Music Director José-Luis Novo and the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra proudly announce the 2018-19 Masterworks season, launching its Opening Night Celebration on Friday and Saturday, October 5-6 at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. This season explores how great music inspires and enlivens great film.
The Masterworks series provides local audiences with a prestigious caliber of classical music performed by master musicians and internationally-praised guest artists, under the baton of a renowned conductor—all accessible right here in Annapolis. Premiering this season, the symphony will feature brief, accompanying films during three of its concerts to highlight the impact of music through movies.
Appearing with the Annapolis Symphony for the first time is French virtuoso pianist Pascal Rogé, headlining the opening night concert, “Ode to Freedom,” with Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D Major for the Left Hand. Ravel composed the work for pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right hand in the First World War. The concert will open with George Gershwin’s immensely popular An American in Paris, which inspired the film of the same name.
The Symphony’s Opening Night Celebration returns with dazzling international food, an open bar, and opulent surroundings, in two parts: the jubilant Prelude party before the concert and the enticing Encore party immediately following the performance.
The season’s second concert, “Love Stories, Oscars & Fairy Tales,” welcomes guest artist Charlie Chaplin—not in person, but in his film, The Rink, projected in the theater and accompanied by live period music.
“Moonlight & Movie Music,” the third performance in the series, is a collaboration with the Annapolis Film Festival and will include a short film chosen by Festival officials, for which Maestro Novo will select a complementary score for the Symphony to perform.
The highlight of the season, “Cosmic Depth” will feature the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club as they join the Symphony for Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, conducted by Maestro Novo, and American composer Eric Whitacre’s Deep Field, conducted by the Naval Academy’s Dr. Aaron Smith. The production will be repeated for a larger audience at The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD.
The series concludes with “Fantastic Light,” a performance by local favorite Brian Ganz, piano, appearing with the Annapolis Symphony for the first time in 18 years. Ganz will play Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20, and the evening will close with Hector Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique.
2018-19 MASTERWORKS SERIES
OPENING NIGHT: ODE TO FREEDOM
Friday & Saturday, October 5-6, 2018 | 8:00 p.m.
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
José-Luis Novo, conductor
Pascal Rogé, piano
George Gershwin, An American in Paris
Maurice Ravel, Piano Concerto in D Major (Left Hand)
Sergei Prokofiev, Symphony No. 5
LOVE STORIES, OSCARS & FAIRY TALES
Friday & Saturday, November 16-17, 2018 | 8:00 p.m.
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
José-Luis Novo, conductor
Netanel Draiblate, violin
Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt: Suite No. 1
Charlie Chaplin, The Rink (Projected with live period music)
Igor Stravinsky, The Song of the Nightingale
John Corigliano, The Red Violin Chaconne
MOONLIGHT & MOVIE MUSIC
Friday & Saturday, March 1-2 2019 | 8:00 p.m.
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
José-Luis Novo, conductor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No. 25
Annapolis Film Festival Short Feature (Projected with live music selected by Maestro Novo)
Gustav Mahler, Adagietto from Symphony No. 5
Silvestre Revueltas, La Noche de los Mayas (The Night of the Mayas)
COSMIC DEPTH
Friday & Saturday, March 29-30, 2019 | 8:00 p.m.
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
Sunday, March 31, 2019 | 3:00 p.m.
The Music Center at Strathmore
José-Luis Novo, conductor
Dr. Aaron Smith, guest conductor
US Naval Academy Glee Club
Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano
Stacey Rishoi, alto
John Matthew Myers, tenor
Philip Cutlip, baritone
Eric Whitacre, Deep Field (Aaron Smith, conductor)
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 (José-Luis Novo, conductor)
FANTASTIC LIGHT
Friday & Saturday, May 3-4, 2019 | 8:00 p.m.
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
José-Luis Novo, conductor
Brian Ganz, piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 20
Hector Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique
In addition to the Masterworks series, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra presents a number of individual events during its season. The Symphony will perform an annual outdoor Pops in the Park concert at Quiet Waters Park to celebrate the end of summer. The concert is free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets, and picnic suppers to enjoy.
The Symphony will celebrate the holidays with Celtic flair this season, with Irish-American vocalist Cathie Ryan for the annual Holiday Pops concert, one of the Symphony’s most popular events.
An annual Family Concert, designed for all ages, pairs the Symphony’s live music with comedic puppeteers and a fun story line. Bob Brown Puppets are a leading children’s theater company, offering the finest in children’s education for over 50 years. Families are encouraged to meet the musicians after the show to learn about different instruments. This production will also be shared during the school day, promoting Concerts for Schoolchildren, the Symphony’s youth education outreach program in Anne Arundel County.
POPS IN THE PARK
An Evening of Music from Film
Sunday, September 2, 2018 | 5:30 p.m.
(Rain Date) Monday, September, 3 | 5:30 p.m.
Quiet Waters Park
José-Luis Novo, conductor
HOLIDAY POPS
A Winter’s Heart Celtic Music Celebration
Friday, December 14, 2018 | 8:00 p.m.
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
José-Luis Novo, conductor
Cathie Ryan, vocalist
FAMILY CONCERT
Bob Brown Puppets’ Carnival of the Animals
Saturday, May 11, 2019 | 2:00 p.m.
Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
José-Luis Novo, conductor
Subscriptions are available for purchase now, and single tickets will go on sale August, 15 2018. Tickets to concerts and Opening Night Celebration packages can be obtained online at www.annapolissymphony.org or through the box office at 410-263-0907. Contact the box office for student and group rates. Further inquiries can be emailed to [email protected].
The 2018-19 Masterworks season is made possible by a special collaboration with the Faith Goldstein and Jesse Cunitz Center for Film and New Media and a generous grant from Faith Goldstein and Jesse Cunitz, as well as a partnership with the Annapolis Film Festival.
Additional major funding for the Annapolis Symphony is generously provided by Elizabeth Richebourg Rea, ezStorage, M&T Bank, Wilmington Trust, the Maryland State Arts Council, Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, and Friends of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra.
