South Florida Classical Review

 The New World Symphony’s 2009-2010 season —the last to take place entirely in the Lincoln Theatre—will be a characteristically bracing mix of familiar and envelope-pushing repertoire with an impressive lineup of visiting guest artists.

 Michael Tilson Thomas will open the season October 10 with a gala program of French and Russian showpieces, featuring Mikhail Simonyan in Glazunov’s Violin Concerto along with works of Mussorgsky, Berlioz and Ravel.

 The season proper will lead off October 24 and 25 at the Arsht Center with Tilson Thomas leading two performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and excerpts from Fidelio. The program boasts an imposing quartet of soloists: soprano Christine Brewer, mezzo Kendall Gladen, tenor Anthony Dean Griffey and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni.  Other downtown Arsht programs will have MTT and the New World in Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, with Jeremy Denk as soloist in Copland’s Piano Concerto (April 10-11), and Robert Spano directs the orchestra Feb. 20 in a sort-of American program with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3, Gershwin’s An American in Paris, and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg in Barber’s Violin Concerto.

Pianist Yuja Wang, who opened the current season in music of Ravel and Stravinsky, will return in April for Bartok’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with MTT on a program that also includes Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1 and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8. And next January, Tilson Thomas will make a rare appearance as instrumentalist, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 and conducting the orchestra in music of Grieg and Sibelius.

Other soloists next season include soprano Measha Brueggergosman (left) in Berg songs, violinist Jennifer Koh performing John Adams’ Violin Concerto, cellist Alban Gerhardt in Haydn, and clarinetist David Krakauer playing music of Golijov.

 There will be only two Sounds of the Times events next season. Jeffrey Milarsky will conduct works of Lang, Ziporyn and Gordon with keyboardist Andrew Russo, cellist Felix Fan and percussionist David Cossin.  And Finnish conductor Susanna Malkki will lead a program of contemporary music from her homeland including music of Saariaho, Murail and Lindberg. Guests in the six-concert Sunday chamber series include violinist Todd Phillips, violist Roberto Diaz, and baritone Randall Scariata.

 Osmo Vanska, music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, and Ludovic Morlot will make their New World podium debuts next season, and returning conductors include Alasdair Neale, Mark Wigglesworth, and Nicholas McGegan. The season will close (April 25-May 1) with Reflections of Debussy, a three-day series featuring the French composer’s music and that of contemporaries he inspired.

 Subscriptions range from $20-$369. Call 305-673-3331 or go online to www.nws.edu.

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