“The Hartford Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2018-19 Masterworks Series, which opens with Mussorgsky (Pictures at an Exhibition) and Bartok (Concerto for Orchestra),” led by Music Director Carolyn Kuan, writes Michael Hamad in last Thursday’s (3/1) Hartford Courant (Connecticut). “ ‘Not all that many American orchestras have been around for 75 years,’ says HSO executive director Steve Collins. ‘To do that in a moderately sized market is a real achievement.’ … Season highlights include Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 … with 22-year-old soloist Szymon Nehring … a program of Mendelssohn (Symphony No. 2) and Vaughan Williams (Fantasia on ‘Greensleeves’ and Dona nobis pacem) featuring the Hartford Chorale … and a season-closing performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5…. Guest artists include … bandoneon player Julien Labro on Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Aconcagua’ … klezmer clarinet great David Krakauer in Osvaldo Golijov’s ‘The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind’ … and acclaimed string trio Time For Three performing in Jennifer Higdon’s bluegrass-tinged Concerto 4-3…. Among the 24 composers represented … four—Golijov, Higdon, Gabriela Lena Frank … and Arturo Márquez—are living. Two (Frank and Higdon) are female.” Says Collins, “Diversity is important to us in terms of programming, guest artists and so on. It’s very much on our agenda.”
Posted March 8, 2018
