NOTICE OF CONDUCTOR CHANGES: SEATTLE SYMPHONY WELCOMES GUEST CONDUCTORS TO BENAROYA HALL FOR REMAINDER OF THE 2021/2022 SEASON
ACCLAIMED CONDUCTORS JOIN THE SYMPHONY IN LIGHT OF THOMAS DAUSGAARD’S RECENT CLOSURE OF TENURE
SEATTLE, WA — The Seattle Symphony welcomes four acclaimed conductors to take the podium for several upcoming programs, replacing Thomas Dausgaard for the remainder of the 2021/2022 season. The Symphony remains committed to this season’s adventurous programming and the excellence Thomas Dausgaard has inspired for many years. These esteemed guest conductors will build on the incredible work that has been underway already this season, joining the Symphony for some of the most exciting and anticipated programs of the year.
The Seattle Symphony is requiring all visitors to provide proof of vaccination (or present a negative COVID-19 test) with photo ID and wear masks at all times while in Benaroya Hall except in designated refreshment areas. This is in addition to numerous safety measures, including a hospital-grade air filtration system, increased cleaning and more. For further information about how the Symphony is working to ensure a safe return to live music, please visit the Safety Page. The Seattle Symphony is implementing a flexible exchange and return policy through the end of the year.
NORMAN HUYNH | CONDUCTOR
Norman Huynh has established himself as a conductor with an ability to captivate an audience through a multitude of musical genres. Norman is a first generation Asian American and the first in his family to pursue classical music as a career. He is currently the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Associate Conductor of the Oregon Symphony and the Music Director of the Bozeman Symphony, while also maintaining an international guest conducting schedule. Norman has been at the forefront of moving orchestral music out of the traditional concert hall into venues where an orchestra is not conventionally found. In 2011, he co-founded the Occasional Symphony in Baltimore to celebrate holidays by performing innovative concerts in distinct venues throughout the inner city. Additionally, as the Assistant Conductor of the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra, from 2013–2016, Norman visited over 60 schools across the state of Maine and co-founded Symphony & Spirits, a series of events for young professionals.
RUTH REINHARDT | CONDUCTOR
Ruth Reinhardt is quickly establishing herself as one of today’s most dynamic and nuanced young conductors, building a reputation for her musical intelligence, programmatic imagination and elegant performances. Reinhardt received her master’s degree in conducting from The Juilliard School and was a Dudamel Fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (2017–18), conducting fellow at the Seattle Symphony (2015-16) and Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Center (2015), and an associate conducting fellow of the Taki Concordia program (2015–17). A precocious talent, by age 17 she had already composed and conducted an opera for and performed by the children and youths of her hometown.
ASHER FISCH | CONDUCTOR
A renowned conductor in both the operatic and symphonic worlds, Asher Fisch is especially celebrated for his interpretative command of the core German and Italian repertoire of the Romantic and post-Romantic era. Since 2014, Fisch has been the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO). His former posts include Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Opera (2007–2013), Music Director of the New Israeli Opera (1998–2008), and Music Director of the Wiener Volksoper (1995–2000). Fisch’s recent recordings include tenor Stuart Skelton’s first solo album, recorded with WASO and released on ABC Classics in 2018, and a recording of Ravel’s L’heure espagnole with the Munich Radio Orchestra, which won Limelight Magazine’s Opera Recording of the Year in 2017. His recording of Wagner’s Ring Cycle with the Seattle Opera was released on the Avie label in 2014. His first Ring Cycle recording, with the State Opera of South Australia, won 10 Helpmann Awards, including best opera and best music direction.
LUDOVIC MORLOT | CONDUCTOR
Following eight years as Music Director, Ludovic Morlot is now Conductor Emeritus of the Seattle Symphony. Morlot’s innovative programming encompassed not only his choice of repertoire, but theatrical productions and performances outside the traditional concert hall space. Under Morlot’s baton, 19 recordings were released under the Seattle Symphony Media label, the orchestra received five Grammy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. Morlot has conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw, Czech Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, London Philharmonic, Budapest Festival, Tokyo Philharmonic and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. He has appeared at the BBC Proms, Wien Modern and Edinburgh Festivals. Morlot was Chief Conductor of La Monnaie (2012–14). During this time, he conducted several new productions including La Clemenza di Tito, Jenůfa and Pelléas et Mélisande.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
The Seattle Symphony unleashes the power of music, brings people together and lifts the human spirit. Recognized as one of the “most vital American orchestras” (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 26 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 750,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts, and through the Seattle Symphony Live streaming service, the orchestra’s concerts reach audiences at home and around the world.
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UPDATED CONCERT SCHEDULE
EO9066
MASTERWORKS SERIES
Thursday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, January 29, at 8 p.m.
Streaming: Thursday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m.
Norman Huynh conductor
Kishi Bashi violin, vocals, & guitar
Paul Chihara Beyond the Hills (Seattle Symphony Commission & World Premier)
Kaoru Ishibashi Improvisations on EO9066
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
The Seattle Symphony marks the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which saw the incarceration of thousands of innocent Japanese Americans during the Second World War, indelibly changing their lives and our region — the effects of which are still felt today.
Opening the program is a Seattle Symphony commission and world premiere by Japanese American composer Paul Chihara, which grapples with Chihara’s lived experience from the incarceration; then the musicians are joined onstage by Seattle-born Kaoru Ishibashi for his own Improvisations on EO9066; Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 rounds out the program.
Alongside this powerful concert, the Seattle Symphony presents "Pictures of Executive Order 9066," an immersive, self-guided video experience featuring photography by Dorothea Lange and oral histories supplied by Densho. The exhibition showcases award-winning filmmaker JJ Gerber and singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Kishi Bashi’s exploration into stories of those impacted by Executive Order 9066.
SIBELIUS SYMPHONY NO. 1
MASTERWORKS SERIES
Thursday, February 3, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 5, at 8 p.m.
Streaming: Thursday, February 3, at 7:30 p.m.
Ruth Reinhardt conductor
Garrick Ohlsson piano
Ellen Reid TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY (Seattle Symphony Commission & World Premiere)
Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Sibelius Symphony No. 1
The Seattle Symphony shines a spotlight on the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius with the composer’s impressive First Symphony. Sibelius wrote perhaps the greatest ‘First’ ever — packed with transcendent soundscapes. A new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid responds to Sibelius and Garrick Ohlsson performs Rachmaninov’s bravura Rhapsody.
SIBELIUS ONE UNTUXED
UNTUXED SERIES
Friday, February 4, at 7 p.m.
Ruth Reinhardt conductor
Ellen Reid TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY AND TODAY (Seattle Symphony Commission & World Premiere)
Sibelius Symphony No. 1
The Untuxed series are short, no-intermission concerts that offer the perfect kick-off to the weekend. Sibelius One Untuxed features the composer’s First Symphony. Sibelius wrote perhaps the greatest ‘First’ ever — packed with transcendent soundscapes, towering inspiration and Nordic vigor.
SONGS OF THE EARTH
MASTERWORKS SERIES
Thursday, February 10, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 12, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, February 13, at 4 p.m.
Asher Fisch conductor
Kelley O'Connor mezzo-soprano
Russell Thomas tenor
Walker Lyric for Strings
Walker Folksongs for Orchestra
Mahler Das Lied von der Erde
The Seattle Symphony brings together a program of music reflecting on the end of life. Mahler was inspired by Chinese poetry for his valedictory masterwork, Das Lied von der Erde. George Walker offers introverted and deeply personal reflections on four spiritual melodies in Folksongs for Orchestra. His Lyric for Strings, a touching tribute to the memory of his grandmother, is one of his best-loved works.
MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 6
MASTERWORKS SERIES
Thursday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 2, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 3, at 2 p.m.
Streaming: Thursday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m.
Ludovic Morlot conductor
Francesco Piemontesi piano
R. Strauss Burleske
Mahler Symphony No. 6
Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot joins the orchestra to perform Mahler’s tragic Sixth Symphony. Driven, bitter and sweet by turns, the music is haunted by echoes of a military march stalking through the symphony. Brief moments of nostalgia suggest hope might win — but in the end, Mahler revealed, the mighty hammer-blows of fate fell the hero “like the stroke of an ax.”
SIBELIUS SYMPHONY NO. 2
MASTERWORKS SERIES
Thursday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 9, at 8 p.m.
Streaming: Thursday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m.
Ludovic Morlot conductor
Isabelle Faust violin
Angélica Negrón New Work (Seattle Symphony Commission & World Premiere)
Sibelius Violin Concerto
Sibelius Symphony No. 2
From its icy, desolate opening to its robust, jubilant finale, Sibelius’ Violin Concerto glows. Isabelle Faust performs this virtuosic tour de force — full of unexpected twists and turns. Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot takes up this program which concludes with the arching melodies and majestic lines of Sibelius’ Second Symphony.
SIBELIUS TWO UNTUXED
UNTUXED SERIES
Friday, April 9, at 8 p.m.
Ludovic Morlot conductor
Angélica Negrón New Work (Seattle Symphony Commission & World Premiere)
Sibelius Symphony No. 2
Sibelius Two Untuxed features Sibelius' Second Symphony. The orchestra expertly shapes the Second Symphony’s arching melodies and majestic lines alongside a bold work by composer Angélica Negrón.
2021–2022 Masterworks Season Sponsor: Delta Air Lines.
Kishi Bashi's performances are generously sponsored by Marco Argenti.
The EO9066 concert is presented as part of the Seattle Symphony’s New Music WORKS initiative, which is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. New Music WORKS features commissions, concerts and educational activities that use composition as a catalyst for collaboration and engagement in music.
Ludovic Morlot's position has been generously underwritten as the Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus.
Isabelle Faust's performances are generously sponsored by Mel and Leena Sturman.
Angélica Negrón's New Work was commissioned by the Seattle Symphony with the support of Richard Meyer and Susan Harmon. Angélica Negrón's New Work is presented as part of the Seattle Symphony’s New Music WORKS initiative, which is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Sibelius Symphony No. 1 & 2 are generously sponsored by Scan Design Foundation.
Garrick Ohlsson's performances are generously sponsored by Paul Leach and Susan Winokur.
Ellen Reid's New Work is presented as part of the Seattle Symphony’s New Music WORKS initiative, which is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.