Beginning February 11, Carnegie Hall will present the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the much-admired Bernard Haitink, performing the work of Maurice Ravel. The program, featuring mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, includes the Spanish-influenced “Alborada del gracioso,” the poetically inspired “Shéhérazade,” and perhaps his most revered work, “Daphnis et Chloé,” made famous by Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes in 1922.
Haitink, presently the conductor emeritus of the Boston Symphony, will be celebrating his 85th birthday and 60th season during the 2013-14 season, with a series of shows in collaboration with the greatest orchestras in the world. Along with the Boston Symphony, Haitink will conduct the London Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In March, he will mark the 50th anniversary of his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker with a series of concerts. That’s quite a year.
Founded in 1881, the Boston Symphony is considered one of the “Big Five” orchestras in the country (along with New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Cleveland). The group has famously made a summer home at Tanglewood, where they perform large concerts, usually broadcast over the radio, along with the Boston Pops (the Boston Symphony minus its principal players). Film composer John Williams conducted the Pops from 1980 to 1993. James Levine, music director of the Metropolitan Opera, was named music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2004, but resigned from the position in 2011 after suffering a series of health issues.
Haitink first conducted the Boston Symphony in 1971. He was named principal guest conductor in 1995 and the LaCroix Family Fund Conductor Emeritus in 2004.
The Boston Symphony will perform at Carnegie Hall on February 11 and 12.
