The Spring for Music Festival returns to Carnegie Hall this week, showcasing six North American orchestras that were hand-picked by festival personnel for their dynamic programming. The standard overture-concerto-symphony model doesn’t work here, as this year’s week of concerts proves in spades. Not only are there four New York premieres slated for this year’s festival, but three U.S. premieres presented by this year’s only Canadian ensemble, the Edmonton Symphony.
Having performed in last year’s Spring for Music as a member of the Albany Symphony, I can assure you that these concerts are electric, with hundreds of people traveling from each of the orchestra’s cities to sit in the iconic auditorium as the “hometown” crowd. (Each traveling audience member is given a colored handkerchief to wave in support of their ensemble.)
As part of the festival’s mission statement to provide audiences with affordable concerts, all seats in the hall are only $25, with a special Buy Four, Get Six promotion package available as well. Tickets are available via the Spring for Music site.
Orchestra roster and programming available after the jump:
All concerts begin at 7.30 PM in Stern Auditorium.
Monday, May 7
Houston Symphony
Hans Graf, music director
All-Shostakovich program
Tuesday, May 8
Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
William Eddins, music director
U.S. premieres by three Canadian composers
Wednesday, May 9
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
Jacques Lacombe, music director
Varese, Weill, and the Busoni Piano Concerto
Thursday, May 10
Alabama Symphony Orchestra
Justin Brown, music director
Three New York premieres and Beethoven’s Seventh
Friday, May 11
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Edo de Waart, music director
Debussy’s La Mer, Messiaen, and Qigang Chen
Saturday, May 12
Nashville Symphony
Giancarlo Guerrero, music director
A New York Ives premiere, Terry Riley, and Percy Grainger