Gabriela Montero and Gautier Capuçon Play Rachmaninoff & Prokofiev,
New York Philharmonic CONTACT! Program Features Lindberg & Grisey Premieres,
Pianist Alessio Bax Makes His New York Recital Debut,
Patti Smith Riffs on Khubilai Khan,
Concerts Feature Music from Philippines & Mexico, and A Chanticleer Christmas
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, November 5, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. - Alessio Bax, Piano – New York Recital Debut
A 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant winner whose recent CD and performances of Bach transcriptions have received critical acclaim, Alessio Bax makes his New York recital debut with a program featuring Brahms's Ballades, Op. 10, Nos. 1-4; Rachmaninoff's Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42; Bartók's Dance Suite, Sz. 77; Granados's "El amor y la muerte" (from Goyescas); and Ravel's La Valse.
Since taking first prizes at the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition and the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, Bax has won audiences across the globe. In 2009 he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, one of the most prestigious prizes in classical music. Highlights of Bax's 2010-2011 season include appearances as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the U.K. and the Colorado Symphony under Marin Alsop and the second year of his residency with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as a member of CMS Two. This past summer Bax performed recital at Music@Menlo in California between engagements at Schloss Elmau in Germany, a Japan tour, chamber music in Fort Worth, Lexington, and at the Bard Music Festival, and recitals and orchestral dates in Spain. He also recorded a Rachmaninoff album in Wales for future release.
Bax's 2009 recording, Bach Transcribed, received rave reviews from Gramophone magazine ("awesome") and Fanfare ("this disc is a must"). Baroque Reflections, his 2004 release for Warner Classics, was selected as a Gramophone "Editor's Choice" and American Record Guide "Critics' Choice" ("a disc to treasure"). In 2005, Bax and pianist Lucille Chung recorded Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals with conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. They have also recorded the complete works for two pianos and piano four hands of György Ligeti on Dynamic Records. In addition, Bax has chronicled the complete works for piano and organ of Marcel Dupré for Naxos, and Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, live with the New Japan Philharmonic, for Fontec. Also on Fontec, Bax released a live recording of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Hamamatsu Symphony Orchestra.
In 2005, Alessio Bax was selected to play the Fugue of Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" Sonata for Maestro Daniel Barenboim in Barenboim on Beethoven. The documentary was produced by Channel 13/PBS, in conjunction with Bel Air Media, BBC, and NHK Japan. It was broadcast worldwide and released as a DVD box set in 2006 on the EMI label.
Alessio Bax graduated with top honors at the record age of 14 from the conservatory of his hometown in Bari, Italy. He studied in France with François-Joël Thiollier, and attended the Chigiana Academy in Siena under Joaquín Achúcarro. He moved to Dallas in 1994 to continue his studies with Achúcarro at SMU's Meadows School of the Arts, where he is now on the teaching faculty.
www.alessiobax.com
Tickets: $45
Saturday, November 6, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. - Patti Smith – "Khubilai Khan"
Rock icon Patti Smith performs her eighth concert at the Metropolitan Museum, a program devoted to the world of Khubilai Khan and the poetry of Samuel Taylor Coleridge (and his poem "Kubla Khan"). Jesse Smith, Michael Campbell, and friends join in.
This event is presented in conjunction with "The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty," September 20, 2010 – January 2, 2011. The exhibition is made possible by Bank of America. The exhibition is also made possible by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Dillon Fund, The Henry Luce Foundation, Wilson and Eliot Nolen, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation, the Oceanic Heritage Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Florence and Herbert Irving, and Jane Carroll. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Patti Smith made her Museum debut in June 2001, when she performed a program in conjunction with the Museum's William Blake exhibition. Her subsequent appearances have included a 2002 program devoted to All Saints Day, an evening devoted to Joan of Arc and French cultural heroes, a 2007 concert titled "Poems and Songs for the Young at Heart," a 2008 program, "A Clear and Bright Gathering," commemorating All Saints' Day, and a program last year in tribute to photographer Robert Frank in conjunction with the Metropolitan Museum exhibition "Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans." As one of the early pioneers of the dynamic New York City punk scene, Patti Smith has been sharing her unique blend of poetic rock and roll with the public for over a quarter of a century.
Tickets: $40
Friday, November 12, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. - Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano
This famed mariachi group makes a return visit to the Metropolitan Museum with "Viva Mexico," a program commemorating the group's 50th anniversary and the bicentennial of Mexico, including favorites such as "Mexico Lindo," "La Bamba," and more.
Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano employs the finest musicians from Mexico and the United States and has performed for audiences throughout the United States and Canada. Los Camperos is led by Natividad "Nati" Cano. A traditionalist and a visionary, Cano has both mirrored and shaped the history of mariachi music. He was born in 1933 into a family of mariachi musicians in Jalisco, Mexico, one of the many west Mexican communities that gave life to the mariachi tradition. His career took him first to nearby Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city, and then further away to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, he and Los Camperos emerged as a major driving force of the mariachi music tradition in the United States.
In December 2006, Cano's contributions to the American music landscape were recognized when he became one of the first artists nationwide to win a USA Fellowship from United States Artists. Mr. Cano was one of only five musicians to be named a USA Fellow in the inaugural year.
Mariachi Los Camperos was one of four mariachis that collaborated on Linda Ronstadt's album, Canciones de Mi Padre (Songs of My Father) in 1988. They also appear on Linda Ronstadt's Mas Canciones (More Songs). The ensemble, which has recorded nine albums, shared a 2005 Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children for cELLabration!, A Tribute to Ella Jenkins. In 2006, the album Llegaron Los Camperos was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album. In 2008, the group released their third CD with Smithsonian Folkways, entitled Amor, Dolor y Lágrimas.
Tickets: $45
Saturday, November 13, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. - Gabriela Montero, Piano &
Gautier Capuçon, Cello
Pianist Gabriela Montero and cellist Gautier Capuçon, both of whom have appeared at the Metropolitan Museum in recent seasons, perform their only New York concert of the season together, a program of three works by Rachmaninoff – the Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19; Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14; and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in A Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Variation No. 18, Op. 43 – as well as Prokofiev's Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 119.
Montero and Capuçon collaborated on a recent recording, Rhapsody, featuring cello sonatas by Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff, which elicited praise from the San Francisco Chronicle: "French cellist Gautier Capuçon and Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero have put their heads and hands together for a positively steamy romp through two great Russian cello sonatas, and the results are remarkable."
"Gabriela and I have the same instincts and passions in the way we see music," explains Capuçon. "It's instinctive, but also analytical." Montero, a pianist as noted for her improvisational as interpretative talents, agrees: "We share the same musical world – but Gautier is also full of musical surprises. Our approach is emotional, but with a brain behind it. There's a natural, organic integration." Click here for an interview and performance video on Rhapsody on the EMI Web site.
Gabriela Montero's singular interpretations and unique improvisational gifts have won the Venezuelan-born pianist a fast-expanding audience and devoted following around the world. In 2010, Montero's engagements include a tour with the Kremerata Baltica, recital tour with cellist Gautier Capuçon, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as solo recitals at the Zurich Tonhalle, Beethovenfest Bonn. She will also join Martha Argerich for a chamber music concert entitled Autour du Tango at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. North American highlights include engagements with the symphonies of Cincinnati, Seattle, Detroit, and Indianapolis, and a stop at the Savannah Music Festival.
An exclusive EMI Classics recording artist, Montero acquired many new fans with the release of her EMI debut CD in 2006, Bach and Beyond, a unique blend of traditional concert repertoire and improvisations. Her follow-up album, Baroque, also pairing traditional fare with improvisation, garnered two Grammy nominations (for Best Classical Crossover Album and Best Producer). In January 2010, Montero was invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where she gave a seminar on the art of improvisation. In January 2009, Montero was invited to participate in President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony in Washington D.C. with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, and clarinetist Anthony McGill, performing Air and Simple Gifts composed by John Williams.
Cellist Gautier Capuçon has taken the international music world take note since winning the Victoires de la Musique as "New Talent of the Year" in 2001. His collaborations include performances with Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Myung-Whun Chung, Leonid Kavakos, Katia and Marielle Labeque, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, and Leonard Slatkin.
Mr. Capuçon's 2010-2011 season will include a special tour with pianist Gabriella. Montero featuring works from their recording, Rhapsody, in Montreal, New York City, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Seattle, Kansas City and Calgary, AB. Mr. Capuçon will make his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Lionel Bringuier, and will return to the San Francisco Symphony under Charles Dutoit. He recently made his first appearance with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, performing Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations and Prokofiev's Sinfonia Concertante; a recording of the performance was released in January 2010 on the Virgin Classics label, for which Mr. Capuçon records exclusively. His 2009 release of Dvorák and Herbert received the distinction of Editor's Choice from Gramophone Magazine. Additional releases from Virgin Classics include Haydn concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Daniel Harding, chamber music of Ravel with Renaud Capuçon and pianist Frank Braley, and a recording of contemporary violin and cello duos entitled Face à Face.
Tickets: $45
Friday, November 19, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. - Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company
This exponent of traditional Filipino culture returns to the Museum with a program celebrating the music and dance traditions of the Philippines that take their inspiration from the country's indigenous Chinese, Spanish, and Islamic influences.
Bayanihan takes its name from an ancient Filipino word meaning "working together for a common good." In 1956 Dr. Helena Z. Benitez founded the Bayanihan Folk Dance Group of the Philippine Women's University. The following year it was formally organized as the Bayanihan Folk Arts Center, with the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company as its performing arm. Both the center and the dance company were given a mandate to research and preserve indigenous Philippine art forms in music, dance, costumes, and folklore; to restructure and enhance these research findings to evolve repertoires suited to the demands of contemporary theater; and to promote international goodwill through performances at home and abroad. Bayanihan made its highly successful debut at the Brussels Universal Exposition on May 27, 1958; a run on Broadway followed immediately.
Since its formal organization the company has performed on six continents, and in 64 countries, and 658 cities world-wide. In 2002 and 2005 the company won the Gold Temple award for overall excellence in dance, music, costume, and production at the International Folklore Festival in Agrigento, Sicily. On the home front, Bayanihan was honored with the "Diwa ng Lahi" award, the highest honor given by the City of Manila for outstanding achievement in culture and the arts. In appreciation and recognition of its pioneering efforts and international success, the people of the Philippines through the 10th Congress declared the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company as The Philippines National Folk Dance Company.
Tickets: $45
Saturday, November 20, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. – CONTACT! The New York Philharmonic's New Music Series
Alan Gilbert, Conductor,
Magnus Lindberg, Host
The New York Philharmonic's popular new music series, CONTACT!, returns after its debut year with a second season of two programs featuring Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert conducting members of the orchestra, and Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg as host. This first program features the world premiere of a new work by Magnus Lindberg, a New York Philharmonic commission, and Gerard Grisey's Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil, featuring the soprano Barbara Hannigan, who received critical raves for her performance as Gepopo in the Philharmonic's presentation of Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre last spring.
Magnus Lindberg describes his new piece as a chamber concerto "where the group would be treated in a soloistic way." Gerard Grisey, who was Lindberg's teacher, is one of the first composers to explore musical spectralism, described by Alan Gilbert as a "fascinating sound world" which uses sound spectra, or mathematical overtones, as an organizing principle.
Tickets: $20 (Series: $40)
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