Washington Performing Arts Society

Joshua Bell, violin & Jeremy Denk, piano

Grammy winner Joshua Bell captivates audiences with his incredible virtuosity and elegance. A violinist for ‘everyman,’ he reveals nuance of the repertoire and reigns as the indisputable master of his instrument. “Bell is dazzling” (Gramophone). “He is a complete violinist. All the bells and whistles of Romantic phrasing are under his control” (The New York Times).

Program to be announced

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Celebrated for its versatility and artistic excellence, the London Philharmonic Orchestra has earned its place among the world’s most respected orchestras. Conductor Vladimir Jurowski, who recently made highly acclaimed debuts with the Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Philharmonic, “ranks as a star. … He conveys his intentions with balletic fluency, applying accents that are minimal and precise” (The New York Times).

MAHLER: Adagio from Symphony No. 10
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488
LIGETI: Atmosphères
R. STRAUSS: Also Sprach Zarathustra

Evgeny Kissin, piano

Kissin’s musicality, poetic interpretations, and extraordinary virtuosity have placed him at the forefront of the world’s new generation of pianists. “So compelling is Kissin’s pianism, so fresh his response to even the most familiar phrases, that one hangs on every note” (The New York Times).

PROKOFIEV:
3 Pieces from Romeo and Juliet
Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, Op. 84

CHOPIN:
Polonaise-Fantasie in A-flat Major, Op. 61
Mazurkas Op. 30, No. 4; Op. 41, No. 4; and Op. 59, No. 1
Etudes Op. 10, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 12
Etudes Op. 25, Nos. 5, 6, 11

Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano & Samuel Ramey, bass-baritone

Join us for an evening with two of America’s most celebrated voices. Samuel Ramey continues to reign as the foremost interpreter of bass and bass-baritone repertoire. “Ramey’s singing is the stuff of which operatic legends are made” (New York Post). Performances by Frederica von Stade “combine superior artistry with emotional directness, clarity of tone with crystalline diction, natural elegance with unpretentious passion” (Opera News).

Program includes works by Copland, Berlioz, Gershwin, Offenbach, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and more.

London Symphony Orchestra

Valery Gergiev’s appointment with the London Symphony was one of the most talked about recent events in classical music. With his electrifying and charismatic style, Gergiev continues a tradition of innovation at London’s most prolific orchestra. The London Symphony “makes magic so effortlessly” (The Times, London).

PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 1 in D Major, “Classical”
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor, Op. 111

Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela

Featured on CBS’ 60 Minutes after their sold-out series of concerts at Carnegie Hall, where tickets were scalped for up to $1,000, the 180-member Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra is the flagship ensemble of Venezuela’s unique and inspiring music education system.

For 30 years, “El Sistema” has been making classical musicians out of a quarter-million young Venezuelan students, transforming the lives of the nation’s poorest youths. Among its most shining alumni is the dazzling young conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who is taking the classical music world by storm and was recently named Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Audiences around the world cannot get enough of the youth orchestra with their “youthful enthusiasm, technical finesse, and well-honed precision” (The New York Times).

RAVEL: Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2
STRAVINSKY: The Rite of Spring
VARIOUS: Latin-American works

The Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra returns for its annual WPAS engagement with Charles Dutoit, recently named the ensemble’s chief conductor and artistic advisor. The extraordinary program includes Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, which the composer wrote expressly for this orchestra and features pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet “who performs Ravel with extraordinary technical facility” (The New York Times). “The Philadelphia Orchestra is unquestionably one of the world’s greats – its sound is incomparably thick and sweet with rich string tone, weighty brass and booming timpani” (Financial Times).

RAVEL: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
LISZT: Totentanz
RACHMANINOFF: Symphonic Dances
RAVEL: La Valse