, fronting a stellar ensemble, including Elza van den Heever and Christian Van Horn.
An unanticipated concert version of Berlioz鈥檚 La Damnation de Faust, will be presented because, according to the Met, 鈥渢he technical demands of reviving the staged production proved to be impossible to accommodate within the company鈥檚 production schedule.鈥� The cast, nonetheless, seems ideal: tenor Bryan Hymel as Faust, Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov as M茅phistoph茅l猫s and mezzo El墨na Garan膷a as Marguerite.
Also, not to be missed, the return of the Met鈥檚 acclaimed Porgy and Bess for a handful of performances.
LINCOLN CENTER鈥橲 AMERICAN SONGBOOK: RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
Wainwright 鈥攚ho has composed two operas, to date, Prima Donna and Hadrian 鈥�will revisit songs that have shaped him as one of the most intriguing songwriters of his generation, in a program he calls, 鈥淪ongs That Built Me.鈥�
PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL: RICKY IAN GORDON鈥橲 ELLEN WEST
One of the city鈥檚 more expansive music theater festivals returns to explore 鈥渢he interstitial realms between music, operatic tradition, and theatre.鈥� One highlight, among many, will be a New York City premiere for composer Ricky Ian Gordon鈥檚 single-act psychoanalytic adventure Ellen West, starring the titanic baritone Nathan Gunn.
WINTER JAZZFEST
January is also the month of Jazzfest in New York City; a borough-spanning jam session of contemporary jazz at its most ecumenical. Highlights include an evening with guitarist James 鈥淏lood鈥� Ulmer, a celebration of Detroit鈥檚 jazz legacy that will feature a tribute to trumpeter Marcus Belgrave by, among others, bassist Ron Carter, vocalist Sheila Jordan, pianist Johnny O鈥橬eal and young trumpeter Theo Croker; plus marathons鈥� a Jazzfest signature 鈥� for two nights in Manhattan and one night in Brooklyn.
