News from Primo Artists | Fall 2023
Itzhak Perlman played his sold-out “In the Fiddler’s House” klezmer show at The Music Center at Strathmore last Thursday with artists including Hankus Netsky, Andy Statman, Michael Alpert and more. On October 7, he plays in recital with pianist Rohan De Silva at the Bergen Performing Arts Center followed by a back-to-back performance at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on October 8 of his multi-media show “An Evening with Itzhak Perlman”. Perlman then heads to Utah for back-to-back performances, playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto at Brigham Young University on October 11 and 12 and his “Cinema Serenade” program with the Utah Symphony on October 14.
Joshua Bell performed the World Premiere of “The Elements” with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra led by Chief Conductor Alan Gilbert on September 1. On September 15 and 16, he appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra on a play/conduct program before opening the Indianapolis Symphony’s season on September 23. Bell brought “The Elements” to the States in its U.S. Premiere with the New York Philharmonic and Music Director Jaap van Zweden on September 29. He performs the Bruch Violin Concerto and selections from “The Elements” with the Atlanta Symphony and conductor Peter Oundjian on October 25 before joining the New Jersey Symphony in play/conduct programs from November 30 to December 3.
Wynton Marsalis served as Composer-in-Residence at the 30th Anniversary of the Verbier Festival in July. His Trumpet Concerto received its European Premiere by Håkan Hardenberger and the Verbier Festival Orchestra led by Christoph Eschenbach, and Nicola Benedetti performed his Violin Concerto with James Gaffigan leading the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra. Marsalis’s works made an appearance in the San Francisco Bay Area with the San Francisco Symphony performing the Westcoast Premiere of his Herald, Holler and Hallelujah! fanfare on September 29 to October 1, the California Symphony performing his Violin Concerto on September 30 and SF Jazz presenting Wynton Marsalis with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on October 1 and 2.
Gemma New led a successful production of Susannah at Opera Theatre of St. Louis in June before making her Lincoln Center debut conducting the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and her BBC Proms debut at Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to great acclaim in August. On August 31, New led the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. She conducted the World Premiere of Liam Ritz‘s Scherzo at the season-opening concert of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra on September 23 in her ninth and final season as Music Director, and she conducts the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal from September 27 to October 1. New leads the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in her second season as Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor from October 27 to November 18.
Cristian Măcelaru opened the Cabrillo Festival’s 2023/24 season as Music Director and Conductor featuring 2 World Premieres, 1 U.S. Premiere and 9 West Coast Premieres in August. From August 27 to September 24, Măcelaru oversaw the 2023 George Enescu Festival in his inaugural season as Artistic Director, leading the opening concert with the Filharmonica Enescu and cellist Gautier Capuçon. He conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra on September 28, 30 and October 1 with Nicola Benedetti and conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra on October 13 and 15 in a program including the U.S. Premiere of Hannah Eisendle’s heliosis and works by Mozart and Brahms.
Randall Goosby made his Lincoln Center debut with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and conductor Louis Langrée on August 8 and 9. This Fall, he performs the Korngold Violin Concerto with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony with Music Director Manfred Honeck and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with conductor Christian Reif. He also plays recitals with Zhu Wang at London’s Southbank Centre on October 13 and at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie on October 16.
Valerie Coleman’s Giants of Light received its World Premiere at Carnegie Hall on July 14 performed by the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America and conductor Sir Andrew Davis ahead of their coast-to-coast tour. Coleman’s Tracing Visions was featured on Sphinx Virtuosi’s Deutsche Grammophon debut album released on July 28. On August 8 and 9, conductor Louis Langrée and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra performed Coleman’s Fanfare for Uncommon Times at Lincoln Center’s “Summer for the City”, and Coleman made her BBC Proms debut on September 1 as the Chineke Orchestra and Anthony Parnther performed Seven O’Clock Shout at Royal Albert Hall.
Nicola Benedetti performed Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto with conductor James Gaffigan and the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra at the Verbier Festival in July. She led the Edinburgh International Festival in a successful first year as Festival Director in August. Benedetti performed the Marsalis Violin Concerto in early September with Sydney Symphony Orchestra led by Karen Kamensek at the Sydney Opera House. This month, she joins the Philharmonia Orchestra as one of their season’s Featured Artists to perform the Brahms Violin Concerto with conductor Cristian Măcelaru at the Anvil in Basingtoke and Royal Albert Hall in London before joining the Philharmonia once more for the Marsalis Concerto with Santtu-Matias Rouvali at De Montfort Hall in Leicester and London’s Royal Festival Hall in November.
Christian Reif had a busy summer leading performances at Minnesota’s Lakes Area Music Festival in his third year as Music Director. On September 15, Reif began his inaugural season as Chief Conductor of the Gävle Symphony Orchestra and opened the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra subscription season on September 30 and October 1. After leading the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in October, he returns to Cincinnati to lead his chamber arrangement of John Adams’s El Niño: Nativity Reconsidered with soprano Julia Bullock, contralto Jasmin White, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and baritone Davóne Tines on November 30.
James Gaffigan led 4 performances at the Verbier Festival in his third year as Music Director of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra. Gaffigan returned to Valencia Opera in his third season as Music Director and conducted the season-opening concert on September 10 before leading the production of Tchaikovsky’s “Queen of Spades” from September 28 to October 21. His North American guest conducting appearances this Fall include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from October 19 to 24 followed by appearances with the Cincinnati Symphony performing Wagner’s The Ring Without Words on October 27 and 28, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from November 3 to 5 and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra on November 11 and 12.
