In Wednesday’s (1/19) Seattle Times, Michael Upchurch writes, “Get ready for the Seattle Symphony to surge forward in all directions in 2011-12, as French conductor Ludovic Morlot takes the helm. The coming season’s musical lineup, the first to be programmed by Morlot, couldn’t look fresher or more eclectic. … Gerard Schwarz, in his new role as conductor laureate, will naturally be weighing in with some musical offerings. In his ‘Made in America Festival,’ he’ll highlight the always lively work of Seattle native William Bolcom. Revered classics—Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony, Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’ and Gershwin’s ‘American in Paris,’ to name a few—are part of the picture. So are items new to the Symphony’s repertoire, including John Adams’ ‘Doctor Atomic Symphony,’ Friedrich Gulda’s jazzily scampering Cello Concerto and a number of works by French composer Henri Dutilleux (his eerie and hypnotic Symphony No. 1 among them). British conductor Oliver Knussen is the other featured composer of the new season. Morlot kicks things off on Sept. 17 with an opening-night concert and gala featuring former SSO principal cellist Joshua Roman in the Gulda concerto, plus works by Beethoven, Gershwin and Ravel. Morlot will then conduct nine weeks of the Masterworks Season’s 21-week schedule.”
Posted January 20, 2011
