“Carlos Kalmar will close out his long tenure at the helm of the Oregon Symphony with ambitious new works as well as world-renowned guest artists such as jazz great Wynton Marsalis,” writes Douglas Perry in Friday’s (2/7) Oregonian (Portland). “He also will take kind of a victory lap. In his last season as music director, Kalmar will present 22 Oregon Symphony premieres. This includes a clutch of world premieres, such as Oregon Symphony creative chair Gabriel Kahane’s ‘The Right to Be Forgotten.’ … The musical theme for the season will be, ‘Who has the right to be heard in our society?’ The Oregon Symphony has endeavored in recent years, as [CEO Scott] Showalter said in 2017, ‘to connect to the greater community through critical issues of our day.’ That’s meant, for example, concert series that ostensibly explore homelessness, immigration and the environment … Kalmar’s 18-year stretch as music director saw the Oregon Symphony’s reputation take wing. In 2011, the symphony made its Carnegie Hall debut…. Kalmar, 61, will continue as principal conductor at Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival. He will close out his final season at the Oregon Symphony by conducting Mahler’s Symphony No. 9.”
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