Category: Faculty

Curtis Symphony Orchestra Presents “Beethoven, Ortiz, and Barber” on January 27

Date
Press Contacts:
Patricia K. Johnson | patricia.johnson@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3190
Ryan Scott Lathan | ryan.lathan@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3145

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PHILADELPHIA, PA—January 3, 2024—The Curtis Symphony Orchestra returns to Verizon Hall on the Kimmel Cultural Campus for its second concert of the 2023–24 season on Saturday, January 27, at 3 p.m. with “Beethoven, Ortiz, and Barber.” Acclaimed conductor Michael Stern (’86) leads Curtis’s gifted young musicians in an afternoon of extraordinary emotional contrasts. The program opens with the Philadelphia premiere of Latin GRAMMY®-nominated composer Gabriela Ortiz’s kaleidoscopic Kauyumari (“The Blue Deer”) under the baton of first-year student Benoit Gauthier, Curtis’s Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow. A rhythmic tour-de-force, this thrilling work follows the hoofed blue spiritual guide of the Huichol people of Mexico on a peyote-fueled journey through the invisible world as they communicate with their ancestors, heal the wounds of the soul, and serve as guardians of the planet.

The concert continues with legendary 20th-century composer and Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber’s (’34) soaring First Symphony (in One Movement)— a muscular, lyrical piece that packs a powerful wallop within the span of 20 minutes, condensing the dramatic intensity, delicacy, and sweeping grandeur of a traditional four-movement symphony into one. The final piece of the concert, Ludwig van Beethoven’s transcendent Violin Concerto in D major, features the exquisite artistry of internationally renowned violinist Pamela Frank (’89), Herbert R. and Evelyn Axelrod Chair in Violin Studies at Curtis, and winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize. Opening with a quiet whisper, the concerto is one of classical music’s most intimate, impassioned masterpieces, a revolutionary work that combines blazing virtuosity with the elegance of a traditional symphonic structure.

Conductor Michael Stern has long been devoted to building and leading highly acclaimed orchestras known not only for their impeccable musicianship and creative programming, but also for collaborative, sustainable cultures that often include a vision of music as service to the community. Stern currently holds three music director positions: with the Kansas City Symphony, where he concludes his 19-year tenure at the end of this season; with the National Repertory Orchestra, a summer music festival in Breckenridge, Colorado; and with the newly rebranded Orchestra Lumos (formerly the Stamford Symphony). Stern was recently named artistic advisor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. And, following a 22-year tenure as founding artistic director of Iris Orchestra in Germantown, Tennessee, he now serves the newly reimagined Iris Collective as artistic advisor.

As part of his ongoing activities to engage and mentor young musicians, he was asked by Yo-Yo Ma to be the music director of YMCG, Youth Music Culture Guangdong; he was also invited to the National Orchestral Institute, Music Academy of the West, and has been a regular guest at the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Stern’s illustrious American conducting engagements have included the Boston, Chicago, and Atlanta Symphonies; the New York Philharmonic; and the Minnesota Orchestra. Stern has also served as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Internationally, he has led major orchestras in London, Stockholm, Paris, Helsinki, Budapest, Israel, Moscow, Taiwan, and Tokyo. He was chief conductor of Germany’s Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Orchestre National de Lyon and the Orchestre National de Lille, both in France.

Stern received his music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where his primary teacher was the noted conductor and scholar Max Rudolf.

Pamela Frank, a 1989 Curtis graduate, has established an outstanding international reputation across an unusually varied range of performing activity. She has performed regularly with today’s most distinguished soloists and ensembles, including the orchestras of Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, New York, San Francisco, and Baltimore; the Berlin, St. Petersburg, and Israel philharmonics; the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; and the Tonhalle Orchestra of Zürich.
As a recitalist, she has performed in the major cities of the world. A sought-after chamber musician, she has appeared at many international festivals, including Aldeburgh, Verbier, Edinburgh, Salzburg, Tanglewood, Marlboro, and Ravinia. Her chamber music projects include performances with such artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, the late Peter Serkin, and her father, the late pianist Claude Frank; and frequent appearances with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Musicians from Marlboro. In 1999 she was awarded a coveted Avery Fisher Prize.

With Claude Frank, she recorded the complete Beethoven sonata cycle for Music Masters Classics and an all-Schubert disc. For Sony Classical, Ms. Frank recorded the Chopin Piano Trio and Schubert Trout Quintet with Mr. Ax and Mr. Ma. On Decca she has recorded all of the Mozart violin concertos, the Dvorak concerto, and, with Peter Serkin, the complete Brahms sonata cycle.

Since 2008 Ms. Frank has been the artistic director of the Evnin Rising Stars, a mentoring program for young artists at Caramoor Center for the Arts. Her newest venture is the formation of Fit as a Fiddle Inc., a collaboration with physical therapist Howard Nelson in which they use both their expertise for injury prevention and treatment of musicians. Ms. Frank joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1996.

Acclaimed for its “otherworldly ensemble and professional level of sophistication” (The New York Times), the Curtis Symphony Orchestra offers a dynamic showcase of tomorrow’s exceptional young talent. Each year the 100 extraordinary musicians of the orchestra work with internationally renowned conductors, including Osmo Vänskä, Vladimir Jurowski, Marin Alsop, Simon Rattle, Robert Spano, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who also mentors the early-career conductors who hold Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellowships. This professional training has enabled Curtis alumni to assume prominent positions in America’s leading orchestras, as well as esteemed orchestral, opera, and chamber ensembles around the world.

The Curtis Symphony Orchestra returns to Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Cultural Campus on Saturday, March 9, at 3 p.m., with “Ra, Mackey, Tchaikovsky,” with conductor Robert Spano (’85). The concert includes two world premieres, Te Deum by James Ra (’04) and Steven Mackey’s Aluminum Flowers for solo electric guitar and orchestra, featuring the jaw-dropping virtuosity of guitarist Jiji (’15). To learn more about these performances, as well as the Curtis Opera Theatre, Ensemble 20/21 concerts, Curtis Recital Series, and more, visit Curtis.edu/Calendar.

Single tickets for “Beethoven, Ortiz, and Barber” start at $19 and are available for purchase at Curtis.edu. The flexible Choose Your Own subscription option offers 25% off ticket prices when purchasing tickets to two or more performances. To order a subscription, visit Curtis.edu/Subscribe, call (215) 893-7902, or email tickets@curtis.edu.

 

Curtis Symphony Orchestra
The Jack Wolgin Orchestral Concerts

Beethoven, Ortiz, and Barber
Saturday, January 27 at 3:00 p.m.
Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center; Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia

Michael Stern, conductor (’86)
Benoit Gauthier, Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow
Pamela Frank, violin (’89)
Curtis Symphony Orchestra

GABRIELA ORTIZ Kauyumari
SAMUEL BARBER (’34) First Symphony (in One Movement), Op. 9
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

Orchestral concerts are supported by the Jack Wolgin Curtis Orchestral Concerts Endowment Fund.

Guest conductor appearances for each Curtis Symphony Orchestra performance are made possible by the Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser Chair in Conducting Studies.

 

About the Curtis Institute of Music
At Curtis, the world’s most talented young musicians develop into exceptional artists, creators, and innovators. With a tuition-free foundation, Curtis is a unique environment for teaching and learning. A small school by design, students realize their artistic potential through intensive, individualized study with the most renowned, sought-after faculty. Animated by a learn-by-doing philosophy, Curtis students share their music with audiences through more than 100 performances each year, including solo and chamber recitals, orchestral concerts, and opera—all free or at an affordable cost—offering audiences unique opportunities to participate in pivotal moments in these young musicians’ careers. Curtis students experience a close connection to the greatest artists and organizations in classical music, and innovative initiatives that integrate new technologies and encourage entrepreneurship—all within a historic campus in the heart of culturally rich Philadelphia. In this diverse, collaborative community, Curtis’s extraordinary artists challenge, support, and inspire one another—continuing an unparalleled 100-year legacy of musicians who have led, and will lead, classical music into a thriving, equitable, and multidimensional future. Learn more at Curtis.edu.

Photo credits: 1. & 4.) The Curtis Symphony Orchestra; Matt Genders Photography. 2.) Conductor Michael Stern; Jennifer Taylor, courtesy of Kirshbaum Associates Inc. 3.) Violinist Pamela Frank; Nicolas Lieber.

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Curtis Mourns Former Trumpet Faculty Member Frank Kaderabek

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Curtis mourns the loss of renowned orchestral trumpeter and the school’s former longtime faculty member Frank John Kaderabek, who passed away on December 28, 2023, at age 94, in East Falls, Pennsylvania. A Curtis faculty member from 1975 to 2007, he remains the longest-serving trumpet faculty member in the school’s history.

Born in Cicero, Illinois, in 1929 to Czech immigrants—his father a butcher and mother a seamstress, Mr. Kaderabek’s first love was the violin. While his mother wanted him to play accordion for Czech parties, his parents compromised when a family friend offered to provide lessons and an instrument in middle school. His lessons continued at Morton High School, and he played in Big Bands, polka bands, and Czech dances. In 1946, at age 17, he began studying with Edward Masacek, a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s trumpet section since the early 1920s.

In the fall of 1948, he received a scholarship to attend Chicago Music College (now the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University), where he served as a member of the Chicago Musical College Chorus, and a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago during the ensemble’s 1949–50 season. As the Korean War broke out in 1950, he spent the war years as the solo cornet at the West Point Military Academy. During this period, he studied with Nat Prager and Harry Glantz from the New York Philharmonic.

He served as principal trumpet of the Dallas Symphony (1953–58), associate principal trumpet in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner (1958–66), principal trumpet of the Detroit Symphony (1966–75), and finally as principal trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1975–95), a position he held until his retirement. Mr. Kaderabek was on the faculty at Curtis for over three decades, and he also taught at West Chester University, Oakland University, University of Michigan, and Temple University. Following his retirement, he continued to practice the trumpet every day, and he enjoyed woodworking, refinishing old furniture, collecting model trains, visiting flea markets, and reading. A lifelong student, he began piano lessons in his late eighties.

The Curtis community extends its deepest sympathy and condolences to Mr. Kaderabek’s wife Mary; his children; close friends; family members, colleagues, and students.

Read tributes to Mr. Kaderabek by the International Trumpet Guild and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. To learn more about how to attend the celebration of life and reception on January 6 for Mr. Kaderabek or to join virtually, click HERE.

Photos of Frank Kaderabek courtesy of William Langley Photographers and Legacy.com. Photo of Mr. Kaderabek with student Christopher Konfirst (Trumpet ’05), taken in 2004 by David DeBalko, courtesy of Curtis Archives.

A Tempo: Maestro, Orchestra Boot Camp, Curtis Bookshelf

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Read the articles HERE.

Curtis faculty member Yannick Nézet-Séguin served as the conducting consultant for the new biopic Maestro, a portrait of Leonard Bernstein’s (Conducting ‘41) life and marriage following his time here at Curtis, stars actor and director Bradley Cooper. Instead of launching into concert preparation this past September, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra spent four intensive, pedagogically focused sessions with conductor James Ross (Conducting’ 89).

In the Curtis Bookshelf, biographer Howard Pollack and faculty member Harvey Sachs make their cases for Samuel Barber (Composition ’34) and Arnold Schoenberg, respectively. Venerable publicist Mary Lou Falcone (Voice’ 66) also tells her poignant story in a new book, I Didn’t See it Coming: Scenes of Love, Loss, and Lewy Body Dementia. 

From the Fall 2023 Issue

Feature Story: Musicians and Artificial Intelligence

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Read the article HERE.
By Jeremy Reynolds

Technological advancements like AI generators and improved synthesizers are shaping the careers of studio musicians around the country. Nathan Farrington (Bass ’06), conductor Sarah Hicks, violinist Timothy Fain, Gabriel Cabezas (Cello ’13), and James Nova (Trombone ’96) share their thoughts on the ever-shifting landscape of artificial intelligence and how it is affecting the music industry.

From the Fall 2023 Issue

Curtis Announces Updates for 2023–24 Season: Time to Discover

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Subscription tickets on sale now at Curtis.edu/Subscribe

View the performance calendar at Curtis.edu/Calendar
Curtis’s exciting season features world-class conductors Robert Spano (’85) and Vinay Parameswaran (’13), newly commissioned works by Steven Mackey, James Ra (’04), and Dmitri Tymoczko, and tributes to composers George Lewis and Ned Rorem (’44)
Press Contacts:
Patricia K. Johnson | patricia.johnson@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3190
Ryan Scott Lathan | ryan.lathan@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3145

Download PDF

PHILADELPHIA, PA—December 5, 2023—As the Curtis Institute of Music’s 2023–24 season, Time to Discover, continues, additional information is now available for previously announced programming. On Saturday, January 27, 2024, at Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra will present Beethoven, Ortiz, and Barber, a celebration of three dynamic composers whose innovative works push the boundaries of harmonic structure, symphonic color, and form. The concert opens with the Philadelphia premiere of Latin GRAMMY-nominated composer Gabriela Ortiz’s rhythmically charged work Kauyumari (“The Blue Deer”), a thrilling, peyote-fueled ode to the spiritual guide of the Huichol people of Mexico, featuring first-year student Benoit Gauthier, Curtis’s Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow.

The program continues with legendary 20th-century composer and Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber’s (’34) soaring First Symphony (in One Movement), Op. 9, a muscular, lyrical work that packs a powerful wallop as it condenses four stirring movements into one. The concert concludes with Ludwig van Beethoven’s transcendent Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, highlighting the virtuosity of internationally renowned violinist Pamela Frank (’89) under the baton of conductor Michael Stern (’86).

The Curtis Presents series opens on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at Field Concert Hall with “Nate’s World.” The brainchild of acclaimed bassist Nathan Farrington (ʼ06), principal bassist for LA Opera Orchestra, “Nate’s World” promises to be an audience favorite—a unique, genre-hopping concert featuring composer, pianist, and clarinetist Teddy Abrams (Conducting ’08), music director of the Louisville Orchestra and the Britt Festival, and percussionist, composer, and educator Gabriel Globus-Hoenich (ʼ08). This eclectic program, featuring unique arrangements—classical to country, Bach to the Beatles, and everything in between—promises a night of crowd-pleasing favorites and unexpected surprises.

The Curtis Presents series resumes on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at Field Concert Hall with a Ned Rorem Celebration Concert to honor the life, legacy, and genius of the late alumnus, longtime faculty member, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, and prolific writer. Praised by Time magazine as “the world’s best composer of art songs,” Mr. Rorem wrote nearly 500 of them during his lifetime. Curtis’s concert opens with four selected songs and an aria from his three-act opera Our Town, performed by soprano Sarah Fleiss, mezzo-soprano Katie Trigg, and pianist Miloš Repický—Hirsig Family Chair in Vocal Studies at Curtis.

The celebration continues with Rorem’s French-inflected Sonata No. 2, featuring celebrated pianist Amy Yang (’06), associate dean of piano studies and artistic initiatives at Curtis. Internationally acclaimed baritone and alumnus Jarrett Ott (Opera ’04) returns to the school to perform Mr. Rorem’s Santa Fe Songs, set to twelve poems on love, spirituality, and nature by New Mexico poet and essayist Witter Brynner. Mr. Ott will interpret the song cycle alongside a string trio of Curtis students and Mr. Repický at the piano.

The Curtis Presents series closes on Tuesday, April 23, at Field Concert Hall with a retrospective program highlighting iconic Curtis Composers, featuring boundary-pushing chamber works and early-career classics that shaped the landscape of contemporary classical music. Selections include Jennifer Higdon’s (’88) Autumn Music for wind quintet; Leonard Bernstein’s (Conducting ’41) Sonata for Clarinet and Piano; David Serkin Ludwig‘s (’01) Three Pictures from the Floating World for bassoon and string trio; Samuel Barber’s (’34) Canzone (Elegy), for flute and piano; Ned Rorem’s (’44) Mountain Song for chamber ensemble; Julius Eastman’s (’63) Piano Pieces 1–1V; and recently appointed composition faculty member Jonathan Bailey Holland’s (’96) Introit for brass quintet.

The school’s cutting-edge contemporary classical music group, Ensemble 20/21, finishes its sold-out year on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at Gould Rehearsal Hall with a “Portrait of George Lewis.” A diverse concert of highlights from the MacArthur Fellow, pioneering composer, musical polymath, and trombonist’s catalogue opens with The Deformation of Mastery, inspired by African American literary theorist Houston A. Baker Jr.’s influential book Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance, a chamber orchestral work composed with the intent to break down and disrupt all notions of authenticity in Afrodiasporic sonic expression. This work is followed by his unnerving, quirkily percussive String Quartet 1.5: Experiments in Living and the striking work Anthem for mezzo-soprano, flute, tenor saxophone, drums, percussion, piano, violin, and electronics, which examines power and image, and how societies assign almost superhuman abilities to artists or bands with the expectation that the masses idolize and worship them.

The program continues with The Mangle of Practice, a delightfully volatile piece for violin and piano—inspired by a 1984 article of the same title written by renowned British sociologist of science Andrew Pickering—that explores the unpredictable nature of change and how human interactions transform situations, or, in this instance, music. Born Obbligato, which lifts textural and structural ideas from Beethoven’s Septet, Op. 20, and enhances the fourth movement with percussion, closes the concert.

The 2023–24 season, Time to Discover, includes orchestra, opera, chamber music concerts, and recitals, totaling more than 150 performances in Philadelphia through May 2024. Throughout the season, Curtis students—some of the world’s finest young musicians—move from the classroom to the stage, sharing their immense passion for classical music through exhilarating performances alongside internationally renowned guest artists and esteemed alumni. Curtis’s thrilling season combines beloved repertoire favorites—such as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 (“Pathétique”) and Leoš Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen—with exciting new works—including compositions by Angélica Negrón and Tyshawn Sorey, and world premieres by Steven Mackey, James Ra (’04), and Dmitri Tymoczko—and much more.

Single tickets and subscriptions are available now for Curtis’s 2023–24 season: Time to Discover

 

2023–24 MEDIA CALENDAR OF EVENTS
For season highlights and the latest performance information, visit Curtis.edu/Calendar.

Student Recital Series and Graduation Recitals
Recitals are held Monday, Wednesday, Friday evenings and some weekends at 7:00 p.m.
Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, 1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia

Curtis’s promise of “learn by doing” is on full display in the school’s acclaimed Curtis Recital Series. Starting in mid-October, more than 100 free chamber, ensemble, and graduation recitals are held on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings, as well as many weekends, at Field Concert Hall, with additional performances in the spring. This exciting series offers audiences an opportunity to experience the unparalleled artistry of Curtis’s gifted young musicians. After years of study, members of the class of 2024 share their talents and passion through final graduation recitals.

Highlights from the Student Recitals Series are featured year-round on YouTube and WHYY’s ongoing series, On Stage at Curtis. Recitals are free, but advance registration is required. For a complete listing of the week’s performances, visit Curtis.edu/Calendar. View Friday live streams at Curtis.edu/YouTube.

 

Curtis Symphony Orchestra
The Jack Wolgin Orchestral Concerts

Beethoven, Ortiz, and Barber
Saturday, January 27 at 3:00 p.m.
Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center; Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia

Michael Stern, conductor (’86)
Benoit Gauthier, Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow
Pamela Frank, violin (’89)
Curtis Symphony Orchestra

GABRIELA ORTIZ Kauyumari
SAMUEL BARBER (’34) First Symphony (in One Movement), Op. 9
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

 

Acclaimed conductor Michael Stern (’86) leads the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in an evening of extraordinary emotional contrasts. The program opens with the Philadelphia premiere of Latin GRAMMY-nominated composer Gabriela Ortiz’s kaleidoscopic Kauyumari (“The Blue Deer”), under the baton of first-year student, Benoit Gauthier, Curtis’s Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow. A rhythmic tour-de-force, this thrilling work follows the hoofed blue spiritual guide of the Huichol people of Mexico on a peyote-fueled journey through the invisible world as they communicate with their ancestors, heal the wounds of the soul, and serve as guardians of the planet.

The concert continues with legendary 20th-century composer and Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber’s (’34) soaring First Symphony (in One Movement)—a muscular, lyrical work that packs a powerful wallop within the span of twenty minutes, condensing the dramatic intensity, delicacy, and sweeping grandeur of a traditional four-movement symphony into one. The final piece of the concert, Beethoven’s transcendent Violin Concerto in D major featuring internationally renowned violinist Pamela Frank (’89), opens with a quiet whisper. One of classical music’s most intimate, impassioned masterpieces, this revolutionary work combines blazing virtuosity with the elegance of a traditional symphonic structure.

 

Curtis Presents
Nate’s World
Wednesday, January 31 at 7:30 p.m.
Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, 1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia

Nathan Farrington (’06), Double Bass
Teddy Abrams (’08), Conducting
Gabriel Globus-Hoenich ( ’08), Timpani and Percussion

 

The 2023–24 Curtis Presents series kicks off with the return of acclaimed alumnus Nathan Farrington (ʼ06), principal bassist for LA Opera Orchestra, as he takes listeners on an adventurous musical safari through Nate’s World. He is joined by composer, pianist, and clarinetist Teddy Abrams (Conducting ’08), music director of the Louisville Orchestra and the Britt Festival, and New York City-based percussionist, composer, and educator Gabriel Globus-Hoenich (ʼ08) for an evening of unexpected surprises. This genre-hopping concert features a diverse landscape of styles, with a program written, arranged, and performed according to the trio’s current musical passions, from classical to country and everything in between.

 

Curtis Presents
String Sextets
Tuesday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, 1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia

Benjamin Beilman (’12), violin
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt (’10, ’11, ’14), viola
Oliver Herbert (’19), cello

RICHARD STRAUSS Sextet for Strings from Capriccio, Op. 85
ALBAN BERG Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 1
(Transcribed by Heime Müller)
ALYSSA WEINBERG (’16) Illuminating Arches (commissioned work)
JOHANNES BRAHMS String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36

 

Curtis on Tour presents an evening with acclaimed violinist and Curtis faculty member Benjamin Beilman (’12), former Dover Quartet violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt (’10, ’11 and String Quartet ’14), award-winning cellist Oliver Herbert (’19), and emerging professional artists from Curtis for the memorable evening of chamber music. This phenomenal sextet presents Richard Strauss’s richly scored Sextet from his luminous final opera Capriccio, Alban Berg’s colorful and chromatic transcription of his Piano Sonata in B minor, Johannes Brahms’s ethereal String Sextet No. 2 in G major, and Illuminating Arches, a newly commissioned work composed by Curtis alumna Alyssa Weinberg (’16).

 

Curtis Symphony Orchestra
The Jack Wolgin Orchestral Concerts

Ra, Mackey, and Tchaikovsky
Saturday, March 9 at 3:00 p.m.
Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia

Robert Spano (’85), conductor
JIJI (’15), guitar
Curtis Symphony Orchestra

JAMES RA (’04) Te Deum, premiere
STEVEN MACKEY Aluminum Flowers, for solo electric guitar and orchestra (world premiere)
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 (“Pathétique”)

 

Renowned conductor Robert Spano (’85) leads the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in the final concert of the series in Curtis’s ambitious 2023–24 season, a remarkable program featuring two exhilarating world premieres and a late-Romantic era classic. The afternoon opens with Te Deum, a newly commissioned work by (’04). Praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “a composer to watch,” Ra’s compositions have been described as “coursing with adrenaline-pumping energy.” The program continues with GRAMMY Award-winning Curtis composition faculty member Steven Mackey’s Aluminum Flowers for solo electric guitar and orchestra, featuring the jaw-dropping virtuosity of guitarist Jiji (’15), followed by Tchaikovsky’s impassioned, intensely personal Symphony No. 6 (“Pathétique”).

 

Curtis Opera Theatre
Les Mamelles de Tirésias & The Seven Deadly Sins
Friday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m
Sunday, March 17 at 2:30 p.m.
Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia

Michelle Rofrano, conductor
Eve Summer, stage director
Members of the Curtis Opera Theatre

FRANCIS POULENC, music and libretto  Les Mamelles de Tirésias
KURT WEILL, music
BERTOLT BRECHT, libretto		  The Seven Deadly Sins

 

The Curtis Opera Theatre’s exciting series continues with a double bill featuring Francis Poulenc’s outrageously funny farce, Les Mamelles de Tirésias, alongside Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s darkly satirical “ballet chanté,” The Seven Deadly Sins, at the Philadelphia Film Center. Poulenc’s surreal opéra bouffe features a delightfully fizzy cocktail of opera, cabaret, and jazz, with a tale as consciously arty, feminist, and political as it is insightfully witty. Weill’s sardonic tale of sacrifice draws on the classic pop song and dance numbers of the 1920s and ’30s, blended with that quintessential Weill sound and a timeless commentary on values, virtues, and the “almighty dollar.”

Les Mamelles de Tirésias is sung in French with English supertitles.
The Seven Deadly Sins is sung in German with English supertitles.

 

Ensemble 20/21
Intersection
Saturday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Gould Rehearsal Hall, Lenfest Hall, 1616 Locust Street, Philadelphia

ANNA MEREDITH   Tuggemo
EDGAR MEYER   Concert Duo for Violin and Bass
COURTNEY BRYAN   Soli Deo Gloria
DMITRI TYMOCZKO   Nerds (world premiere, commissioned work)
ANGÉLICA NEGRÓN   Dóabin
TYSHAWN SOREY   For Fred Lerdahl
GYÖRGY LIGETI   Six Bagatelles

 

“Intersection” features music by composers who explore the terrain between traditional genre boundaries. The program features Anna Meredith’s astonishing 1980s electronica meets ’90s clubland composition Tuggemo; the first movement of Edgar Meyer’s virtuosic Concert Duo for Violin and Bass; Courtney Bryan’s gospel and jazz-flavored fusion of the sacred and secular, Soli Deo Gloria for two guitars; and the world premiere of Dmitri Tymoczko’s Nerds, for chamber ensemble. The evening concludes with Angélica Negrón’s dóabin, inspired by the invented language of a pair of twins; acclaimed composer Tyshawn Sorey’s shimmering, lyrical work, For Fred Lerdahl; and avant-garde icon György Ligeti’s minimalist composition, Six Bagatelles, for woodwind quintet.

This event is currently sold out. Join the waitlist to be notified should additional tickets become available.

 

Curtis Presents
Ned Rorem Celebration Concert
Tuesday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, 1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia

Sarah Fleiss, soprano
Katie Trigg, mezzo-soprano
Jarrett Ott (Opera ’04), baritone
Miloš Repický, piano

NED ROREM (’44) “Early in the Morning”
“I am Rose”
“The Serpent”
Emily’s Aria: “Take me Back up the Hill” from Our Town
“On an Echoing Road” from Evidence of Things Not Seen
Piano Sonata No. 2
Santa Fe Songs
Sonnet
Santa Fe
Opus 101
Any Other Time
Coming Down the Stairs
He Never Knew
El Musico
The Wintry-Mind
Water-Hyacinths
Moving Leaves
Yes I Hear Them
The Sowers

The Curtis Institute of Music honors the life, legacy, and genius of alumnus, longtime faculty member, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and prolific writer Ned Rorem (’44) with a concert at Field Concert Hall. Mr. Rorem received a GRAMMY Award and wrote three symphonies, four piano concerti, ten operas, choral works, ballets, song cycles, and numerous orchestral works in his lifetime. Revered faculty members, rising stars of the Curtis Opera Theatre, and some of the school’s gifted musicians pay tribute to one of the greatest American composers of the twentieth century and a cultural luminary who inspired generations of young artists and composers.

 

Ensemble 20/21
Portrait of George Lewis
Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Gould Rehearsal Hall, Lenfest Hall, 1616 Locust Street, Philadelphia

GEORGE LEWIS The Deformation of Mastery
String Quartet 1.5: Experiments in Living
Anthem
The Mangle of Practice
Born Obbligato

 

Ensemble 20/21 celebrates this year’s composer in residence with a “Portrait of George Lewis,” featuring works by the award-winning composer, musicologist, author, computer-installation artist, and trombonist. Since the early 1970s, Mr. Lewis has expanded the frontiers of experimental music with wildly inventive works that bridge traditions of acoustic and electric, American and European, rhythmic and free form. This final concert of the series honors the MacArthur Fellow and pioneering legend who continues to sit at the vanguard of contemporary musical expression.

This event is currently sold out. Join the waitlist to be notified should additional tickets become available.

 

Curtis Presents
Curtis Composers
Tuesday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, 1726 Locust Street, Philadelphia

JENNIFER HIGDON (’88)  Autumn Music, for wind quintet
LEONARD BERNSTEIN (Conducting ’41)  Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
DAVID SERKIN LUDWIG (’01)  Three Pictures from the Floating World, for bassoon and string trio
SAMUEL BARBER (’34)  Canzone (Elegy), for flute and piano
NED ROREM (’44)  Mountain Song
JULIUS EASTMAN (’63)  Piano Pieces I–IV
JONATHAN BAILEY HOLLAND (’96)  Introit, for brass quintet

 

The third concert of the Curtis Presents series builds upon the school’s longstanding tradition of innovation, inspiration, and artistic excellence as it celebrates eight of its distinguished composition alumni. As Curtis looks to its centenary in 2024–25, this retrospective program highlights iconic Curtis composers Jennifer Higdon (’88), Leonard Bernstein (Conducting ’41), David Serkin Ludwig (’01), Samuel Barber (’34), Ned Rorem (’44), Julius Eastman (’63), and recently appointed composition faculty member, Jonathan Bailey Holland (’96), in an evening of boundary-pushing chamber works and early-career classics that shaped the landscape of contemporary classical music.

 

Curtis Opera Theatre
The Cunning Little Vixen
Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 4 at 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 5 at 3:00 p.m.
Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia

Vinay Parameswaran (’13), conductor
John Matsumoto Giampietro, stage director
Members of the Curtis Opera Theatre

LEOŠ JANÁČEK, music and libretto                  The Cunning Little Vixen

 

Curtis’s exciting 2023–24 season concludes with Leoš Janáček’s masterpiece, The Cunning Little Vixen, one of the most vivid and colorful operatic works of the 20th century. Led by a plucky heroine, this poetic parable celebrates the eternal cycle of life and death as it spins a comical yet bittersweet tale of Vixen Sharp Ears. Captured by a gamekeeper, the mischievous young fox cub grows up to become a strong, independent vixen, escaping into the wild, where she embarks on an adventurous journey. Janáček’s stirring adaptation of the beloved Czech novella features a lushly orchestrated, folk-infused score bursting with boundless invention and an imaginative array of dazzling colors.

Widely acclaimed director John Matsumoto Giampietro places the opera in a world of magical realism, in a fusion between the forest and a contemporary rehearsal studio. Under the baton of internationally renowned conductor and Curtis alumnus Vinay Parameswaran (’13), The Cunning Little Vixen features the rising young stars of the Curtis Opera Theatre in collaboration with the GRAMMY-nominated Philadelphia Boys Choir. This innovative new production focuses on the journey we all take through the seasons, walking side by side with nature.

The Cunning Little Vixen is sung in Czech with English supertitles.

 

Ticketing Information
Single tickets and subscriptions are available now for Curtis’s 2023–24 season: Time to Discover. Purchase today to secure your seat for a season of amazing performances, including Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 and Leoš Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, alongside exhilarating new works—compositions by Angélica Negrón and Tyshawn Sorey—and world premieres by Steven Mackey, James Ra (’04), and Dmitri Tymoczko.

Single tickets for the 2023–24 season start at $19. The flexible Choose Your Own subscription option offers 25% off ticket prices when purchasing tickets to two or more performances. To order a subscription, visit Curtis.edu/Subscribe, call (215) 893-7902, or email tickets@curtis.edu.

 

Philanthropic Support for Curtis’s 2023–24 Season
Guest conductor appearances for each Curtis Symphony Orchestra performance are made possible by the Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser Chair in Conducting Studies.

Orchestral concerts are supported by the Jack Wolgin Curtis Orchestral Concerts Endowment Fund and the Pennsylvania Tourism Office.

The Curtis Opera Theatre is generously supported by the Ernestine Bacon Cairns Trust, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and the Wyncote Foundation.

Generous support for Ensemble 20/21 is provided by the Daniel W. Dietrich II Foundation.

The Curtis Institute of Music received funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

About the Curtis Institute of Music
At Curtis, the world’s most talented young musicians develop into exceptional artists, creators, and innovators. With a tuition-free foundation, Curtis is a unique environment for teaching and learning. A small school by design, students realize their artistic potential through intensive, individualized study with the most renowned, sought-after faculty. Animated by a learn-by-doing philosophy, Curtis students share their music with audiences through more than 100 performances each year, including solo and chamber recitals, orchestral concerts, and opera—all free or at an affordable cost—offering audiences unique opportunities to participate in pivotal moments in these young musicians’ careers. Curtis students experience a close connection to the greatest artists and organizations in classical music, and innovative initiatives that integrate new technologies and encourage entrepreneurship—all within a historic campus in the heart of culturally rich Philadelphia. In this diverse, collaborative community, Curtis’s extraordinary artists challenge, support, and inspire one another—continuing an unparalleled 100-year legacy of musicians who have led, and will lead, classical music into a thriving, equitable, and multidimensional future. Learn more at Curtis.edu

Photo credits: 1.) Gabriela Ortiz; courtesy of Boosey & Hawkes. 2.) Nathan Farrington; courtesy of artist. 3.) Amy Yang; Balázs Böröcz of Pilvax Studio. 4.) Jarrett Ott; Dario Acosta Photography. 5.) Jonathan Bailey Holland; Robert Torres. 6.) George Lewis; courtesy of composer. 7.) Angélica Negrón; courtesy of composer.

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