CARNEGIE HALL UNVEILS FULL SCHEDULE OF 70+ EVENTS FOR ITS BEETHOVEN CELEBRATION IN HONOR OF THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COMPOSER’S BIRTH

JANUARY—JUNE 2020

Carnegie Hall’s Largest-Ever Celebration of One Composer
Features More Than 35 Events at the Hall with Internationally Renowned Artists
Exploring the Revolutionary Composer’s Works and His Transformative Impact on Music

Plus, 35+ Events Citywide at Prestigious Partner Organizations
Including Music, Dance, Exhibitions, Talks, and Poetry

As the 250th anniversary year of Beethoven’s birth (1770. 12. 17-1827. 3. 26) approaches, Carnegie Hall announces a wider schedule of partner events by leading cultural institutions, complementing the Hall’s programming as part of its Beethoven Celebration which includes an unprecedented range of performances by renowned artists exploring the composer’s works and his transformative impact on music. The Beethoven Celebration presents one of the largest explorations of the great master’s music in our time and marks the largest-ever exploration of one composer by Carnegie Hall, with 86 works of music performed by more than 58 artists and ensembles in New York City and beyond from January through June 2020.

Beyond Carnegie Hall, public programming, performances, exhibitions, and events at partner organizations—leading cultural and academic institutions in New York City and beyond—highlight the many dimensions of the great music master. The more than 35 partner events range from music and dance to poetry, exhibitions, and talks, many of which have a contemporary slant. Together, the Beethoven Celebration features more than 70 programs, creating an extraordinary view of this revolutionary composer.

“This rich series of events across New York City celebrates Beethoven’s unique place in the pantheon of the greatest artists in history as a composer whose music, perhaps more than any other, changed the course of Western classical music,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “Beethoven was audacious and absolutely fearless, a true revolutionary who never stopped challenging himself and who redefined every area of music that he touched. His music is timeless, and he continues to connect people worldwide with sounds that remain idealistic, compelling, fearsome, and personal. It’s no surprise that people around the globe continue to turn to his music to celebrate some of the most important turning points in history. We hope this opportunity to immerse ourselves in his music during this anniversary year will highlight the transformational impact he has had on culture, inspiring fresh perspectives on his life and work.”

At Carnegie Hall, the Beethoven Celebration features more than 35 events including two complete symphony cycles, the complete piano sonatas and complete string quartets, chamber music, choral works, plus additional concerts and lectures as well as an ambitious global project that explores the themes found in Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” led by Marin Alsop.

A highlight of the Beethoven Celebration—never before presented by Carnegie Hall in one season—are two complete symphony cycles, one in February 2020 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner and his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (ORR), performed on period instruments, and another in March and April 2020 by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra, contrasting their two different interpretive perspectives on these pillars of the orchestral repertoire.

A key figure both in the early music revival and as a pioneer of historically informed performances, Sir John Eliot Gardiner leads his internationally acclaimed early music ensemble ORR in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1, along with the rarely-heard score for the ballet, The Creatures of Prometheus (February 19 at 8:00 p.m.). The six-day symphony cycle in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage continues with the Symphony Nos. 2 and No. 3, “Eroica” (February 20 at 8:00 p.m.); Symphony Nos. 4, and 5—with its famous opening motif—(February 21 at 8:00 p.m.); Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral” and No. 7 (February 23 at 2:00 p.m.); and Symphony Nos. 8 and 9 (February 24 at 8:00 p.m.). The soloists for the Ninth Symphony include soprano Lucy Crowe, contralto Jess Dandy, tenor Ed Lyon, and bass Tareq Nazmi alongside The Monteverdi Choir. As a prelude to the cycle, Maestro Gardiner will be joined by distinguished Beethoven scholar William Kinderman for a discussion in Weill Recital Hall that illuminates Gardiner’s approach to these symphonic masterworks (February 18 at 7:00 p.m.). These Beethoven Celebration events comprise Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Perspectives series, which the celebrated conductor has curated for the 2019-20 season.

One of the most remarkable talents of his generation, Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads The Philadelphia Orchestra in the second complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies this season in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, beginning with Symphony Nos. 5 and 6, “Pastoral” (March 13 at 8:00 p.m.). The four-concert cycle continues with Symphony Nos. 2 and 3, “Eroica” (March 20 at 8:00 p.m.); Symphony Nos. 4, 7, and 8 (March 26 at 8:00 p.m.); and Symphony Nos. 1 and 9 (April 3 at 8:00 p.m.). The soloists for the Ninth Symphony include soprano Angel Blue, mezzo-soprano Mihoko Fujimura, tenor Rolando Villazón, and baritone Quinn Kelsey alongside the Westminster Symphonic Choir. Maestro Nézet-Séguin also leads The MET Orchestra in a program that features virtuoso superstar Anne-Sophie Mutter in Beethoven’s groundbreaking Violin Concerto and Romance for Violin and Orchestra in F Major (June 12 at 8:00 p.m.). These five Beethoven Celebration performances are part of conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s nine-concert Perspectives series this season.

Additional highlights at Carnegie Hall include:

• Chamber music with Anne-Sophie Mutter and friends in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage (January 30 at 7:00 p.m.);
   
• The all-star trio of Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage (March 4 at 8:00 p.m., March 6 at 8:00 p.m., and March 8 at 2:00 p.m.);
   
• Orchestra of St. Luke’s, led by Principal Conductor Bernard Labadie, performs an all-Beethoven program including the Choral Fantasy with pianist Jeremy Denk and Mass in C Major featuring soprano Karina Gauvin, mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor, tenor Andrew Haji, bass-baritone Matthew Brook, and La Chapelle de Québec (March 5 at 8:00 p.m.);
   
• The Widmann Lectures: Thoughts on Beethoven in Weill Recital Hall with Carnegie Hall Debs Composer’s Chair Jörg Widmann—one of the most enthralling composers of our day (March 29 at 2:00 p.m.);
   
• All Together: Songs for Joy led by James Ross, with renowned mezzo-soprano and Perspectives series artist Joyce DiDonato and members of Ensemble Connect, features original music written by songwriters from across New York City inspired by a new adaptation of the “Ode to Joy” text by former US Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy K. Smith (April 5 at 7:00 p.m.). All Together: Songs for Joy is part of an ambitious yearlong project All Together: A Global Ode to Joy which recasts Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as a 21st-century call for unity, justice, and empowerment. Conductor Marin Alsop leads performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on five continents with renowned orchestras and each partner will reimagine the concert experience for their own community, incorporating newly created music alongside the symphony and featuring artists from their own region. In each performance, Ode to Joy will be adapted or translated anew into a local language. From December 2019 through December 2020, concerts will be presented in São Paulo, Brazil; London, England; New York, New York, USA; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; Vienna, Austria; and Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa. Carnegie Hall presents the project’s final concert on December 6 at 3:00 p.m., featuring performers of all ages and guest artists from a wide range of genres, backed by a 250-voice choir comprised of singers from across New York City.
   
• The complete string quartet cycle by the charismatic French ensemble Quatuor Ébène over six concerts in Zankel Hall (April 17, 18, 19, and 30; May 1 and 2);
   
• The complete Beethoven piano sonatas in a series of 10 events by keyboard masters, including Sir András Schiff (April 2 at 8:00 p.m. and April 5 at 2:00 p.m.), Mitsuko Uchida (April 7 at 8:00 p.m.), Maurizio Pollini (May 17 at 2:00 p.m.), and Evgeny Kissin (May 27 at 8:00 p.m.) in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage.
   

Beethoven Celebration partner programming features 38 events, including music, dance, exhibitions, talks, and digital offerings presented by a range of 13 leading partner organizations across New York City and beyond: