During an ambitious 2011-12 season, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will present three world premieres and one U.S. premiere, take the American premiere to New York's Carnegie Hall and mark the end of Donald Runnicles' tenure as principal guest conductor.
The world premiere performances will present works by Atlanta composer Alvin Singleton, jazz pianist Marcus Roberts and composer Adam Schoenberg.
The ASO additionally will list 14 Atlanta premieres on its 67th season schedule, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned, when it is formally announced on its web site Thursday morning.
Runnicles, who has moved his base from the U.S. to Europe, where he now leads Berlin's Deutsche Oper as well as Glasgow's BBC Scottish Orchestra, will conclude an 11-year partnership with music director Robert Spano, the ASO and the ASO Chorus.
He will get quite a sendoff. On Jan. 19-22, Runnicles will lead the ASO in Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony and will be joined by violinist James Ehnes for Britten’s Violin Concerto. The next week he will complete his tenure (though he's expected to return as a guest conductor) by leading the orchestra and chorus in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection.”
Season highlights include:
- Spano leading the ASO in the U.S. premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen's "Nyx," on Oct. 27 and 29. The piece was co-commissioned by the ASO, Finnish Radio Symphony, Radio France, Carnegie Hall and London's Barbican Centre. On Nov. 5, the ASO will give the New York debut of the work in a Carnegie concert that includes Garrick Ohlsson performing Rachmaninov's Piano Concert No. 3. ASO Media, the orchestra's new label, plans a fall release of Ohlsson playing the Rachmaninov.
- Schoenberg's untitled new work receiving its world premiere in a Spano-conducted program March 1, 2 and 4. The composer is a member of the Atlanta School of Composers, an ASO program that nurtures new work by an emerging generation of classical music creators.
- Spano and the ASO performing the Singleton world premiere plus Roberts' new piano concerto, with the Marcus Roberts Trio on May 10-12.
- Spano leading the orchestra in a Theater of a Concert presentation (in which video, staging and lighting effects augment the music) of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" on March 8 and 10. A Theater of a Concert production of John Adams' "A Flowering Tree," conducted by Spano, will close the 2011-12 season on June 7-9.
- Cellist Yo-Yo Ma joining Spano, the ASO and the Morehouse and Spelman College glee clubs in performing the 20th anniversary "A King Celebration" concert honoring Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 12. The annual concert moves from Morehouse to Symphony Hall.
- Spano opening the season Sept. 22, 23 and 25 at Symphony Hall in Midtown, leading the orchestra and chorus in selections from Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen," and the ASO premiere of Mahler's arrangement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, "Choral."
At its Alpharetta summer home of four years, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, ASO performances will include a season-opening Fourth of July concert; music from "Casablanca" (July 15); and "Cirque de la Symphonie," combining acrobatics with classical and contemporary music (July 30).
The ASO will roll out a 40-minute video previewing its season, including interviews with Spano, Runnicles and orchestra president Stanley Romanstein, on its website (www.aso.org/1112) Thursday morning. Contests and ticket giveaways will be held on social media (
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) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Season tickets are on sale at 404-733-4800 or www.atlantasymphony.org. Individual Symphony Hall tickets will go on sale in August. Amphitheatre tickets go on sale in April.
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