Chanticleer's Monteverdi, Mahler, and New Works by Mason Bates & Erika Lloyd,
Pianists Paul Lewis and Jon Nakamatsu in Recital,
Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert, Musicians from Marlboro,
Steve Ross's Tribute to Fred Astaire, and John Lithgow's Children's Program
For tickets, call the Concerts & Lectures Department at 212-570-3949, or visit www.metmuseum.org/tickets, where updated schedules and programs are available.
Tickets are also available at the Great Hall Box Office, which is open
Tuesday-Saturday 10-5:00 and Sunday noon-5:00.
Student and group discount tickets are available for some events; call 212-570-3949.
Tickets include admission to the Museum on day of performance.
Friday, April 1, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. - Richard Stoltzman, Clarinet, and the
New York Chamber Soloists
Richard Stoltzman and the New York Chamber Soloists join forces for a program of Mozart's Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 201; Stravinsky's Three Pieces for unaccompanied clarinet; Rossini's Andante and Variations for Clarinet and Orchestra; and Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622.
Two-time Grammy Award-winning clarinetist Richard Stoltzman's virtuosity, technique, imagination, and communicative power have revolutionized the world of clarinet playing, opening up possibilities for the instrument that no one could have predicted. He was responsible for bringing the clarinet to the forefront as a solo instrument, and is still the world's foremost clarinetist. Stoltzman gave the first clarinet recitals in the histories of both the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall, and, in 1986, became the first wind player to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize. As one of today's most sought-after artists, Stoltzman has been a soloist with more than a hundred orchestras as well as a recitalist and chamber music performer, innovative jazz artist, and prolific recording artist. www.richardstoltzman.com
Acclaimed as an ensemble of distinguished virtuosi, performing widely diverse repertoire in creatively programmed concerts, the New York Chamber Soloists have maintained a unique niche in the chamber music world for nearly five decades. Founded in 1957, this 12-member ensemble of strings, winds, and keyboard can increase to as many as 20 with the addition of guest artists, giving it the flexibility to offer many works that are seldom heard due to the unusual instrumental combinations for which they were written. Their programming innovations have included "Paris in the '20s;" an American Classics program; the complete Mozart horn concerti; and song cycles, cantatas, and operas from Monteverdi to Aitken. They have added substantially to the catalog of 20th-century chamber works, with the more than 25 compositions written for them by such composers as Gunther Schuller, Mario Davidovsky, Ezra Laderman, and Mel Powell. New York Chamber Soloists
Tickets: $45
Saturday, April 2, 2011, at noon and 3:00 p.m. - John Lithgow:
The Sunny Side of the Street
Award-winning stage, film, and television star John Lithgow headlines a program based on his Grammy-nominated children's album of stories and music, The Sunny Side of the Street.
Although John Lithgow is an actor with a broad range of interests and talents in every area of the entertainment industry – and even outside it – he has been working in show business since the early 1970s, and has achieved success in wildly varied ventures.
Much of his recent work has been geared toward children. Since 1998 he has written seven New York Times best-selling children's picture books, including The Remarkable Farkle McBride, Marsupial Sue, Micawber, I'm a Manatee, and his most recent, I Got Two Dogs. In addition, he has created two Lithgow Palooza activity books for parents and children, Lithgow Palooza Readers for use in elementary schools, and the forthcoming The Poets' Corner for Warner Books, a compilation of 50 classic poems aimed at young people, to stir an early interest in poetry. All of this work has won him two Parents' Choice Silver Honor Awards and four Grammy Award nominations.
Lithgow has performed concerts for children with the Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, San Diego, and Pittsburgh symphonies. Last season, he appeared at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra as well as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in his version of Carnival of the Animals. He has released three kids' albums, Singin' in the Bathtub, Farkle & Friends, and the Grammy-nominated The Sunny Side of the Street, released by Razor & Tie Records. All of these concerts and albums have included several his of own songs and rhyming narrations.
www.johnlithgow.com
Tickets: $15
Wednesday, April 6, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. - Chanticleer – "Out of This World"
This program of Chanticleer's latest musical explorations features the New York premiere of Observer in the Magellanic Cloud by Bay Area DJ and composer Mason Bates, and an arrangement of Cells Planets by Erika Lloyd of the indie rock band Little Grey Girlfriend created specially for Chanticleer. The program also includes Renaissance music by Monteverdi, Marenzio, Gabrieli, and Palestrina; Romantic works by Schumann ("An die Sterne") and Mahler ("Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen"); and works by 20th-century composers Benjamin Britten, Kirke Mechem, Sarah Hopkins ("Past Life Melodies"), Kurt Weill and others.
Observer in the Magellanic Cloud, the new work by Berkeley-based composer-DJ Mason Bates, is described as an evocation of the distant past meeting the distant future, when music by ancient Maoris is picked up in outer space.
"Space and all that lies beyond our tiny speck in the universe is a concept almost beyond human comprehension, and, as with the other great mysteries of the human experience, music is often the only way for our species to express such indescribable concepts," said Matthew Oltman, music director of Chanticleer. "People have long imagined a special harmony in the universe which ties all things together: planet to sun, past to future, life to death. The music carefully chosen for this program will explore these sounds using all that is possible from the human voice – from the splendors of Renaissance polyphony to the otherworldly sounds or over-tone singing to the beeping and whirring of futuristic satellites."
Chanticleer is known for its vivid interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz, and from gospel to venturesome new music. With its blend of 12 male voices, ranging from countertenor to bass, the ensemble has earned international renown as "an orchestra of voices." Chanticleer was founded in 1978 by tenor Louis Botto, who sang with the group until 1989 and served as Artistic Director until his death in 1997. Artistic Advisor Joseph Jennings joined the ensemble as a countertenor in 1983, and shortly thereafter assumed the title of Music Director, which he held until 2008. A prolific composer and arranger, Mr. Jennings has provided the group with some of its most popular repertoire, most notably spirituals, gospel music, and jazz standards. In 2008, tenor Matthew Oltman was named Music Director.
Collaborations between Chanticleer and the Metropolitan Museum include a PBS Great Performances program, "Christmas with Chanticleer," taped in the Metropolitan Museum's Medieval Sculpture Hall. And Chanticleer's 2002 recording of Sir John Tavener's Lamentations and Praises, a work co-commissioned by the Museum, won a Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance. www.chanticleer.org
The Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing
Tickets: $70
Friday, April 8, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. – Musicians from Marlboro
The Marlboro Music School and Festival has been nurturing great artists since 1951, and since 1970 the Marlboro alumni – of all generations – have been performing concerts at the Metropolitan Museum as Musicians from Marlboro.
This second of three programs (the last is May 6) features Hye-Jin Kim and Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, violin; Philip Kramp, viola; Peter Wiley, cello; John Moore, baritone; and Anna Polonsky, piano, perform Mendelssohn's String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13; Mozart's "Abendempfindung," K. 523, and "An Chloe," K. 524; Schubert's "Nachtstueck," D. 672b, Op. 36, "Wanderers Nachtlied," D. 768, Op. 96, and "Rastlose Liebe," D. 138, Op. 5; and Shostakovich's Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57.
Musicians from Marlboro offers exceptional young musicians from the summer festival together with seasoned artists in chamber music programs of rarely heard works and masterpieces of varied instrumentation. The program has introduced many of today's leading solo and chamber music artists to American audiences; among them are pianists Richard Goode, Murray Perahia, and András Schiff, violinists Pamela Frank, Jaime Laredo, and Shlomo Mintz, flutist Paula Robison, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, and soprano Benita Valente. In addition to the performances at the Metropolitan Museum, each year more than 25 outstanding artists take time from their regular activities to bring Musicians from Marlboro concerts to venues throughout the country. Musicians from Marlboro
Tickets: $40
Saturday, April 9, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. - Jon Nakamatsu, Piano
The 1997 Van Cliburn Competition gold medalist, who is also artistic director of the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, performs his only New York recital of the season: Rameau's Gavotte and Variations; Brahms's Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1; three of Liszt's Sonetti del Petrarca; and Chopin's Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante.
Since his dramatic 1997 Van Cliburn Competition Gold Medal triumph, Jon Nakamatsu has become know for his brilliant but unassuming musicianship and eclectic repertoire. He has performed widely in North America, Europe, and Asia and has collaborated with such conductors as James Conlon, Philippe Entremont, Marek Janowski, Raymond Leppard, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Osmo Vänskä. His extensive recital tours throughout the United States and Europe have featured appearances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and in cities such as Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Paris, London, and Milan.
Mr. Nakamatsu maintains a nearly incessant touring schedule with orchestra performances, chamber collaborations and solo recitals. During the 2010-2011 season he also appears with jazz pianist David Benoit in a special program mixing Gershwin with jazz and classical repertoire at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga. In August of 2010, he performed a recital for the Chopin Institute in Warsaw at Warsaw's Philharmonic Hall and in October made his debut at the Beijing International Piano Festival.
Among the numerous chamber ensembles with which Mr. Nakamatsu has collaborated are the Brentano, Tokyo, Prazak, St. Lawrence, and Ying string quartets. He also tours frequently with the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet and in 2008 made his debut in the Philharmonic's chamber music series performing with the quintet and members of the orchestra. Together with the acclaimed clarinetist Jon Manasse Mr. Nakamatsu tours regularly as part of the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo. In 2008, the duo released its first CD (Brahms Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano), which James R. Oestreich in The New York Times named a "Best of the Year" choice for 2008. Mr. Nakamatsu and Mr. Manasse also serve as the Artistic Directors of the esteemed Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, founded by pianist Samuel Sanders in 1979. www.jonnakamatsu.com
Tickets: $45
Saturday, April 16, 2011, at 7:00 p.m.-Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert
"It's hard – very hard – to find better chamber-music playing than at the cellist Edward Arron's series at the Metropolitan Museum, which always mixes new and unusual works in unexpected ways," stated The New Yorker in December 2009 about the Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert. Arron, the ensemble's artistic coordinator, has assembled three programs for 2010-2011, the acclaimed group's eighth season, featuring their usual lively mix of classic and contemporary repertoire; a work by Luciano Berio will be performed on each program.
This third and final program features Colin Jacobsen and Jesse Mills, violin; Nicholas Cords and Max Mandel, viola; and Edward Arron, cello, perform a program of Schubert's String Trio in B-flat Major, D. 471; Berio's Duetti for Two Violins (1983); Mozart's String Quintet in C Minor, K. 406; and Bruckner's String Quintet in F Major.
The 2010-2011 season marks Edward Arron's eighth season as the artistic coordinator of the Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert. In the fall of 2009, Mr. Arron succeeded Charles Wadsworth as the artistic director, host, and resident performer of the Musical Masterworks concert series in Old Lyme, Connecticut, as well as concert series in Beaufort and Columbia, South Carolina. He is also the artistic director of the Caramoor Virtuosi and of the Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival in Summit County, Colorado. www.edwardarron.com
Tickets: $20 (Student tickets: $15)
Friday, April 29, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. - Paul Lewis, Piano
This English pianist, who performed at the Metropolitan Museum for the first time in May 2010, returns with two all-Schubert recitals, his only New York appearances of the 2010-2011 season. This second recital features 12 Waltzes, D. 145; Four Impromptus, Op. 90, D. 899; Hungarian Melody in B Minor, D. 817; and Piano Sonata No. 18 in G Major, D. 894.
Paul Lewis is internationally recognized as one of the leading pianists of his generation. His many awards have included the Royal Philharmonic Society's Instrumentalist of the Year Award, the South Bank Show Classical Music Award, a Diapason d'or de l'année in France, two successive Edison awards in Holland, the 25th Premio Internazionale Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, and three Gramophone Awards, including Record of the Year in 2008. Between 2005 and 2007, he performed the complete Beethoven Sonatas at venues throughout Europe and North America to great critical acclaim, and his recordings of the cycle for harmonia mundi have received unanimous praise throughout the world. His recent recording of Schubert's Winterreise with Mark Padmore received a Gramophone Award, and his complete set of the Beethoven piano concertos with Jiri Belohlavek and the BBC Symphony Orchestra was named Recording of the Month in the September 2010 issue of Gramophone, and Record of the Month in the October 2010 issue of Classic FM Magazine.
In summer 2010, Paul Lewis became the first pianist in the history of the BBC Proms to play all of the Beethoven piano concertos in a single Proms season. The complete cycle was broadcast on BBC television. In addition to the Proms, he is a regular guest at many of the world's most prestigious venues and festivals, including the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Roque d'Antheron Piano Festival, and the Klavier Festival Ruhr. He has a particularly strong relationship with London's Wigmore Hall, where he has appeared on more than 40 occasions.
In 2011 Lewis embarks upon a two-year Schubert project, performing all the mature piano works from the Wandererfantasie onwards, which will be presented in major cities including London, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Rotterdam, and Florence, and at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. Future CD releases include Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, and the completion of the three Schubert song cycles with Mark Padmore. Paul Lewis studied with Ryszard Bakst at Chethams School of Music and Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before going on to study privately with Alfred Brendel. Along with his wife, the Norwegian cellist Bjørg Lewis, he is artistic director of Midsummer Music, an annual chamber music festival held in Buckinghamshire, U.K. www.paullewispiano.co.uk
Tickets: $50
Saturday, April 30, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. - Steve Ross – "Songs of Fred Astaire"
Steve Ross returns to the Metropolitan Museum for his annual appearances. The cabaret icon performs "Songs of Fred Astaire," in which he discusses the songs written for Astaire – how they came to be written and their social context.
Steve Ross has been at the forefront of the cabaret revival since he became the first cabaret artist in 40 years to perform in the newly opened Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room. He performed regularly at the Oak Room for almost four years, and still returns for sell-out performances. A self-proclaimed Anglophile, Steve was happy to begin dinner cabaret at the Ritz in London. He also performs regularly at London's popular Pizza on the Park. He has played at the Spoleto Festival, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, and the Perth Festival in Australia. He has also performed in Brazil and around the United States, including on- and off-Broadway. In 1989, the BBC asked Steve Ross to host a live cabaret series. He was also the host of a popular radio series for National Public Radio, New York Cabaret Nights, with live broadcasts from cabaret rooms in New York City, featuring noted guests.www.steveross.net
Tickets: $40
Also in April 2011 – The following music lectures:
Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at 2:30 p.m. - Marlene Barasch Strauss:
"The Many Loves of Alma Mahler"
Art historian Marlene Barasch Strauss explores the romantic history of Alma Mahler, a brilliant, beautiful woman with an appeal that few men could resist, and the artistic world in which she lived. Alma Mahler captured the hearts of Gustave Klimt, Gustav Mahler, Oskar Kokoshka, Walter Gropius, and Franz Werfel, to name just a few, and the exquisite creations of the Wiener Werkstatte, the ground-breaking architecture and furnishings of the Bauhaus, and the tortured, expressionist paintings of Egon Schiele and Kokoshka were all part of her life.
Tickets: $25
Wednesday, April 20, 2011, at 6:00 p.m. - An Evening with June LeBell and
the Callaway Sisters
Broadcaster, lecturer, and American musical theater aficionada June LeBell hosts an event featuring the multi-talented cabaret and musical theater stars, sisters Liz Callaway and Ann Hampton Callaway for a fun bit of sibling revelry.
Tickets: $25
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March 1, 2011
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