Michael Zirkle - N.C. Symphony
Music director Grant Llewellyn will continue his overview of Gustav Mahler's music.
The last few years of economic downturn have dealt heavy blows to symphony orchestras across the country. That the N.C. Symphony's just-announced 2012-13 classical season maintains its series of 14, two-night concerts in Raleigh, the same number since 2009, indicates the orchestra's determination to ride out the storm, whatever it takes.
And what it takes is cutting costs by scheduling fewer large-scale works and star soloists, while leaving off expensive world-premiere commissions and less popular contemporary works. Although such decisions might seem regressive, they make sense given the number of orchestras shutting down recently, including those in Syracuse and Honolulu, and death watches for others, such as the venerable Philadelphia Orchestra and Brooklyn Philharmonic.
Under new CEO and president Sandi Macdonald, the N.C. Symphony is continuing to reduce its deficit (now less than $500,000), while still offering a season with broad appeal.
"We've developed programs and invited guest artists for next season that promise to be both exciting and engaging to the listener as well as fiscally prudent for the organization," General Manager Scott Freck said.
Highlights of the 80th classical season (the pops and Summerfest series will be announced later) start in the fall with music director Grant Llewellyn's latest installment in his ongoing Gustav Mahler overview. The 70-minute symphonic song cycle, "Das Lied von der Erde" ("The Song of the Earth"), is Mahler's glorious setting of Chinese poetry contemplating life, death and salvation. North Carolina native and Metropolitan Opera star Anthony Dean Griffey sings the tenor solos (Nov. 2-3).
A few weeks later, guest conductor Carlos Kalmar, music director of the Oregon Symphony, leads Dmitri Shostakovich's intensely emotional Symphony No. 7 ("Leningrad"), a gripping depiction of the Nazi invasion of Russia and the Russians' ultimate victory (Nov. 16-17).
William Henry Curry, the symphony's resident conductor, heads a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, aided by narrator David Hartman, baritone Scott McLeod and the projections of photochoreographer James Westwater. The program includes Aaron Copland's dramatic "Lincoln Portrait," Ives' Symphony No. 2 and John Adams' moving setting of Walt Whitman poetry, "The Wound-Dresser" (Feb. 22-23, 2013). The new season also marks the 100th anniversary of two 20th-century classics with performances of and selections from Maurice Ravel's ballet, "Daphnis and Chloé" (Sept. 14-15) and Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" (May 17-18, 2013).
Llewellyn takes the podium for two beloved choral works, joined by the N.C. Master Chorale. "Messiah" returns after a four-season hiatus, employing George Frideric Handel's own surprisingly intimate orchestrations (Nov. 30-Dec. 1), and Llewellyn takes on Johannes Brahms' lovely "German Requiem" for the first time with the orchestra (April 12-13, 2013).
Some favorite soloists return next season, including pianist Peter Serkin, playing Bela Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3 (Oct. 5-6), and cellist Zuill Bailey lending his bow to Benjamin Britten's Cello Concerto (Feb. 8-9, 2013). Making their debuts with the orchestra are Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter in Felix Mendelssohn's perky Concerto No. 1 (Mar. 15-16, 2013), and Canadian-born violinist Lara St. John in an unusual "Four Seasons" that blends Antonio Vivaldi's classic with Ástor Piazzolla's tango-tinged modern version (Jan. 11-12, 2013).
The coming season has its share of popular fare. There are symphonies by Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Jean Sibelius, as well as shorter works by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Antonin Dvorák, Claude Debussy and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Although the 2012-13 season doesn't match some of the orchestra's more ambitious offerings in recent years, it has enough variety to please most concertgoers while crafting a sensible selection to ensure the orchestra's existence for years to come.
