Classical Score: Harth's Presence Felt At Unveiling Of Carnegie Hall's Next Season

The Feb. 11 press conference announcing the 2004-05 season at Carnegie Hall was a bittersweet occasion.

Ara Guzelimian (Carnegie's senior director/artistic adviser), Pierre Boulez, Marilyn Horne and Yo-Yo Ma all paid moving tributes to Robert Harth, who died suddenly of a heart attack Jan. 30 at age 47.

In his tragically short tenure as executive and artistic director, Harth moved the grande dame of American concert halls in an exciting and fresh direction.

As board chairman Sanford Weill observed, "Robert was just here 21/2 years, yet we might think he was here 21/2 decades, with what he accomplished."

Next season's calendar stands as a true testament to Harth's creativity. With an aesthetic sense reminiscent of Duke Ellington's favorite phrase—"music beyond category"—the programming ranges from the Perspectives series curated by Leif Ove Andsnes, Michael Tilson Thomas and Dawn Upshaw to a duo recital by Evgeny Kissin and James Levin to a song cycle for Renée Fleming written by jazz pianist/composer Brad Mehldau to many jazz and world-music events, as well as a second festival curated by John Adams.

Although it is too soon to say what Carnegie Hall's programming will look like down the road, Ma believes that Harth's legacy will resonate for many years to come.

"His vision was so exhilarating," the cellist says. "That door has been opened, and it would be hard to shut it again now."

The past few weeks have seen another seismic change: Joseph Volpe, the mercurial GM of the Metropolitan Opera, announced Feb. 10 that he has resigned his position, with an end date of 2006 that allows him time to negotiate contracts with the house's union employees (including the chorus, orchestra and stagehands).

Though the search for new leadership has barely begun, it's clear that these two situations will not only shift currents in the cultural dialogue but most likely instigate a round of musical chairs at other organizations as well.



COMING SOON: Finnish label Ondine is continuing its celebration of American music with two richly anticipated discs.

First up in March is a recording of Christopher Rouse's Percussion Concerto "Der Gerettete Alberich," played by virtuoso Evelyn Glennie and the Helsinki Philharmonic with Leif Sagerstam conducting.

That is paired with the orchestral piece "Rapture" and the Violin Concerto, featuring soloist Cho-Liang Lin.

In May, Ondine will release the world premiere of John Corigliano's Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001. The performance features the Helsinki Philharmonic conducted by John Storgårds and includes Corigliano's "The Mannheim Rocket."

Ondine marks 2004's second half with a collection of Kaija Saariaho's works for chorus and orchestra.

Ondine will also release two discs of pieces by Einojuhani Rautavaara: the opera Rasputin and a collection of his works for clarinet and orchestra featuring soloist Richard Stoltzman and the Helsinki Philharmonic, again conducted by Sagerstam.