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Elizabeth Sobol has been knitting since October.
At the beginning of her fifth month as the new executive director and president of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Sobol is unveiling the first season of classical programming developed under her leadership. It shows, she says, a goal of bringing together different strands of SPAC’s resident companies, visiting performers and audiences to produce a larger thematic fabric.
To that end, the summer’s shows reflect three broad cultural influences — American, Russian and French — that are manifested in programs by the New York City Ballet, Philadelphia Orchestra and Chamber Musical Society of Lincoln Center. The orchestra will devote each of its three weeks on music by composers from the trio of countries, chamber-music selections will showcase works from the nations, and dances by American, Russian-American and French choreographers are set to music by Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Richard Rodgers and others.
“Coming off such a successful 50th-anniversary season last year, which was largely focused on our past, I felt it was important to pivot immediately and show our audience how we’re thinking about our future, the next 50,” Sobol said during an interview last week.
SPAC classical season
For the complete SPAC classical season and ticketing information, call 584-9330 or visit www.spac.org. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 21. Orchestra and ballet tickets cost $35 to $100 per performance for inside seats, $15 to $55 for lawn admission.
The lineup:
New York City Ballet
July 5, 8 p.m. — All American: Adams/Martins Fearful Symmetries; Deacon/Peck The Times Are Racing (SPAC premiere); Sousa/Balanchine Stars and Stripes.
July 6, 8 p.m. – All Balanchine: Tchaikovsky/Balanchine Allegro Brillante; Gottschalk, arr. Kay/Balanchine Tarantella; Tschaikovsky/Balanchine Swan Lake; Stravinsky/Balanchine Stravinsky Violin Concerto.
July 7, 8 p.m. – All American: same as July 5 program.
July 8, 2 p.m. – All Balanchine: same as July 6 program.
July 8, 8 p.m. – Gala, All Richard Rodgers: Rodgers, arr. Brohn/Wheeldon Carousel (A Dance); Rodgers, arr. Kelly, orch. Sebesky/Martins Thou Swell; Rodgers, orch. Kay/Balanchine Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.
July 11, 8 p.m. – All Robbins/Chopin: Chopin/Robbins Dances at a Gathering; Chopin/Robbins The Concert.
July 12, 8 p.m. – 21st Century Choreographers: Stravinsky/Martins Jeu de Cartes; Peck SPAC premiere; Ratmansky SPAC premiere.
July 13, 2 p.m. – 21st Century Choreographers: same as July 12 program.
July 13, 8 p.m. – All Robbins/Chopin: same as July 11 program.
July 14, 8 p.m. – Balanchine Short Stories: Rieti/Balanchine La Sonnambula; Prokofiev/Balanchine Prodigal Son; Stravinsky/Balanchine & Robbins Firebird.
July 15, 2 p.m. – All Richard Rodgers: same as July 8 evening program.
July 15, 8 p.m. – Balanchine Short Stories: same as July 14 program.
Che Malambo
July 20, 8 p.m. – All-male Argentinian dance company: SPAC debut.
Philadelphia Orchestra
Aug. 2, 8 p.m.: Russian Festival Day 1 — Stephane Deneve, conductor; with New York City Ballet dancers. Tchaikovsky/arr. Stokowski Andante cantabile, from String Quartet No. 1; Tchaikovsky Selections from The Sleeping Beauty; Musorgsky/arr. & orch. Stokowski Boris Godunov: A Symphonic Synthesis; Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture.
Aug. 3, 8 p.m.: Russian Festival Day 2— Stéphane Deneve, conductor; Conrad Tao, piano; Glinka Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila; Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2; Shostakovich Symphony No. 5.
Aug. 4, 8 p.m. – Cirque de la Symphonie
Aug. 5, 8 p.m. – E.T. Under the Stars: Stephane Deneve, conductor; Williams E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (complete with film).
Aug. 9, 8 p.m. – American Festival Day 1: Marin Alsop, conductor; Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine; Barber Symphony No 1; Dvorák Cello Concerto.
Aug. 10, 8 p.m. – American Festival Day 2: Marin Alsop, conductor; Marcus Roberts Trio: Marcus Roberts, piano; Rodney Jordan, bass; Jason Marsalis, drums; Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue; Gershwin American in Paris; Gershwin Cuban Overture; Gershwin Porgy and Bess, A Symphonic Picture.
Aug. 11, 8 p.m. – American Festival Day 3: Bramwell Tovey, conductor; Christopher Deviney, vibraphone; She-e Wu, marimba; Bernstein Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs; Metheny/arr. & orch. Deviney Duo Concerto for Vibraphone and Marimba; Ives Variations on “America”; Dvorak Symphony No. 9.
Aug. 12 – Raiders of the Lost Ark: Williams Raiders of the Lost Ark (complete with film).
Aug. 16 – Sophisticated Ladies: Steven Reineke, conductor; vocalists Montego Glover, Capathia Jenkins, N’Kenge.
Aug. 17, 8 p.m. – French Festival Day 1: Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor; Stéphane Tétreault, cello; Berlioz Le Corsair Overture; Saint-Saens Cello Concerto No. 1; Berlioz Symphonie fantastique.
Aug. 18, 8 p.m. – French Festival Day 2: Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor; Louis Lortie, piano; Chopin Piano Concert No. 1; Stravinsky Petrushka.
Aug. 19, 8 p.m. – A Night at the Opera: Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor.
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Aug. 6, 3 p.m. – Schubert’s Cello Quintet: Beethoven Quartet in G major for Strings, Op. 18, No. 2; Grieg Sonata in A minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 36; Schubert Quintet in C major for Two Violins, Viola, and Two Cellos, D. 956, Op. 163; Juho Pohjonen, piano; Jakob Koranyi, cello; Danish String Quartet: Frederik Øland, violin; Rune Tonsgaard Sorensen, violin; Asbjorn Norgaard, viola; Fredrik Schoyen Sjolin, cello.
Aug. 8, 8 p.m. – Cultural Odyssey: Dvorak Selected Slavonic Dances for Piano, Four Hands; Sibelius Suite in A major for Violin, Viola, and Cello; Bartok Quartet No. 1 for Strings, BB 52, Op. 7; Brahms Quintet in F minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 34; Juho Pohjonen, piano; Wu Han, piano; Jakob Koranyi, cello; Danish String Quartet: Frederik Øland, violin; Rune Tonsgaard Sorensen, violin; Asbjorn Norgaard, viola; Fredrik Schoyen Sjolin, cello; TBD, violin.
Aug. 13, 3 p.m. – In the Spirit of Beethoven: Beethoven Sonata in E-flat major for Violin and Piano, Op. 12, No. 3; Shostakovich Trio No. 1 in C minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 8; Rzewski “Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues” from Four North American Ballads for Piano; Beethoven Septet in E-flat major for Winds and Strings, Op. 20; Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Wu Han, piano; Paul Huang, violin; Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Richard O’neill, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; David Finckel, cello; Joseph Conyers, double bass; TBD, clarinet; TBD, bassoon; TBD, horn.
Aug. 15, 8 p.m. – Tchaikovsky’s Idol: Mozart Fantasia in D minor for Piano, K. 397; Mozart Divertimento in E-flat major for Violin, Viola, and Cello, K. 563; Tchaikovsky Selections from Les saisons for Piano, Op. 37b; Tchaikovsky Trio in A minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 50 (1881-82); Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Wu Han, piano; Paul Huang, violin; Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Richard O’neill, viola; Nicholas Canellakis, cello; David Finckel, cello.
Aug. 20, 3 p.m. – French Virtuosity: Debussy Danse sacrée et Danse profane for Harp, Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Bass; Ravel Sonata for Violin and Piano; Caplet Conte fantastique for Harp, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello; Chausson Concerto in D major for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet, Op. 21; Elizabeth Hainen, Harp; Orion Weiss, piano; Wu Han, piano; Kristin Lee, violin; Sean Lee, violin; Arnaud Sussmann, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Dmitri Atapine, cello; David Finckel, cello; Joseph Conyers, double bass.
Aug. 22, 8 p.m. – Brilliant Dialogues: Barriere Sonata in G major for Two Cellos; Leclair Sonata for Two Violins in E major, Op. 12, No. 2; Handel/Halvorsen Passacaglia in G minor for Violin and Viola (or Cello); Mendelssohn Andante and Allegro brillant for Piano, Four Hands, Op. 92; Brahms Scherzo, WoO 2, from “F-A-E” Sonata for Violin and Piano; Schumann Quintet in E-flat major for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 44; Orion Weiss, piano; Wu Han, piano; Kristin Lee, violin; Sean Lee, violin; Arnaud Sussmann, Violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Dmitri Atapine, cello; David Finckel, cello.
Citing a summer of programs that balance traditionalist audiences’ desire for story ballets and orchestral warhorses with requests for newer works and premieres, Sobol said, “As soon as people step on to the SPAC grounds, I want them to feel my commitment to honoring our past, our commitment to our classical history, as well as a feeling of newness, of where music is going.”
A representative concert is the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Aug. 10 performance, during a week of American music conducted by Marin Alsop. Although Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” a staple of the repertoire, is on that night’s program, the star of the evening is not a piano soloist but the Marcus Roberts Trio, led by the eponymous pianist, who arranged the jazz concerto for his ensemble and orchestra.
Another significant example, Sobol said, is a new series called SPAC on Stage. Offered on four Mondays in August, the concerts, with performers and an audience of 250 to 300 all on SPAC’s vast stage, will showcase emerging musicians who are classically trained but are taking music in nontraditional directions, Sobol said. (Acts and dates will be released in the coming months.)
“There’s a whole swath of music we haven’t been touching,” Sobol said. “The question was how do we bring those artists and audiences together at SPAC? This is one way.”
The changes for SPAC’s 52nd summer, though significant, are not radical, Sobol said, noting that frequent and cherished cellist Yo-Yo Ma will be back, as will big ballets by Balanchine and Peter Martins. Audiences will be able to hear piano concertos by Rachmaninoff and Chopin; see the movies “E.T.” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” with their John Williams scores played live by the orchestra and enjoy the SPAC premiere of a duo concerto for vibraphone and marimba based on the music of American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny; and close the orchestral season not with Tchaikovsky’s “1812” Overture, as was the case for many years, but with a night of opera arias and ensemble numbers sung by up-and-coming stars of the Metropolitan Opera that were selected by Sobol and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who is music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the music director designate of the Met. (Don’t worry, purists: The “1812” Overture will still be heard, on the orchestra’s opening night.)
Sobol credits her predecessor, Marcia White, who ran SPAC for 12 years, for providing the foundation on which Sobol can build. Noting that White stepped in when SPAC was in financial peril and enduring sharp criticism from the public and from state officials, Sobol said, “I never would have taken the job that Marcia did. What she accomplished was extraordinary.”
Today, Sobol works in the office that was once White’s. On its wall is a large poster promoting SPAC’s first season, in 1966.
“I feel the weight of that history looking down on me every day,” Sobol said. “My goal is to honor that tradition but also to bring us into the future.”
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