Also Seattle Symphony announced its program for the season 2016-2017, starting on September 17, under its chief conductor for already six seasons, Ludovic Morlot.

For this glamorous opening night concert & gala, the great American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato is joining the Seattle Symphony with quite diverse program of Baroque arias and Broadway hits: Handel, Pacini, Rossini, Bernstein and Gershwin.
It is hard to choose only some concerts from the great selection for this next season. Major guests’ artists are joining the Seattle Symphony: pianists Emanuel Ax with Beethoven’s Emperor‘s piano concerto (in February), Bertrand Chamayou with Bartok’s piano concerto n.2 (in March) or Alexander Melnikov performing Rachmaninov’s first piano concerto. The amazing Yuja Wang joined by violinist Leonidas Kavakos will star in an evening of duets (on February 10) and a week later another great violinist, Joshua Bell, gives Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto. 

As for the cellists, you can hear Sol Gabetta on November 10 & 12 with Saint-Saens cello concerto n.1 and Yo-Yo Ma on October 14 with Haydn’s cello concerto n.1. Featured Artist in the 2016–2017 season is Hilary Hahn, performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto on the Masterworks Season as well as a solo recital on the Distinguished Artists series. She will also take part in the Seattle Symphony’s education and community engagement programs. 

Many guest conductors agreed to joint Seattle Symphony during this season. Let’s name some of them: the Principal Guest Conductor Thomas Dausgaard conducts Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3, and all-Rachmaninov and all-Strauss programs, then George Daugherty, Edward Gardner, Neeme Järvi or Itzhak Perlman (performing  J-S Bach’s violin and oboe concerto and conducting Mozart’s Requiem on the same evening). The Associate Conductor position for the season of 2016–2017 is taken by Pablo Rus Broseta who will lead a Shostakovich Concerto Festival in January (also with pianist Kevin Ahfat, violinist Aleksey Semenenko and cellist Edgar Moreau). 

Quite unique event will be the LA Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel appearing on this season for one evening to feature Mahler’s ninth symphony.
Let’s not forget the contemporary music: Seattle Symphony commissions for next seasons offers new orchestral works from Gabriel Prokofiev, Agata Zubel, Kenji Bunch, Judd Greenstein and Aaron Jay Kernis whose Violin Concerto will feature violinist James Ehnes. 

As for the U.S. premiere, this season you can discover music of Helen Grime. And also this season you can enjoy the [untitled] series and its relaxed, late-night contemporary concerts exploring the work of modern Polish, Russian and American composers. 

Speaking of Seattle Symphony: it was a great news to hear that their recording of Dutilleux’s Violin Concerto, L’arbre des songes, with violinist Augustin Hadelich under Ludovic Morlot, won a 2016 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. This recording is part of a three-disc and a multi-year recording project on Seattle Symphony Media, the orchestra’s in-house record label. If you want to hear Hadelich live, he will be joining the Seattle Symphony at the end of March to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. 

http://www.seattlesymphony.org/

Adela Pudlakova