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CARNEGIE HALL OPENING NIGHT 2004 premiered on October 27, 2004 on PBS (check local listings).
This fall, GREAT PERFORMANCES returns to its tradition of gala opening-night concerts from Carnegie Hall. Special guests Yo-Yo Ma and Renée Fleming join the Philadelphia Orchestra and its new music director, Christoph Eschenbach, to launch the hall's 114th season with an all-Richard Strauss program, hosted by Peter Jennings. The evening's repertoire includes the celebrated symphonic tone poem "Don Juan, Op. 20"; "Don Quixote, Op. 35," a lively theme and variations with Ma's solo cello representing the knight's chivalrous adventures; and Strauss' final composition, written shortly before his death, the elegiac "Four Last Songs," with soprano Fleming as soloist.
The stories behind the performers reveal particularly strong connections to the Strauss program performed at Carnegie Hall. Discover the heavy European influence on the Philadelphia Orchestra through Marc Geelhoed's essay on the orchestra's history. Meet Reneé Fleming, one of the world's leading sopranos, and Philadelphia Orchestra music director Christoph Eschenbach in Dialogue. Finally, see all the works featured in the program on the song list.
Special funding for CARNEGIE HALL OPENING NIGHT 2004 was provided by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, S. Donald Sussman, and Thea Petschek Iervolino.
Top banner photos: An exterior view of Carnegie Hall (photo by Don Perdue), cellist Yo-Yo Ma (photo by Timothy White), and soprano Renée Fleming (photo: Decca/Andrew Eccles). |
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Leading the Philadelphia Orchestra is conductor Christoph Eschenbach (photo by Chris Lee). |
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The Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates the season opening with an all-Richard Strauss program (photo by Jessica Griffin). |
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This program is not available on DVD or VHS. |
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