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National Philharmonic (NatPhil) announced today its 2023-2024 Season, which includes six classical programs conducted by Music Director Piotr Gajewski, one classical concert led by guest conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson, and two choral performances presented in partnership with The Washington Chorus (TWC) and conducted by TWC Artistic Director Eugene Rogers. All season concerts will be held at The Music Center at Strathmore, the Orchestra’s longstanding home in Montgomery County.
“NatPhil’s 2023-2024 Season spans the reaches of orchestral music—from Baroque favorites like Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos to outstanding works by contemporary composers like Valerie Coleman and Tania León,” Gajewski said. “I’m especially thrilled to present two concerts in partnership with our friends at The Washington Chorus, and to welcome guest conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson to the NatPhil stage for the first time. “I’m also looking forward to a new and novel presentation of Handel’s holiday classic, Messiah, as a semi-staged production focusing on storytelling. NatPhil’s 2023-2024 Season has a little something for every kind of music lover.”
Notable repertoire and guest artists in the newly announced season include:
National Philharmonic 2023-2024 Season Schedule:
Gershwin, Price & Beethoven
Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Michelle Cann, piano
October 14, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore
NatPhil’s 2023-2024 Season begins with a trio of enchanting works conducted by Maestro Piotr Gajewski, transporting listeners from the height of the Jazz Age to a pastoral countryside. Sensational pianist Michelle Cann opens the concert with Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin’s iconic fusion of classical and jazz styles, followed by the rich melodies and rhythms of Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement, which beautifully blends classical and African American musical traditions.
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6—the “Pastoral Symphony”—celebrates the beauty of the natural world in five movements that usher audiences through the countryside, painting vivid imagery of a babbling brook, a crashing thunderstorm, and the people that coexist with nature.
Michelle Cann appears by arrangement with the Curtis Institute of Music.
Universal Longings | Anhelos Universales
Eugene Rogers, conductor
Presented by National Philharmonic and The Washington Chorus
Juantomás Martínez Yépez, baritone
TBA, tenor
November 5, 2023 at 3 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore
National Philharmonic and The Washington Chorus join forces for a concert of universal proportions conducted by TWC Artistic Director Eugene Rogers, including the Washington-area premiere of composer James Lee III’s Breaths of Universal Longings. “He’s a composer who has what it takes,” says the Baltimore Sun, and his works have been commissioned, premiered, and performed by prominent symphonies throughout the country.
Venezuelan composer Antonio Estévez’s Cantata Criolla retells the legend of Faust’s deal with the Devil, set to text from the mythic poem Florentino y El Diablo by Alberto Avelo Torrealbas. As Florentino battles for his soul in a singing contest against El Diablo, his story evolves through the rich textures of Estévez’s music. Spoiler alert: our hero prevails.
Handel’s Messiah with the NatPhil Chorale
Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Baltimore Choral Arts Society
Anthony Blake Clark, Music Director
Aundi Marie Moore, soprano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo soprano
Norman Shankle, tenor
Jorell Williams, baritone
December 16, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. and December 17, 2023 at 3 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore
National Philharmonic presents Handel’s Messiah in a new and novel semi-staged dramatic rendering to usher in the start of your holiday season. From the triumphant “Hallelujah” chorus to the hauntingly beautiful “He Shall Feed His Flock,” this timeless oratorio has captivated audiences for over 250 years. This season, NatPhil reimagines Handel’s masterpiece, drawing on the storytelling of all-star soloists soprano Aundie Marie Moore, mezzo soprano Lucia Bradford, tenor Norman Shankle, and baritone Jorell Williams, under the direction of Maestro Piotr Gajewski.
NatPhil acknowledges the recent discovery of Handel’s involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and is dedicated to continuing the conversation around the performance of his works. A portion of ticket sales revenue will be dedicated to benefiting African American charities in our community.
Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos
Piotr Gajewski, conductor
January 21, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore
J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos represent the pinnacle of the Baroque era—with technical excellency, extraordinary harmonic progressions, and the intricate counterpoint that epitomizes Bach’s finest compositions. Maestro Piotr Gajewski conducts a rare performance of all six concertos, featuring soloists from the National Philharmonic Orchestra. From the jubilant trumpet fanfares of the first concerto to the lush lower strings of the sixth, not a note is to be missed.
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7
Jeri Lynne Johnson, conductor
Valerie Coleman & Friends Wind Quintet
February 10, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore
National Philharmonic joins forces with dynamic guest conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson for Valerie Coleman’s Phenomenal Women and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7. Phenomenal Women draws inspiration from Maya Angelou’s poem and book of the same name, and celebrates five phenomenal women—Angelou, mathematician Katherine Johnson, tennis great Serena Williams, Olympic boxer Claressa Shields, and former first lady Michelle Obama—telling each of their stories through jazz, classical, and traditional music styles. Coleman, a Grammy-nominated flutist and founder of Imani Winds, will play with a wind quintet assembled for the performance.
Hailed as one of Dvořák’s most significant works, Symphony No. 7 is a musical journey of epic proportions. From the majestic first movement to the triumphant climax of the finale, Dvořák weaves rich harmonies, playful rhythms, and elements of Czech folk music throughout. Brought to life under the baton of Jeri Lynne Johnson, conductor of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Stride” as part of the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors and founder of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, this program is not to be missed.
Chopin the Virtuoso
Brian Ganz, piano
February 24, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore
Pianist Brian Ganz returns in recital to the NatPhil stage to continue his enduring quest to perform every note the great Polish composer Frédéric Chopin ever wrote. Since its inception in 2011, the “Extreme Chopin” project has showcased Ganz’s virtuosity, deep musicality, and engagement with his audience through Chopin’s magnificent works. This year’s program highlights Chopin’s own virtuosity through some of his most challenging compositions, masterfully performed by Ganz.
Musical Mediums: Pictures at an Exhibition
Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Zuill Bailey, cello
Talise Trevigne, soprano
March 9, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore
Great art begets great music in this program of works inspired by poetry, prose, and paintings conducted by Maestro Piotr Gajewski. George Walker’s Lilacs puts to magnificent music the words of Walt Whitman’s 1865 poem, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.” Soprano Talise Trevigne invigorates this Pulitzer Prize-winning piece for solo soprano and orchestra. Cellist Zuill Bailey returns to the NatPhil stage for Tales of Hemingway. He won a Grammy for Best Solo Performance in 2017 for this four-movement reimagining of the works of Ernest Hemingway.
From words to watercolors, the program ends with Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, arranged by Maurice Ravel. Inspired by an exhibition of drawings and watercolors by Viktor Hartmann, Pictures at an Exhibition moves audiences through a musical story, inviting listeners to let their imaginations run wild through Mussorgsky’s sonic landscape.
Mozart & Mahler
Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Claire Huangci, piano
Danielle Talamantes, soprano
April 6, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore
Mozart & Mahler unites two classical music powerhouses and two of National Philharmonic’s favorite guest artists under the baton of Maestro Piotr Gajewski. Pianist Claire Huangci joins NatPhil for Mozart’s striking Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, one of his most complex and virtuosic works. With a darker tone than many of his other piano works, Concerto No. 24 sweeps between moments of turmoil and serenity, showcasing Huangci’s technical prowess and the expressivity of the full orchestra.
The powerful musical arc of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 unfolds like a grand folk tale. A singular musical experience, Mahler has described it as reminding him of his mother’s smile and sounding like “a dewdrop on a flower that suddenly, illuminated by the sun, bursts into a thousand lights and colors,” and later that it “explodes into a wall of sound representing the gates of heaven.” Distinguished soloist Danielle Talamantes, soprano, joins NatPhil for the final movement, “The Heavenly Life,” in which heaven is described as a beautiful meadow full of playing children and blooming flowers, where loved ones are reunited.
l’Éternel
Eugene Rogers, conductor
Presented by National Philharmonic and The Washington Chorus
Colleen Daly, soprano
Magdalena Wor, mezzo soprano
Nicholas Music, tenor
Soloman Howard, bass
May 11, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore
National Philharmonic and The Washington Chorus reunite under the baton of TWC Artistic Director Eugene Rogers for a program highlighting the brilliant choral works of Lili Boulanger, Igor Stravinsky, and Ludwig van Beethoven. The intricate harmonies, expressive melodies, and expansive orchestration of Boulanger’s Psalm 24 paint a picture of the composer’s faith and immense talent. While Symphony of Psalms is a profound work that blends religious texts into Stravinsky’s unique musical vision, using dissonant harmonies and shifting meters to create a sense of drama and tension.
The Mass in C Major—known as the Missa in C—bridges Beethoven’s classical early works and his more experimental compositions, showcasing his masterful understanding of the power of orchestra and chorale. The Missa in C is unique in its clarity and simplicity, conveying moving spiritual themes in a work that remains a beloved staple of the choral repertoire to this day.
Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 with Sarah Chang
Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Sarah Chang, violin
June 8, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore
Virtuoso violinist Sarah Chang returns to NatPhil for Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in a program conducted by Maestro Piotr Gajewski. Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 is a masterpiece of Romantic music with soaring melodies and lush harmonies that make it one of the most beloved works in the violin repertoire. Paired with the concerto on the first half of the program is Cuban-born composer Tania León’s Ácana, inspired by Cuban Laureate Poet Nicolás Guillén’s poem dedicated to the towering ácana tree, an essential force in Cuban life and society. León received the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music and was named a recipient of the 45th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements in 2022.
Florence Price’s groundbreaking Symphony No. 1 draws from Price’s classical European musical training while weaving in folk songs, African American spirituals, and the blues. Price’s work brims with passion, energy, and emotion, and serves as a testament to her remarkable talent as a composer. The premiere of Symphony No. 1 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1933 serves as a landmark in American music history as the first symphony composed by a Black woman to be performed by a major orchestra in the country. Her outstanding compositions remain a powerful expression of the African American experience.