It pretty much goes without saying that creativity courses through every woodwind, stringed instrument and conductor’s baton used by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
But when the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta institution launches its 72nd season in September, it's really saying it. And putting an exclamation point on it.
"It was one of those 'aha!' moments," Evans Mirageas, the ASO's vice president of artistic planning, explained about the decision to imbue the 2016-17 season with an ambitious, overarching theme. "Because at the heart of the season is a very important revival of a work we commissioned, Christopher Theofanidis' 'Creation/Creator.'
“We said, ‘We have a major piece about creators and creativity there. Let’s see if we can look forward and backward to find a way to anchor the beginning and end of the season with pieces about (that theme) as well.’”
They’ve succeeded, as the full schedule released Wednesday makes clear. For three weeks in November, the Elements Festival will celebrate the creativity of composers who illustrate the beauty of nature in music with programs devoted to the elements of earth, air, fire and water.
Some of the connections are immediately apparent, such as the program featuring Elgar’s “Sea Pictures” and Vaughan Williams’ “A Sea Symphony” to be led by ASO Music Director Robert Spano on Nov. 3 and 5, or Mahler’s “The Song of Earth,” to be led by Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles in his season debut on Nov. 17 and 19. At least one selection feels almost playfully clever — Oliver Knussen’s “Flourish With Fireworks,” with Spano conducting, on Nov. 10 and 12.
Next March 23 and 25, the ASO and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus will present "Creation/Creator" here, followed by another performance, on March 31, at the prestigious 2017 SHIFT Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Finally, May 11 and 13, 2017, brings the ASO’s premiere of Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice.” Singing the role of Orfeo — “one of the greatest creators, mythical or not,” Mirageas said — will be David Daniels, the world-renowned countertenor (and former Atlanta resident). Both performances, in which Daniels, Susanna Phillips and Heidi Stober all are making their ASO debuts, will be recorded live for release on ASO Media.
There's much more to the 2016-17 season, of course, including a "Modern Masters" series and programs honoring composer John Adams' birthday; three world premieres, one of them a season-closing new piece by Rapido Competition winner Mark Buller on June 1 and 3, 2017; the ASO premiere on Jan. 19 and 21, 2017, of Bruckner's "Te Deum," described by Runnicles as "one of the most important works of the sacred choral repertoire in the 19th century"; an all-Rachmaninov program on April 6 and 7, 2017; as well as the return of the popular Casual Fridays (four times between Oct. 21, 2016, and May 5, 2017) and Delta Pops series (11 concerts in all, including "The Sounds of Simon and Garfunkel" on Feb. 17 and 18, 2017, the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" score on Jan. 27 and 28, 2017, and Georgia native and Tony Award winner Sutton Foster on April 21 and 22, 2017).
“Engaging audiences through compelling programming is what makes the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra experience so distinctive,” Spano said. “We preserve and celebrate the classics, while introducing new artists, new works and composers, charged with vitality from some of the world’s finest orchestral musicians.”
The season begins on Sept. 15 with a special one-night-only all-Tchaikovsky concert led by Spano and featuring violinist Joshua Bell. Opening Weekend, on Sept. 22 and 24, features a Spano-led program of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 and John Adams’ “Tromba lontana.”
For the complete 2016-17 schedule and information on purchasing subscription tickets now, go to www.atlantasymphony.org. Single tickets go on sale in August.
