New season highlights

[David Ayers]

I am always excited to find out about the upcoming seasons of the London orchestras and opera companies, and especially interested to find out what they are doing that is new or notable. I don't know if others follow their local orchestras quite the way I do, so this thread might get no respondents, but what I'd like is to hear about upcoming performances of interest in your neck of the woods (or in mine, come to think about it). I am a real believer in living tradition and live performance and I like to hear how orchestras and opera houses are finding ways to offer interesting things to audiences.

So I'll start with a few things I picked out in London next season.

First up is the Szymanowski/Brahms series with the LSO conducted by Gergiev. In five concerts he pairs the four Szymanowski symphonies with the four Brahms, plus the respective Requiems, with Szymanowski's violin concertos thrown in. I confess I have only a limited interest in Szymanowski but I like the initiative. Boulez was to have conducted Szymanowski next week also with the LSO but has pulled out and been replaced by Eotvos. I imagine there will be very different approaches on display!

Across the water, Salonon will be conducting three Lutoslawski concerts with the Philharmonia. The Lutoslawski works include the Concerto for Orchestra, the Piano Concerto, the Cello Concerto, and several others, paired with Ravel and Debussy.

Back at the Barbican the BBC SO is playing Tippett - the four symphonies plus the piano concerto, played over five concerts with five different conductors (including Mark Wigglesworth and Andrew Davies) and various pairings.

Finally the Total Immersion days at the Barbican are (1) Knussen (2) Sounds from Japan (Takemitsu plus several others) (3) New from the North (Norgard, Lindberg etc).

Going to be good, right?

Edited April 21, 2012 by David Ayers

[Hoppy T. Frog]

My Local, the Baltimore Symphony, is regressing from an interesting season this year (a semi-staged Jeanne D'arc Au Bucher by Honnegger being a highlight) to more conservative programming.

[David Ayers]

My Local, the Baltimore Symphony, is regressing from an interesting season this year (a semi-staged Jeanne D'arc Au Bucher by Honnegger being a highlight) to more conservative programming.

Oh