Mark Gresham | 15 MAR 2023
On this crisp and clear late winter morning, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra announced its 2023-24 season of Delta Classical Concerts, the 79th season for the Grammy® Award-winning orchestra and its second with music director Nathalie Stutzmann. Of the season’s 26 classical concert programs (which include two one-night specials), Stutzmann will conduct 12, and music director laureate Robert Spano returns to Atlanta to lead two.
Five of the 11 guest conductors are making their ASO debuts: Alpesh Chauhan, Lina Gonzalez-Granados, Krzysztof Urbański, Osmo Vänskä, and Lidiya Yankovskaya. Six are returning to the ASO podium: David Danzmayr, Jonathon Heyward, Gemma New, Peter Oundjian, Anthony Parnther, and Jonathan Taylor Rush.
Of the 36 guest soloists scheduled for the new season, 15 are making their ASO debuts, 20 are returning artists. Three featured soloists are ASO musicians, and one is yet to be announced.
Making their ASO debuts are harpist Xavier de Maistre; sarod players Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash, and Amjad Ali Khan; tabla player Amit Kavthekar; violinist Josef Špaček; pianists Sunwook Kim, Alexander Melnikov, Maria João Pires, Yeol Eum Son, and Cedric Tiberghien; soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha; mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova; tenor Issachah Savage; and baritone Joseph Lattanzi.
Renee Fleming (credit Decca/Andrew Eccles)
Returning guest artists are violinists Joshua Bell and Veronika Eberle; cellist Johannes Moser; pianists Michelle Cann, Garrick Ohlsson, and Daniil Trifonov; bassoonist Andrew Brady; sopranos Renée Fleming, Kearstin Piper-Brown, and Janai Brugger; mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti; countertenor Cody Bowers; tenors James Ley, Miles Mykkanen, and John Tessier; baritones Brian K. Major and Anthony Clark Evans; bass-baritone Andrea Mastroni; bass David Leigh; and spoken word artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph.
ASO member soloists are violinist/concertmaster David Coucheron, principal viola Zhenwei Shi, and principal percussionist Joseph Petrasek.
Five classical subscription concerts in all will feature the mighty Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Guest choruses in this classical season will include the Georgia State University Women’s Chorus, University of Georgia Women’s Chorus, Morehouse College Glee Club, Spelman College Glee Club, and the Georgia Boy Choir.
Nathalie Stutzmann
Maestra Nathalie Stutzmann will have a full docket on the ASO podium in 2023-24, opening the season on October 5 with the ASO debut of French harpist Xavier de Maistre, performing a harp concerto by composer Alexander Mosolov. The program also features Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.
Nathalie Stutzmann (credit: Simon Fowler)
In early November, Stutzmann conducts the ASO Chorus in three works by Brahms and Rachmaninoff’s The Isle of the Dead, plus selections from Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances. More Dvořák is in store the following week, with violinist Josef Špaček joining Stutzmann for the composer’s Violin Concerto on the same program with his Symphony No. 9 and Cortège by Jean Sibelius.
In January, the ASO will celebrate the 200th birthday of Austrian composer Anton Bruckner with two performance weekends dedicated to the celebrated composer called “Architect of the Spirit: Bruckner at 200.” The first weekend, January 18 and 20, Stutzmann will conduct Bruckner’s brilliant but unfinished Symphony No. 9, with his Te Deum to close the performance, featuring the ASO Chorus.
The following weekend, January 25 and 27, Stutzmann and the AASO continue to honor Bruckner with a performance of his Symphony No. 7, paired with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22, played by Sunwook Kim in his ASO debut. Then in February, Stutzmann will lead performances of Verdi’s Requiem with soloists and the ASO Chorus.
Music director Nathalie Stutzmann leading the Atlanta Sympony Orchestra. (credit: Rand Lines)
In April, Maestra Stutzmann and superstar soprano Renée Fleming present an all-Strauss program that includes Fleming’s signature Four Last Songs and the Four Orchestral Songs, with selections from Der Rosenkavalier and Capriccio rounding out the program. Stutzmann’s concerts the following week will feature pianist Maria João Piresu making her ASO debut with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4.
Starting at the end of May, Stutzmann will conduct the final three programs of the season. Pianist Daniil Trifonov joins her to perform Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2, paired with Schumann’s Symphony No. 2. The Stutzmann leads The Ring Without Words, Lorin Maazel’s compilation of orchestral highlights from Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle. She will close the season with violinist Veronika Eberle as soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, two works by Maurice Ravel, and Stravinsky’s The Firebird.
Robert Spano Returns
Robert Spano (credit: Jason Thrasher)
Robert Spano, mow music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, returns to Atlanta as music director laureate to lead the ASO for two consecutive weeks in May.
For the first of these, Spano joins forces with pianist Garrick Ohlsson who will play Rachmaninoff’s monumental Piano Concerto No. 3. The following weekend, the ASO Chorus will join Spano and the orchestra for the world premiere of Jonathan Leshnoff’s Sacrifice of Isaac, to be followed by Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.
Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell (credit: Phillip Knott)
The season also includes a special one-night-only performance on October 25 by superstar violinist Joshua Bell playing Bruch’s Violin Concerto and excerpts from The Elements, a suite for violin commissioned by Bell from five different contemporary composers. Peter Oundjian will conduct the concert, which also includes Smetana’s The Moldau.
New and Different Voices
Carlos Simon (credit Terrance Ragland)
In February, the ASO will honor Black History Month with Atlanta native composer Carlos Simon in a program featuring his compositions brea(d)th and Motherboxx Connection, which explore contemporary life in Black America, Uzee Brown’s We Shall Overcome. Soprano Kearstin Piper Brown, baritone Brian K. Majors, the Spelman and Morehouse College Glee Clubs, plus poet and spoken-word performer Marc Bamuthi Joseph will join the ASO for this concert, conducted by Jonathan Taylor Rush.
The ASO will also premiere a new piece by Chanda Dancy in November and perform a new work in April by Atlanta composer Joel Thompson, a joint commission by the ASO and the New York Philharmonic.
But Wait, There’s More
Beyond the Delta Classical Series, the upcoming ASO programming for 2023-24 also features the Coca-Cola Holiday Concerts in December, a Family Concert Series, the 50th anniversary of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the 30th anniversary of the ASO’s Talent Development Program.
Subscriptions go on sale today, Wednesday, March 15, at noon. Every ASO subscription includes free access to the Behind the Curtain video streaming series. Details are available at aso.org/2324. A complete chronological listing of the Delta Classical concert series with programming and artists appears below. ■
2023/2024 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Delta Classical Season
* Denotes an ASO debut
- October 5 & 7, 2023
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Xavier de Maistre, harp*
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY: Overture to The Queen of Spades
TCHAIKOVSKY: “Polonaise” from Eugene Onegin
MOSOLOV: Harp Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4 - October 19 & 21, 2023
Lidiya Yankovskaya, conductor*
Amjad Ali Khan, sarod*
Amaan Ali Bangash, sarod*
Ayaan Ali Bangash, sarod*
Amit Kavthekar, tabla*
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
AMJAD ALI KHAN: Samaagam
GABRIELA LENA FRANK: Elegía Andina (Andean Elegy)
PROKOFIEV: Suite from Romeo & Juliet - October 25, 2023 SPECIAL
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Capriccio espagnol
VARIOUS: Excerpts from The Elements: Suite for Violin and Orchestra
SMETANA: The Moldau
BRUCH: Violin Concerto - November 2 & 4, 2023
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
BRAHMS: Nänie
BRAHMS: Schicksalslied
BRAHMS: Gesang der Parzen
RACHMANINOFF: The Isle of the Dead
DVOŘÁK: Selections from Slavonic Dances - November 9 & 11, 2023
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Josef Špaček, violin*
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
SIBELIUS: Cortège
DVOŘÁK: Violin Concerto
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 9 - November 16, 18 & 19, 2023
David Danzmayr, conductor
Michelle Cann, piano
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
PERRY: Short Piece for Orchestra
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 2
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 7 - November 30 & December 2, 2023
Anthony Parnther, conductor
Andrew Brady, bassoon
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
CHANDA DANCY: New work to be announced
JOHN WILLIAMS: The Five Sacred Trees
PRICE: Symphony No. 3 - January 3, 2024 SPECIAL
David Coucheron, violin & director
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
MOZART: Divertimento in D
ELGAR: Introduction and Allegro for Strings
VIVALDI: The Four Seasons - January 18 & 20, 2024
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
TBD, soprano
Marina Viotti, mezzo-soprano
James Ley, tenor
David Leigh, bass
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9
BRUCKNER: Te Deum - January 25 & 27, 2024
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Sunwook Kim, piano*
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 22
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 7 - February 1 & 3, 2024
Gemma New, conductor
Joseph Petrasek, percussion
Georgia State University Women’s Chorus
University of Georgia Women’s Chorus
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
SALINA FISHER: Rainphase
ADAM SCHOENBERG: Losing Earth
HOLST: The Planets - February 15 & 17, 2024
Jonathan Taylor Rush, conductor
Kearstin Piper-Brown, soprano
Brian K. Major, baritone
Marc Bamuthi Joseph, spoken word
Morehouse College Glee Club
Spelman College Glee Club
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
CARLOS SIMON: Motherboxx Connection
UZEE BROWN: We Shall Overcome
CARLOS SIMON: brea(d)th - February 22, 24 & 25, 2024
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, soprano*
Ekaterina Gubanova, mezzo-soprano*
Issachah Savage, tenor *
Andrea Mastroni, bass-baritone
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus
VERDI: Requiem - February 29 & March 2, 2024
Osmo Vänskä, conductor*
Alexander Melnikov, piano*
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
HENRY DORN: Transitions
PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 2
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 3 - March 14 & 16, 2024
Alpesh Chauhan, conductor*
Johannes Moser, cello
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY: Prologue from Sleeping Beauty
DUTILLEUX: Tout un monde lointain (A Whole Distant World)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Suite from Sleeping Beauty - March 21, 22, 23 & 24, 2024
Krzysztof Urbański, conductor*
Janai Brugger, soprano
Miles Mykkanen, tenor
Anthony Clark Evans, baritone
Georgia Boy Choir, David White, director
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
LUTOSŁAWSKI: Concerto for Orchestra
ORFF: Carmina Burana - April 4 & 5, 2024
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
David Coucheron, violin
Zhenwei Shi, viola
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
BRAHMS: Variations on a Theme by Haydn
MOZART: Sinfonia Concertante
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 - April 11 & 13, 2024
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Renée Fleming, soprano
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
R. STRAUSS: Sextet from Capriccio
R. STRAUSS: Four Last Songs
R. STRAUSS: Four Orchestral Songs
R. STRAUSS: Der Rosenkavalier Suite - April 18 & 20, 2024
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Maria João Pires, piano*
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
MENDELSSOHN: The Hebrides Overture
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 4
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 4 - April 25 & 26, 2024
Lina Gonzalez-Granados, conductor*
Cedric Tiberghien, piano*
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
GABRIELA ORTIZ: Kauyumari
JOEL THOMPSON: New work to be announced
GERSHWIN: Rhapsody in Blue
GABRIELA LENA FRANK: Walkabout: Concerto for Orchestra
ARTURO MÁRQUEZ: Danzón No. 2 - May 2 & 4, 2024
Jonathon Heyward, conductor
Yeol Eum Son, piano*
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
BRITTEN: Piano Concerto (1938)
RACHMANINOFF: Symphony No. 2 - May 9 & 11, 2024
Robert Spano, conductor
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
ADAM SCHOENBERG: Concerto for Orchestra [world premiere]
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 3 - May 16 & 18, 2024
Robert Spano, conductor
John Tessier, tenor
Cody Bowers, countertenor
Joseph Lattanzi, baritone*
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
JONATHAN LESHNOFF: Sacrifice of Isaac
STRAVINSKY: The Rite of Spring - May 30 & June 1, 2024
May 30m & June 1, 2024, 8pm
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Daniil Trifonov, piano
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2
DOWLAND: “Lachrimae antiquae” from Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 2 - June 6 & 8, 2024
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
WAGNER (arr. Maazel): The Ring Without Words - June 13, 15 & 16, 2024
Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor
Veronika Eberle, violin
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto
RAVEL: Alborada del gracioso (Morning Song of the Jester)
RAVEL: Menuet antique
STRAVINSKY: The Firebird (1919)
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: aso.org
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