The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will present three world premieres and 13 Atlanta premieres in its 2012-13 season, with music director Robert Spano leading the orchestra and ASO Chorus at New York's Carnegie Hall.
The Symphony Hall season, as announced exclusively today in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will be highlighted by world premieres composed by Atlanta School of Composers member Michael Gandolfi, jazz pianist Marcus Roberts and ASO bassist Michael Kurth.
The 68th season opens on Oct. 4, with Spano leading the orchestra in a weekend of performances featuring violinist Midori playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Spano then will return to Carnegie Hall on Oct. 27 to lead a program including the Suite from Copland’s "Appalachian Spring," Bernstein’s "Chichester Psalms" and Walton’s "Belshazzar’s Feast." Soloists will be countertenor John Holiday and baritone Brett Polegato.
On the weekend of Jan. 10, 2013, Spano will lead the orchestra in the world premiere of a clarinet concerto by Gandolfi, written for principal clarinet Laura Ardan. "Rainbow Body," by fellow School of Composers member Christopher Theofanidis, will be performed April 4-5, 2013.
The School of Composers is an ASO program that nurtures new work by an emerging generation of classical music creators. Starting his 12th season as Atlanta maestro, Spano has been an ardent proponent of programming new music with the classics. By the end of the 2012-13 season, he and the ASO will have performed 30 world premieres, 16 of them commissioned by the orchestra.
The ASO's remaining two world premieres will be performed on the same April 4-5 program: a piano concerto by Roberts (postponed from the 2011-12 season), featuring the Marcus Roberts Trio; and bassist Kurth's composition.
In what shapes up to be one of the special programs of the 24-week subscription series, principal guest conductor Donald Runnicles will lead the ASO in May 2013 in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto featuring Spano on piano, concertmaster David Coucheron and principal cello Christopher Rex. Runnicles also will lead an all-Brahms program with pianist Lars Vogt that closes the season in June 2013.
A dozen guest conductors will lead the ASO during the season, including three making debuts here: Lionel Bringuier, Matthias Pintscher and Xian Zhang.
The ASO's SuperPOPS series launches Oct. 12-13 with "Sounds of Simon and Garfunkel,” featuring A.J. Swearingen and Jonathan Beedle harmonizing on hits such as “The Sound of Silence” in an orchestral program.
The Family Concerts series opens Oct. 21 with the ASO performing music from the Harry Potter films in "Halloween at Hogwarts."
At its Alpharetta summer home of five years, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, ASO performances will include a season-opening Fourth of July concert and an all-Beatles program featuring Classical Mystery Tour on July 21.
The ASO will preview its season with an online video this morning (www.aso.org/1213). Contests and ticket giveaways will be held on social media (
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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 spring.
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