South Florida Classical Review

Stéphane Denève will open the New World Symphony’s 2024-25 season on October 5.

The 2024-2025 season of the New World Symphony, Stéphane Denève’s second as artistic director, will feature an opera bill, a major 20th century choral work, world premieres and many guest conductors and soloists making their first appearances with the orchestral academy. Performances will take place at the New World Center, the Arsht Center and West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center (as part of the hall’s classical series).

Denève opens the season October 5 and 6 with artistic director laureate Michael Tilson Thomas’ Grammy award-winning composition From the Diary of Anne Frank and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. 

On October 19 and 20, Denève leads a fully staged presentation of Victor Ullman’s The Kaiser of Atlantis and Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins featuring soprano Danielle DeNeise. Israeli director Yuval Sharon helms the one-act works. At the Arsht Center on March 15, Denève conducts Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. A setting of the traditional Latin mass for the dead interspersed with the poems of Wilfred Owen (who was killed in battle during World War I), the work will mark a collaboration with the Master Chorale of South Florida, Florida Singing Sons and Girl’s Choir of South Florida. Soprano Christine Goerke, tenor Ian Bostridge and baritone Roderick Williams are the starry trio of vocal soloists.

Denève directs the premieres of two New World Symphony commissions: Davóne Tines’ Recital No. 1 – MASS  (with Tines as baritone soloist November 8-9) and Anna Clyne’s PALETTE for Augmented Orchestra (March 1-2). Among the repertoire works Denève will conduct are Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.

Tilson Thomas is scheduled to lead programs on March 29 and 30 and April 5 and 6 that will include Haydn’s Symphony No. 98 and Beethoven’s 5th and 6th symphonies. Pianist Yefim Bronfman (Schumann’s Piano Concerto) and soprano Susanna Phillips (Beethoven’s Ah Perfido and Alban Berg’s Lulu Suite) are soloists.

Finnish conductor Dalia Staveska will recreate a program that Jean Sibelius conducted in 1911 that included the premiere of the composer’s Symphony No. 4 as well as such rarities as Canzonetta, The Dryad and Night Ride and Sunrise ( April 11-12). Violinist Leonidas Kavakos takes the podium for Louise Farrenc’s Overture No. 1 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 as well as playing Mozart’s Concerto No. 4 (December 14-15).  Other guest conductors include Xian Zhang, Paolo Bortolameolli, Jerri Lynne Johnson, Lidiya Yankovskaya, James Gaffigan, Shunske Sato and Edward Garner.

Among the soloists are cellist Seku Kanneh-Mason (Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1), violinists Maria Dueñas (Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole) and Gil Shaham (Dvořák’s Violin Concerto), pianist Alexander Malofeev (Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini) and soprano Emily Magee (Strauss’ Four Last Songs).

A diverse series of chamber music concerts will feature guest appearances  by mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider, violist Amihai Grosz and oboist Titus Underwood. nws.edu

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