Jan 1

Jan 1 PREVIEW: January's Classical Music in NYC

92Y

92Y presents a wealth of vocal music, starting with the Inflection Series. In “Starcrossed Lovers,” acclaimed English Baritone Roderick Williams performs Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, followed by Brahms’s 15 Romances on L. Tieck’s Die schöne Magelone. With Julius Drake, piano, and distinguished writer Adam Gopnik narrating, and animations. Jan 22 at 7:30pm.
“Moondrunk & Erotic Obsession,” on Jan 24 at 8pm, Benjamin Hochman leads performances of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Janaček’s Diary of One Who Disappeared.
The enduring Lyrics & Lyricists Series continues with Yip Harburg: Follow the Fellow Who Follows a Dream. One of the greatest lyricists in the American songbook is celebrated in a production directed by Matt Kunkel and written by Jon Marans. Five performances beginning Jan 25 at 8pm.

Pairing music by composers such as Debussy and Verdi with wine, Will Sing for Wine…Live! by soprano Rebecca Richardson and pianist Felix Jarrar will be a “feast for the senses.” Sunday Jan 12 at 5:30pm. (Why aren’t there more events like this?)
Hotel Elefant, a new music ensemble on the rise, and Bearthoven, a piano trio in the business of commissioning new works, share a program, Elefants Vs. Bears, Jan 18 at 7pm, featuring the world premiere of Leaha Maria Villareal’s Crossing the Rubicon. (Pay what you will.)

Decoda’s second program of the season, “Radically Playful,” in which “Missy Mazzoli’s pulsing energy, William Bolcolm’s ragtime syncopations, and Steven Mackey’s reinvention of the standard ensemble set the table for music by Rameau and Martinů.” Jan 22 at 7:30pm.
The iconic Kronos Quartet, one of America’s most famous new music ensembles, performs Jan 25 at 9pm. A wide-reaching program includes music by Terry Riley and Steve Reich.
Jörg Widmann, conductor and clarinet, appears with the International Contemporary Ensemble on Jan 28 at 7:30pm in a program entirely of his own compositions.
Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra appear with pianist Lucas Debargue in a counterpoint to the abundance of Beethoven on programs this season. “Beyond Beethoven” explores how his music influenced others. Jan 31 at 8pm.

“New Milestones” on Jan 16 at 7:30 (in the Kaplan Penthouse) looks at how “prophetic voices have pioneered innovations that have changed the current musical landscape, fascinating listeners and sparking curiosity,” with music involving electronics, notably Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Kontakte for Piano, Percussion, and Electronic Sounds.
“1864: Saint-Saëns’s First Piano Trio” features that work, along with music by Ravel and Fauré. Sunday, Jan 26 at 5pm.

Time for Three, a trio that “stands at the busy intersection of Americana, modern pop, and classical music” brings their vibrant artistry to the Crypt Sessions on Jan 13, wine & food tasting at 7pm, showtime at 8pm.

A Barely Arching Bridge, the second installment in vocalist Lucy Dhegrae’s The Processing Series, “confronts sexual violence squarely and unapologetically, and explores how one can transform one’s abuse into a tool of healing.” Jan 11 at 8pm.

Gustavo Dudamel guest conducts two programs this month. First, Jan 15-21 features Dvořák’s beloved “New World” Symphony alongside Charles Ives’s The Unanswered Question, and the New York premiere of Esteban Benzecry’s Piano Concerto, Universos infinitos with Sergio Tiempo at the piano.
The following week, Jan 23-25, takes a serious turn with Schubert’s Symphony No. 4, the “Tragic,” and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with vocalists Michelle DeYoung and Simon O’Neill.
Then, brilliant Australian conductor Simone Young returns to the Philharmonic podium with an exciting program. Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes and Elgar’s Enigma Variations buttress the New York premiere of Australian composer Brett Dean’s Cello Concerto with soloist Alban Gerhardt.

PROTOTYPE – OPERA l THEATRE l NOW is a trendsetting festival of new opera, presenting an impressive array, “from intimate black-box experiences to larger chamber opera productions, valuing artistic, curatorial, and producorial risk-taking.” Perhaps the most talked-about piece this year is Ricky Ian Gordon’s Ellen West (January 14-18), which was premiered at Opera Saratoga this past summer.
A contemporary response to 15th century Japanese Noh, Blood Moon uses choreography, puppetry, and a Taiko-infused score to create a meditation on the end of life, the nature of joy, regret, and whether atonement is possible. Jan 9-17 at Baruch Performing Arts Center.

***