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March 19, 2019
Lincoln Center Announces 2019 Mostly Mozart Festival
Mostly Mozart Festival
Lincoln Center Announces 2019 Mostly Mozart Festival
July 10–August 10
Annual Mostly Mozart Festival Features
Internationally Acclaimed Staged Productions
Plus Premieres, Concert Performances, and
Extraordinary Artists from Multiple Disciplines. Highlights include:
The Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and Louis Langrée welcome violin soloists
Joshua Bell, Vilde Frang and Pekka Kuusisto; pianists Martin Helmchen, Pierre Laurent-Aimard, and Steven Osborne; guest conductors Gianandrea Noseda and Andrew Manze, and other guests
The New York production premiere of Komische Oper Berlin’s sensational staging of Mozart’s The Magic Flute as reimagined by directors Suzanne Andrade, Barrie Kosky and animator Paul Barritt, with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra conducted by Music Director Louis Langrée
A world premiere from Mark Morris Dance Group set to Erik Satie’s Sports et divertissements
The U.S. premiere of Under Siege, a stunning Chinese dance-theater work from Yang Liping Contemporary Dance with scenic design by Oscar winner Tim Yip
The New York premiere of The Black Clown, a music-theater adaption of the epic Langston Hughes poem by bass-baritone Davóne Tines and composer Michael Schachter
A special return engagement of Blak Whyte Gray, the electrifying dance-theater work from East London company Boy Blue
A Little Night Music expands to nine late-night cabaret performances, with appearances by Brooklyn Rider, Michael Brown, Nora Fischer, Lucas and Arthur Jussen, and soloists from Festival Orchestra concerts, among others
International Contemporary Ensemble premieres Dai Fujikura’s Shamisen Concerto as part of their ninth annual festival residency
Special guest ensembles include Takács Quartet with Jeremy Denk, and Iván Fischer conducting the Budapest Festival Orchestra
Ancillary activities include documentary and feature films, panel discussions, pre-concert chamber music, and free concerts and events in the David Rubenstein Atrium
NEW YORK (March 19, 2019) — Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts today announced this summer’s Mostly Mozart Festival, running from July 10 through August 10, 2019. Harnessing Mozart’s innovative spirit as its inspiration, the 2019 festival builds upon the expanded scope established last summer with groundbreaking, international multidisciplinary productions, acclaimed artists of all genres, introductions to emerging creative voices, commissions and premieres, and the presentation of new work and ideas. American Express is the lead sponsor of the Mostly Mozart Festival.
“When we think of Mozart, we think of a creative genius whose imagination and ingenuity pushed the boundaries of every art form he touched,” said Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director. “Mozart continuously challenged himself and those around him to propel forward: to test and grow, to innovate and transform. The Mostly Mozart Festival takes its inspiration from those qualities, and with New York City as its setting, has evolved from its roots as a summertime music event into a vibrant, international arts festival known for its presentation of visionary new work across disciplines and its fresh, dynamic approach to the classics.”
International, multi-disciplinary productions have become a hallmark of the Mostly Mozart Festival, and, in 2019, Lincoln Center presents five artistically distinct, large-scale productions, each bringing new perspective and interpretation to classic stories and traditional work. Opening the 2019 festival is the intrepid Mark Morris Dance Group bringing time-honored works from their repertory as well as a world premiere set to whimsical music by Erik Satie. Mozart’s The Magic Flute as reimagined by co-directors Suzanne Andrade, Barrie Kosky, and animator Paul Barritt has its New York production premiere. In this spectacularly vivid production, inspired by the era of silent film, the opera’s characters interact with animated hand-drawn illustrations projected on a massive set. Another New York production premiere, The Black Clown, comes fresh from its autumn 2018 premiere by the American Repertory Theater. The music-theater work, an adaptation by Davóne Tines and Michael Schachter of Langston Hughes’s epic poem of the same name, depicts the experience of a 1930s era Black man and his resiliency against a legacy of oppression.
Celebrated Chinese choreographer Yang Liping’s dance troupe performs the U.S. premiere of Under Siege, the story of an ancient Chinese battle that fuses contemporary dance with martial arts, Chinese folk dance, hip-hop, and gymnastics set within an intensely beautiful visual landscape created by Oscar winner Tim Yip (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). And, Blak Whyte Gray, which had its sensational U.S. premiere at Lincoln Center’s 2018 White Light Festival, returns for an encore performance, a riveting work by East-London-based Boy Blue that fuses hip-hop dance with African-inspired grooves and an electronic score.
The heart of the festival is the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra (MMFO), led by Renée and Robert Belfer Music Director Louis Langrée, and the music of Mozart and his close contemporaries has provided its framework since the beginning. Under Langrée’s leadership, the orchestra has expanded the scope of its repertoire, incorporating works of the Baroque era as well as fast-forwarding to the music of our time. Programs this summer run the gamut from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons to Alfred Schnittke’s Moz-ART à la Haydn, with Handel, Haydn, Shostakovich, Bartók and others woven in for good measure. A special highlight this summer is the continuation of Langrée’s four-summer exploration of the Brahms symphonies. Following the MMFO’s first performances this summer at the David H. Koch Theater as part of The Magic Flute, the orchestra moves back to its David Geffen Hall home, welcoming an array of acclaimed soloists and guest conductors for six pairs of concerts. Among them are returning artists and longtime friends of the festival including Joshua Bell, Martin Helmchen, Pierre Laurent-Aimard, Andrew Manze, Gianandrea Noseda, and Steven Osborne. Making their Mostly Mozart Festival debuts are Vilde Frang, Pekka Kuusisto, and Knut Erik Sundquist. MMFO concerts are complemented by pre-concert performances, many of which are thematically paired. Pre-concert talks and lectures provide further glimpses inside the music.
“Mozart’s music delivered a universal message,” said Louis Langrée. “He had an insatiable curiosity, studying the music of the ancient masters who came before him, and he traveled extensively, absorbing diverse cultures and continuously incorporating fresh ideas into his music. The experimentation he embodied continues to stir the imagination and has influenced generation after generation of composers to take artistic risks. The Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra’s programs are about uncovering the fascinating connections among composers, demonstrating their ingenuity, and illuminating the creative process.”
The intrepid International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), in its ninth year as festival artists-in-residence, has three programs concentrating on diverse works by global composers of our time. The first, at the David Rubenstein Atrium, features works by the Icelandic composers Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir and American Ashley Fure; another features contemporary works for traditional Persian, Hungarian, American, and Japanese string instruments; and the third shines a spotlight on Iranian women composers.
“A Little Night Music,” the popular series of intimate late-night performances in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, has expanded this summer to nine presentations, many of which have artistic links to the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra concerts occurring earlier each evening. Pekka Kuusisto, Knut Erik Sundquist, Martin Helmchen, and Steven Osborne will all perform late-night recitals following their MMFO concerts. Pianist Michael Brown performs Beethoven’s “Eroica Variations” in response to the MMFO’s performance of the “Eroica” Symphony; Nora Fischer’s and Marnix Dorrestein’s fresh approach to simple, Baroque songs follows a folk music-inspired program; soprano Susanna Phillips sings songs of Clara Schumann, Fanny Hensel, and Alma Mahler following a rare performance of Clara Schumann’s cadenza to Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, K.466; and, Brooklyn Rider performs after Joshua Bell’s performances of the Dvorák Violin Concerto (as well as for the pre-concert recital).
The festival continues its tradition of presenting celebrated artists, guest ensembles, and rising stars at venues across the Lincoln Center campus and beyond. The Budapest Festival Orchestra and their music director Iván Fischer perform Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony and Handel arias, with soprano Jeanine De Bique making her festival debut. The esteemed Takács Quartet joins forces with pianist Jeremy Denk for a program of Mozart, Beethoven, and Dohnányi at Alice Tully Hall. There will be free concerts at the David Rubenstein Atrium with violinist Tessa Lark and bassist Michael Thurber and the International Contemporary Ensemble. And, wind players from the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra will perform Mozart’s Serenade for Winds in B-flat, the “Gran Partita,” conducted by Louis Langrée at St. Paul’s Chapel in Lower Manhattan.
This summer’s film screenings in the Walter Reade Theater lend fuller perspective to two of the festival’s major productions. Peter Bogdanovich’s The Great Buster: A Celebration pays tribute to Buster Keaton, an inspiration for Barrie Kosky’s interpretation of the Papageno character in The Magic Flute. Yang Liping’s Under Siege draws upon the same historic events that informed the film Farewell, My Concubine. And, Tim Yip, who is the mastermind of the Under Siege set and costumes, won an Oscar for Best Art Direction and Screen Design for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
“American Express is pleased to continue our support of Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival and its acclaimed productions of dance, theater, and music,” said Timothy J. McClimon, president, American Express Foundation. “Our support of this New York City cultural icon is one of many ways American Express supports shared cultural experiences for this generation and the next.”
Now in its 53rd year, the Mostly Mozart Festival is one of several annual summer events offered by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts that activate the campus’s indoor and outdoor spaces. Midsummer Night Swing (June 25—July 13) brings top bands from around the world, dance instructors, and New York’s social dance community to Damrosch Park for three weeks of dancing under the stars. Lincoln Center Out of Doors (July 25—August 11) presents a wide array of free performances, including music, dance, spoken word, film, and more, reflecting the diversity of New York City. The David Rubenstein Atrium’s robust calendar of free events, including world-class performances, illuminating conversations, dance parties, kids’ programs, and more, also continues through the summer.
Tickets for Friends of Mostly Mozart go on sale April 2, 2019 and to the general public beginning April 15, 2019. To become a Friend of Lincoln Center, visit support.lincolncenter.org Tickets can be purchased online at MostlyMozartFestival.org, by phone via CenterCharge at 212.721.6500, or by visiting the David Geffen Hall or Alice Tully Hall Box Offices.
Please click here to download high-resolution images.
STAGED PRODUCTIONS
Mark Morris Dance Group
Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, July 11, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Friday, July 12, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 13, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
Mark Morris Dance Group
Mark Morris, choreographer
Colin Fowler, piano; Georgy Valtchev, violin
American String Quartet
Sport (World premiere)
Satie: Sports et divertissements
Empire Garden
Ives: Trio for Violin, Cello, and Piano
V
Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat major
Mark Morris, a longtime friend of and collaborator with the Mostly Mozart Festival, opens the season with the world premiere of Sport set to Satie’s Sports et divertissements, considered by many to be the best example of the composer’s humoristic piano suites. Satie gives a veritable wink to the audience through this vignette of 21 short piano pieces depicting various athletic pursuits and leisure activities and reflecting a range of moods and tempos. Empire Garden is set to the Piano Trio by Charles Ives, which is said to be a reflection of his college days, quoting Yale Glee Club tunes, American folk songs, and popular music of the day. Morris’s choreography reflects the somewhat chaotic score: at times the 15 dancers seem to work independently, at others, they find order and unite. The ambience shifts dramatically with V, a decidedly contemporary work juxtaposed with the contemplative Schumann Piano Quintet, with 14 dancers at once brooding, jubilant, and embracing every emotion in between.
A pre-performance talk with Mark Morris and Jane Moss on Thursday, July 11, at 6:15 pm will be held in the Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Studio.
Major endowment support for contemporary dance and theater is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Endowment support for the Mostly Mozart Festival presentation of Mark Morris Dance Group is provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation Fund for Dance.
The Mostly Mozart Festival presentation of Mark Morris Dance Group is made possible in part by the Harkness Foundation for Dance.
The Magic Flute (New York production premiere)
Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Thursday, July 18, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Friday, July 19, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Saturday, July 20, 2019 at 7:00 pm
David H. Koch Theater
Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra
Louis Langrée, conductor
Maureen McKay/Vera-Lotte Böcker (Pamina); Julien Behr/Aaron Blake (Tamino)
Christina Poulitsi/Aleksandra Olczyk (Queen of the Night)
Dimitry Ivashchenko/Wenwei Zhang (Sarastro)
Rodion Pogossov/Evan Hughes (Papageno); Talya Lieberman (Papagena)
Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky, co-directors
Paul Barritt, animation
1927 (Suzanne Andrade and Paul Barritt) and Barrie Kosky, concept
Esther Bialas, stage and costume design
Diego Leetz, lighting design
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte
A production of the Komische Oper Berlin
Mozart’s beloved comedic opera as reimagined by co-directors Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky and animator Paul Barritt has its New York production premiere this summer, with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra led by Renée and Robert Belfer Music Director Louis Langrée. In this spectacularly vivid production, singers from Komische Oper Berlin interact with the magical scenery: hand-drawn illustrations, animated and projected, come to life on a massive set. The result is a kaleidoscopic homage to 1920s silent films and Weimar cabaret combined with whimsically macabre fairy tale imagery.
The Black Clown (New York premiere)
Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, July 25, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Friday, July 26, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 27, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College
The Black Clown
Adapted from the Langston Hughes poem by Davóne Tines & Michael Schachter
Music by Michael Schachter
Davóne Tines, The Black Clown
Additional Cast and Musicians to Be Announced
Jaret Landon, music director
Chanel DaSilva, choreographer
Zack Winokur, director
A production of American Repertory Theater at Harvard University
With the kind cooperation of the Estate of Langston Hughes
Direct from its autumn 2018 premiere by American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, The Black Clown is a music theater experience that draws on vaudeville, gospel, opera, jazz, New Orleans brass band, and spirituals to bring to the stage Langston Hughes’s poem about a Black man’s resilience against a legacy of oppression. Performed by bass-baritone Davóne Tines in the title role plus an ensemble of twelve, The Black Clown evolved from a song cycle that Tines and composer Michael Schachter created based on the poem and Hughes’s corresponding stage direction-like corresponding description of “The Mood.”
Says Tines, “When I first read The Black Clown it was like receiving a revelation that gave name to the experience of my existence as a Black man in America that I had never been able to articulate. I identified with this clown whose forced role represents a wholesale relegation of Black existence to something less than human, a farce of a being, a fool only playing at being real. Hughes names this existence, then situates it within the larger context of history to show that the oppression of the present is inextricably linked to the failures of the past. Hughes’s clown is able to transcend his oppression by calling on the strength and spirit of his entire ancestry. He connects to a greater mandate from all of time and the universe that humanity is inexorably his to claim. This was a story I knew I needed to live and relive and share.” Says Schachter, “The Black Clown is striking both for its subject matter—a redemptive tale of a black minstrel discarding his clown costume and asserting his basic humanity—and its natural inclination towards performance. The musical language dwells in the nexus between early-20th-century jazz and ragtime, African-American spirituals, and opera/art song, all refracted through my own idiosyncratic compositional voice.”
There will be a post-performance talk on Thursday, July 25 with Davóne Tines, Zack Winokur, and Chanel DaSilva.
Major endowment support for contemporary dance and theater is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Blak Whyte Gray
Thursday, August 1, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Friday, August 2, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College
Boy Blue
Michael “Mikey J” Asante, creative direction and music
Kenrick “H2O” Sandy, choreography
Lee Curran, lighting design
Ryan Dawson Laight, costume design
Blak Whyte Gray
Olivier Award–winning East London company Boy Blue returns to Lincoln Center with its electrifying dance-theater work Blak Whyte Gray (2017) following last fall’s critically acclaimed White Light Festival performances of the U.S. premiere. Driven by founders Michael “Mikey J” Asante and Kenrick “H2O” Sandy, Boy Blue infuses hip-hop dance with African-inspired grooves to create virtuosic performances. For Blak Whyte Gray, the company’s first full-length abstract piece, a charged electronic score, bold staging, and powerful imagery call forth a deeply rooted cultural awakening on themes of oppression, identity, and transcendence. Among other honors, Blak Whyte Gray was nominated for Best Modern Choreography in the 2017 Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards.
There will be a post-performance talk with Kenrick “H2O” Sandy on Friday, August 2.
Major endowment support for contemporary dance and theater is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Endowment support for the Mostly Mozart Festival presentation of Blak Whyte Gray is provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation Fund for Dance.
The Mostly Mozart Festival presentation of Mark Morris Dance Group is made possible in part by the Harkness Foundation for Dance.
Under Siege (U.S. Premiere)
Thursday, August 8, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Friday, August 9, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 10, 2019 at 7:30 pm
David H. Koch Theater
Yang Liping Contemporary Dance
Yang Liping, chief choreographer and director
Tim Yip, visual director/set and costume design
Under Siege (U.S. premiere)
In this U.S. premiere from China’s Yang Liping Contemporary Dance, the astonishing Under Siege portrays the climactic battle between the Chu and Han armies in 202 B.C., an epic struggle that changed the course of Chinese history. Celebrated choreographer Yang Liping employs martial arts, contemporary and Chinese folk dance, gymnastics, and hip-hop to stage her version of the age-old story of love, war, passion, and betrayal that has been passed down through the generations. Tim Yip (Oscar winner for his production design of the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) creates an intensely beautiful visual landscape and costumes that complement Yang Liping’s melding of ancient traditions with modern sensibilities.
Pre-performance lecture by Renqiu Yu on Thursday, August 8, at 6:15 pm in the Bruno Walter Auditorium, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Major endowment support for contemporary dance and theater is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Endowment support for the Mostly Mozart Festival presentation of Under Siege is provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation Fund for Dance.
The Mostly Mozart Festival presentation of Mark Morris Dance Group is made possible in part by the Harkness Foundation for Dance.
MOSTLY MOZART FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
The Magic Flute (New York production premiere)
Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Thursday, July 18, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Friday, July 19, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Saturday, July 20, 2019 at 7:00 pm
David H. Koch Theater
Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra
Louis Langrée, conductor
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte
A production of the Komische Oper Berlin
(Please see page 5 for full details)
Eroica Symphony
Tuesday, July 23, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 7:30 pm
David Geffen Hall
Andrew Manze, conductor
Vilde Frang, violin (MMF debut)
All-Beethoven program
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 (“Eroica”)
Pre-concert recitals in David Geffen Hall with pianist Drew Petersen at 6:30 pm
Schubert: Fantasy in C major, D.760 (“Wandererfantasie”)
Andrew Manze, beloved by Mostly Mozart audiences and musicians alike, leads the orchestra in an all-Beethoven concert. Beethoven was a revolutionary, experimenting with melody, harmony, and structure, and pushing the boundaries of the Classical period well past the comfort zone of his peers. Beethoven profoundly believed that the mission of an artist was to elevate civilization, and his Third Symphony is the manifestation through music of his humanistic, egalitarian vision of the world. Inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, it was originally meant as a tribute to Napoleon Bonaparte, and as a narrative of a hero’s journey. While the first movement depicts conflict and heroic battles, the second conjures the pomp and circumstance of a stately funeral, leading to the frenetic hope of a new regime in the third. Beethoven ends the work in a triumphant fugue, with his hero imagining an idealistic new world order. Manze is joined for the concerto by newcomer Vilde Frang, a young violinist becoming known for the emotional sincerity, clear interpretation, inspired imagination, natural ease, and joy she brings to her performances.
The Four Seasons
Friday, July 26, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 27, 2019 at 7:30 pm
David Geffen Hall
Andrew Manze, conductor
Pekka Kuusisto, violin (MMF debut)
Knut Erik Sundquist, bass (New York debut, MMF debut)
Bartók (arr. Willner): Romanian Folk Dances for string orchestra
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Traditional music from Finland, Norway, and Hungary
Pre-concert recitals by the Neave Trio at 6:30 pm in David Geffen Hall
Piazzolla (arr. Bragato): Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Mozart delighted audiences with his ability to improvise cadenzas and incidental music, and in that same tradition, violinist Pekka Kuusisto and double bassist Knut Erik Sundquist make their MMF debuts in a program interspersing traditional music of Finland, Norway, and Hungary with Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Guest conductor Andrew Manze leads the orchestra in this evening of geographically diverse presentation of folk music-inspired music that includes Bartók’s setting of traditional Romanian dances.
FREE CONCERT
Mozart’s Gran Partita
Saturday, July 27, 2019 at 3:00 pm
St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church Wall Street, Broadway and Fulton Street
Mozart: Serenade for Winds in B-flat major, K.361 (“Gran Partita”)
Louis Langrée, conductor
Members of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra
Louis Langrée leads members of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra’s wind section in Mozart’s sublime Serenade for Winds in this sacred setting.
Mozart & Brahms
Tuesday, July 30, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 7:30 pm
David Geffen Hall
Louis Langrée, conductor
Martin Helmchen, piano
Mozart: Overture to Don Giovanni, K.527
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466
Brahms: Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90
Pre-concert recitals in David Geffen Hall by Mara Dobresco, piano, at 6:30 pm
Mozart: Fantasia in D minor, K. 397
Robert Schumann: Two Fantasiestücke, Op. 12
Clara Schumann: Nocturne, from Soirées musicales, Op. 6, No. 3
Clara Schumann: Deuxième scherzo in C minor
From its very first dramatic chord, Mozart’s Don Giovanni overture signaled a change, paving a new path for the Romantic composers who came after him. Brahms, an avid collector of Mozart’s manuscripts, approached composition from a pianist and chamber musician’s point of view. And while we are accustomed to hearing his symphonies performed expansively by a full-sized symphony orchestra, in Brahms’s time they were often performed by ensembles the size of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. In this, the third of a four-year cycle of the Brahms symphonies, Louis Langrée explores this fascinating juxtaposition of approaches. Here, a smaller complement of musicians creates the conditions for a musical dialogue in which different colors emerge, as though they are playing chamber music. Further connecting Brahms to Mozart is soloist Martin Helmchen, who will perform Clara Schumann’s cadenza in the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in recognition of her contributions to the canon, and of her personal connections to Brahms as both his muse and the widow of his mentor.
Beethoven & Schubert
Friday, August 2, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 7:30 pm
David Geffen Hall
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Schubert: Symphony No. 9 in C major, D.944 (“Great”)
Pre-concert recitals in David Geffen Hall by Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano, at 6:30 pm
Beethoven the innovator caused quite a stir with the debut of his Fourth Piano Concerto, defying all conventional practices of the day by starting with the solo piano instead of the customary orchestral introduction. Pierre-Laurent Aimard, known for his playful virtuosity, joins guest conductor Gianandrea Noseda for the concerto, now considered an iconic staple of the piano repertoire. Noseda, a regular presence at Mostly Mozart and across the Lincoln Center campus, has paired this great work of Beethoven with the “Great” Symphony of Schubert—who quotes Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in the final movement of his own.
Joshua Bell Plays Dvorák
Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, August 7, 2019 at 7:30 pm
David Geffen Hall
Louis Langrée, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D major, K.504 (“Prague”)
Kodály: Dances of Galánta
Dvorák: Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53
Pre-concert recitals in David Geffen Hall by Brooklyn Rider at 6:30 pm
Schulhoff: Alla Tarantella, from Five Pieces for String Quartet
Dvorák: Lento, from Cypresses
Traditional Romanian (arr. Ljova, after Dinicu): Doina Oltului
Ljova: Budget Bulgar
It wouldn’t be the Mostly Mozart Festival without Joshua Bell, and in this Bohemian-influenced program, he turns to Dvorák’s demanding Violin Concerto. Calling for virtuosity and flair, it was written for the legendary Joseph Joachim (at the suggestion of Brahms) and has been compared to Mozart’s Queen of the Night aria, beginning immediately in the highest register of the instrument following a brief orchestral introduction. Mozart’s Symphony No. 38 had its premiere during his first visit to Prague, sparking his great affinity for the city and establishing a relationship that led to his work there and the premieres of Don Giovanni and La clemenza di Tito. Kodaly lived in Galánta, a northern Hungarian town that is now part of Slovakia, and his dances are inspired by personal memories of a famous Gypsy band and their spirited, rollicking folk tunes from his childhood.
Brooklyn Rider’s performance is made possible in part by Linda and Stuart Nelson.
Mozart à la Haydn
Friday, August 9, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 10, 2019 at 7:30 pm
David Geffen Hall
Louis Langrée, conductor
Steven Osborne, piano
Haydn: Overture in D major, Hob. Ia:7
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102
Schnittke: Moz-Art à la Haydn
Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D major, K.385 (“Haffner”)
Pre-concert recitals in David Geffen Hall by Yi-Nuo Wang, piano, at 6:30 pm
Haydn: Sonata in E minor, Hob. XVI:34
Rachmaninoff: Daisies, Op. 38, No. 2
Rachmaninoff: Étude-tableau in D minor, Op. 39, No. 8
Rachmaninoff: Étude-tableau in D major, Op. 39, No. 9
The Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra’s 2019 season ends on a lighthearted note, with four works that are more connected than they may seem at first glance. Pianist Steven Osborne performs the cheerful piano concerto Shostakovich composed for his son Maxim’s 19th birthday. Maxim, then a budding pianist, is said to have been the inspiration for the tongue-in-cheek inclusion of the Hanon piano exercises in the final movement, a musical joke. Schnittke displays a similar sense of humor in his Moz-Art à la Haydn, in which every note in the piece has been repurposed from either Haydn or Mozart. Beginning with dimmed lights, it quotes Haydn’s “Farewell” Symphony and Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, incorporating stage-play among the musicians, and, like the Farewell, leaving the conductor alone at the end. Mozart’s beloved “Haffner” Symphony, one of the composer’s most challenging, yet fun, works, is a joyous conclusion to the summer.
FEATURED ENSEMBLES
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 5:00 pm
David Geffen Hall
Iván Fischer, conductor
Jeanine De Bique, soprano (MMF debut)
Haydn: Symphony No. 88 in G major
Handel: Disseratevi, o porte d’Averno, from La resurrezione
Handel: Ritorna, oh caro e dolce mio tesoro, from Rodelinda
Handel: Da tempeste il legno infranto, from Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17
Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C major, K.551 (“Jupiter”)
The charmingly inventive Iván Fischer brings his Budapest Festival Orchestra for Mozart’s final symphonic work, and one of his crowning musical achievements, the “Jupiter” Symphony. Jeanine De Bique, who studied at the Manhattan School of Music before becoming an internationally sought-after soprano, returns to New York for her Mostly Mozart Festival debut, joining the orchestra for Handel arias. Haydn’s most popular symphony opens the program, sure to be full of delightful surprises, as is Fischer’s custom.
Takács Quartet
Jeremy Denk, piano
Monday, August 5, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Alice Tully Hall
Mozart: String Quartet in D major, K.575 (“Prussian”)
Beethoven: String Quartet in F major, Op. 135
Dohnányi: Piano Quintet No. 1
Pre-concert recital in Alice Tully Hall by the Takács Quartet at 6:30 pm
Haydn: String Quartet in C major, Op. 33, No. 3 (“The Bird”)
Jeremy Denk joins the Takács Quartet at Alice Tully Hall for Dohnányi’s first piano quintet, written early in his career, and said to be heavily influenced by works of Robert Schumann.
INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE
The Mostly Mozart Festival welcomes International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) for its ninth year as festival artists-in-residence.
FREE CONCERT
International Contemporary Ensemble
Thursday, July 25, 2019 at 7:30 pm
David Rubenstein Atrium
International Contemporary Ensemble
Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Sequences (2016)
Anna Thorvaldsdottir: Illumine (2016)
Ashley Fure: Something to Hunt (2014)
Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir: Esoteric Mass (2014)
Free; Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
A sequence of works that flow from one to another by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Ashley Fure, and Bergrún Snæbjörnsdóttir in an immersive setting.
International Contemporary Ensemble
Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 9:00 pm
Merkin Concert Hall
Vimbayi Kaziboni, conductor (MMF debut)
Hidejiro Honjoh, shamisen (MMF debut)
Kate Soper, soprano (MMF debut)
Nathan Davis: Inside Voice (2018) (New York premiere)
Ann Cleare: teeth of light, tongue of waves (2017–18)
György Kurtág: Tre pezzi op. 38/Tre altri pezzi op. 38a (1996)
Kate Soper: The Ultimate Poem is Abstract (2016)
Anahita Abbasi: Sketch I (2012)
Dai Fujikura: Shamisen Concerto (World premiere)
This program explores the ever-evolving expressive potential of traditional string instruments from around the world, weaving together traditional Persian, Hungarian, American, and Japanese solo instruments into the distinct aesthetic vision of contemporary artists. Emerging voices and longtime ICE collaborators Ann Cleare, Nathan Davis, György Kurtág, Kate Soper, and Anahita Abbasi bring the dulcimer, cimbalom, kamancheh, and shamisen together in a performance culminating in the world premiere of Dai Fujikura's Shamisen Concerto.
FREE EVENT
International Contemporary Ensemble
Monday, August 5 at 7:00 pm
Bruno Walter Auditorium,
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
An evening of music by Anahita Abbasi, Aida Shirazi, and Niloufar Nourbakhsh, members of the Iranian Female Composers Association, preceded by a mini-documentary about the composers. Presented by the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
The inaugural season of the Mostly Mozart Festival, in 1966, featured special Mozart at Midnight events, and the concept was re-imagined in 2004 as A Little Night Music. These popular late-night recitals in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse in Lincoln Center’s Rose Building offer an intimate setting with a spectacular view of the skyline, candlelit ambience, complimentary wine, and close proximity to incredible artists making magnificent music.
Kian Soltani, cello (MMF debut)
Julio Elizalde, piano (MMF debut)
Tuesday, July 23, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Reza Vali: Selections from Persian Folk Songs
Chopin: Introduction and Polonaise brillante, Op. 3
Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73
Kian Soltani: Persian Fire Dance
Popper: Hungarian Rhapsody
The principal cellist in Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Kian Soltani is an in-demand concert soloist, with recent debuts with the Vienna Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Berlin Staatskapelle, London Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, and National Symphony Orchestra. He is joined by American pianist Julio Elizalde, a graduate of The Juilliard School, an avid chamber musician, first-call accompanist, and passionate educator performing traditional repertoire as well as selections celebrating Soltani’s Persian heritage.
Michael Brown, piano (MMF debut)
Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Mendelssohn: Variations sérieuses in D minor, Op. 54
Michael Brown: Folk Variations
Beethoven: Eroica Variations
A 2015 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and a winner in 2018 of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist Award, Michael Brown’s program harkens back to the “Eroica” Symphony performed earlier in the evening by the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. But that’s not the only Beethoven connection of the evening: Mendelssohn composed his Variations sérieuses as part of a fundraising campaign to erect a bronze statue of Beethoven in his hometown of Bonn. Brown, also an accomplished composer, completes the program with a set of his own variations on folk tunes.
Nora Fischer, vocals (MMF debut)
Marnix Dorrestein, electric guitar and vocals (MMF debut)
Friday, July 26, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Scarlatti: O cessate di piagarmi
Purcell: Hush, no more, from The Fairy Queen, Z.629
Monteverdi: Oblivion soave, from L’incoronazione di Poppea
Ravel: Trois beaux oiseaux du paradis
Mozart and other songs TBA
Vocalist Nora Fischer is equally at home in the Baroque scene and the world of pop. On her debut album, HUSH, she and electric guitarist Marnix Dorrestein put together an unorthodox yet utterly gorgeous set of arrangements of 17th-century songs and arias. This evening will feature works from the release by Monteverdi, Scarlatti, and Purcell, along with songs by Ravel and Mozart.
Pekka Kuusisto, violin
Knut Erik Sundquist, bass
Saturday, July 27, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Fresh from their performance with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, maverick violinist Pekka Kuusisto and his kindred spirit, double bassist Knut Erik Sundquist bring their improvisatory flair across the plaza for an after-hours recital, bringing together the beauty of Bach with Scandinavian folk music.
Susanna Phillips, soprano
Myra Huang, piano (MMF debut)
Tuesday, July 30, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Fanny Hensel: Morgenständchen
Fanny Hensel: Warum sind denn die Rosen so blaß?
Fanny Hensel: Die Mainacht
Fanny Hensel: Italien
Alma Mahler: Five Songs
Clara Schumann: Am Strande
Clara Schumann: Die gute Nacht
Clara Schumann: Three Songs
Clara Schumann: Lorelei
Fanny Hensel (a.k.a. Felix Mendelssohn’s older sister), Alma Mahler (Gustav’s wife), and Clara Schumann (Robert’s wife) were legitimate composers of their own accord who lived largely in the shadows of the famous men in their lives. Following a pre-concert recital including works by Clara Schumann and Martin Helmchen’s use of her cadenza for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, the evening’s tribute to the distinguished composer and pianist concludes with a late-night recital of soprano Susanna Phillips, a frequent presence at the Metropolitan Opera, accompanied by Myra Huang.
Martin Helmchen, piano
Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Bach: Five Chorale Preludes
Liszt: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (Prelude after J.S. Bach), S.179
Liszt: St François d’Assise: la prédication aux oiseaux, from Deux légendes
(“St. Francis’s Sermon to the Birds”)
Franck: Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
Martin Helmchen switches gears following his performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 earlier in the evening to an intimate recital of solo works penned by composers whose profound faith influenced their secular works.
Lucas and Arthur Jussen, piano (New York debut)
Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Mozart: Sonata for Piano Four Hands, K.381
Schubert: Fantasie in F minor, D.940
Smit: Divertimento for piano four hands
National figures in the Netherlands since their childhood, the brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen make their New York debut in this after-hours recital that nods to Mozart’s own childhood and captures the Slavic mood set earlier in the evening. As young prodigies, Mozart and his older sister performed together on a grand tour of Europe organized by their father and were likely the first to play piano music for four hands in public. Schubert’s Fantasie, one of the most celebrated chamber music works, was dedicated to his pupil Karoline Esterházy, the younger of two daughters of the Hungarian Count Johann Karl Esterházy of Galánta (now part of Slovakia), with whom he was madly in (unrequited) love.
Brooklyn Rider (MMF debut)
Wednesday, August 7, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Philip Glass: String Quartet No. 8
Reena Esmail: Zeher
Mozart: Andante cantabile, from String Quartet in G major, K.387
Colin Jacobsen: Sheriff’s Leid, Sheriff’s Freud
Brooklyn Rider has a long association with and affinity for Philip Glass, having recorded his core works for string quartet (and, most recently, his eighth), and in this eclectic program they place it alongside Reena Esmail’s Zeher (Poison), a work that combines both Hindustani and Western classical music traditions. The Quartet’s Colin Jacobsen, an Avery Fisher Career Grant winner and prolific composer, is also known for the blending of musical forms.
Brooklyn Rider’s performance is made possible in part by Linda and Stuart Nelson.
Steven Osborne, piano
Friday, August 9, 2019 at 10:00 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Schubert: Sonata in B-flat major, D.960
British pianist Steven Osborne, known for his insightful and idiomatic interpretations of diverse repertoire, is known for bringing fresh perspective to the repertoire through fastidious attention to details in the score. In this, the final late-night concert of the summer, Osborne performs Schubert’s final piano sonata. Completed two months before the composer’s death, the vast and majestic work intersperses a somber and contemplative tone with one of triumph and is considered by scholars to be his greatest achievement in the sonata format.
FILMS
Film: The Great Buster: A Celebration
Tuesday, July 16, 2019 at 7:30 pm
Walter Reade Theater
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich
(2018) 1 hour 42 minutes
In anticipation of this summer’s production of The Magic Flute, Peter Bogdanovich’s new documentary pays tribute to the legendary Buster Keaton, whose astonishing physical comedy and trademark deadpan expression inform the character of Papageno in Barrie Kosky’s boundlessly inventive staging of Mozart’s beloved opera, inspired by the era of silent film.
Film: Farewell, My Concubine
Sunday, July 28, 2019 at 12:30 pm
Walter Reade Theater
Directed by Chen Kaige
(1993) 2 hours 52 minutes
This summer’s presentation of the stunning Chinese dance-theater work Under Siege is based on historic events that form the backdrop of the acclaimed film Farewell, My Concubine. Winner of the 1993 Cannes Palme d’Or, the film depicts a love story that develops among members of a Peking opera troupe as they enact the fabled tale of a besieged warlord and his self-sacrificing concubine. Starring Gong Li and Leslie Cheung, the movie was nominated for two Oscars.
In Mandarin, with English subtitles
Film: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 12:30 pm
Walter Reade Theater
Directed by Ang Lee
Introduced by Tim Yip
(2000) 2 hours
In connection with this summer’s presentation of the astonishing Under Siege from Chinese choreographer Yang Liping, the festival screens Ang Lee’s martial arts masterpiece, which won four Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Language Film. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a drama of breathtaking beauty set against the stunning scenic design of Oscar winner Tim Yip, who brings his visual artistry to Under Siege and introduces this screening. The film’s Oscar-winning score by Tan Dun features haunting cello solos performed by Yo-Yo Ma.
In Mandarin, with English subtitles
FREE CONCERTS AND EVENTS
FREE EVENT
Panel: Mozart’s Magic Flute
Saturday, July 20, 2019 from 3:00 pm
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Scholars from the Mozart Society of America illuminate aspects of Mozart’s Magic Flute in an engaging afternoon of presentations.
Presented in association with the Mozart Society of America
FREE CONCERT
International Contemporary Ensemble
Thursday, July 25, 2019 at 7:30 pm
David Rubenstein Atrium
International Contemporary Ensemble
(See details on page 15)
FREE CONCERT
Mozart’s Gran Partita
Saturday, July 27, 2019 at 3:00 pm
St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church Wall Street, Broadway and Fulton Street
Mozart: Serenade for Winds in B-flat major, K.361 (“Gran Partita”)
Louis Langrée, conductor
Members of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra
FREE CONCERT
International Contemporary Ensemble
Monday, August 5 at 7:00 pm
Bruno Walter Auditorium,
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
(See details on page 15)
FREE CONCERT
Tessa Lark, violin
Michael Thurber, bass
Thursday, August 8, 2019 at 7:30 pm
David Rubenstein Atrium
An hour-long concert showcasing Tessa Lark’s and Michael Thurber’s original compositions alongside those of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA)?serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community engagement, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers a variety of festivals and programs, including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Career Grants and Artist program, David Rubenstein Atrium programming, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Awards, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, LC Kids, Midsummer Night Swing, Mostly Mozart Festival, White Light Festival, the Emmy Award–winning?Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS, and Lincoln Center Education, which is celebrating more than four decades enriching the lives of students, educators, and lifelong learners. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, School of American Ballet, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, contact Accessibility at Lincoln Center at [email protected] or 212.875.5375.
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American Express is the lead sponsor of the Mostly Mozart Festival.
Major endowment support for contemporary dance and theater is provided by the
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Additional endowment support is provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation Fund for Dance,
Nancy Abeles Marks and Jennie L. and Richard K. DeScherer.
The Mostly Mozart Festival is also made possible by Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser.
Additional support is provided by The Shubert Foundation, LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust,
Howard Gilman Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.,
The Katzenberger Foundation, Inc., Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., Harkness Foundation for Dance,
Great Performers Circle, Lincoln Center Spotlight, Chairman’s Council,
Friends of Mostly Mozart, and Friends of Lincoln Center.
Public support is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
“Summer at Lincoln Center” is supported by PEPSICO
NewYork-Presbyterian is the Official Hospital of Lincoln Center
Artist catering provided by Zabar’s and Zabars.com
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For more information, please contact:
Isabel Sinistore
212-671-4195
Julia Kirchhausen
212-875-5049