National Symphony Orchestra To Open Its Beautiful Concert Hall For Free Introduction To Classical Music Concert And Season Sampler

On Thursday, June 29 at 6 p.m., the National Symphony Orchestra will perform a sneak preview of its upcoming season in the beautiful Concert Hall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Associate Conductor Emil de Cou leads a program that includes Shostakovich’s Festive Overture and an excerpt from his Symphony No. 10, in anticipation of the NSO’s Shostakovich Centennial [under the baton of the National Symphony Orchestra's great conductor laureate Mstislav Rostropovich]. Anderson's The Typewriter reveals the great things to come during Serious Fun, the NSO's celebration of humor in music [under the baton of Leonard Slatkin]. An excerpt from Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet offers a taste of the Citywide Shakespeare in Washington Festival, as Washington's prepares for next season's opening of the Sidney Harman Center for Shakespeare and the Classical Arts, under the visionary leadership of Michael Kahn, in the revived downtown of Washington, at Gallery Place. The first movement from Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony looks ahead to the next installment of the NSO’s popular Composer Portrait series. An excerpt from Daphnis et Chloé showcases Ravel’s romantic ballet, which will be performed in full later in October. The finale from Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique offers a glimpse into the new NSO Family Concerts. Other works to whet your appetite include Dvorák’s Slavonic Dance in C major and the extraordinarily powerful final movement from Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, known as "The Titan".


Free, no tickets required.

National Symphony Orchestra

Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington, D.C.

















Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington Director Michael Kahn, the driving force behind the revival of Shakespearean Theater and the Classical Arts in the newly revived downtown of Washington, D.C., at the Gallery Place Metro stations. Michael promises to make the Sidney Harman Center for Shakespeare and the Classical Arts, in downtown Washington, a leading incubator for the new classical arts in the United States.

Photo credit: Columbia University, New York City. With thanks.