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Praised by The New York Times as “one of the most admired pianists of his generation,” Inon Barnatan joins New Century for a program of music written to distract from life’s challenges. Experience C.P.E. Bach's dramatic third keyboard concerto, blending melancholy with bursts of impeccable brilliance. Rich with iconic musical allusions, Dmitri Shostakovich’s delightfully madcap first piano concerto also features a solo trumpet, performed by Brandon Ridenour from the American Brass Quintet, which adds punctuation to the vibrant score. Bela Bartók's Divertimento, with its jubilant Hungarian folk rhythms, reflects a sunny interlude in Switzerland before the composer’s relocation to the U.S. This captivating musical adventure, full of witty melodies and unexpected twists, will brighten your spirits during the darkest time of the year.

For her second season as an SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director, Brandee Younger honors the life and music of the late harpist and jazz legend Alice Coltrane, accompanied by New Century Chamber Orchestra. Younger carries on the adventurous spirit and expands the tradition of her greatest influences, the pioneering jazz harpists Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, infusing her compositions with a 21st century vibrancy and fearless experimentation. A student of jazz great Jackie McLean, Younger has collaborated with artists from the worlds of jazz and hip hop, including Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Pharoah Sanders, Lauren Hill, and Common.

Contemplate the music of three composers from the 20th and 21st centuries in their contrasting searches for peace. Adolphus Hailstork’s joyful Sonata da Chiesa for strings invites religious meditation as it builds an opulent cathedral of sound in the style of a grand choral mass. In contrast, Jungyoon Wie’s masterful A Prayer for Peace (a New Century co-commission with A Far Cry) makes poignant use of repetition and variation to represent the composer’s own evolution in her journey as a Korean immigrant to the United States. Finally, the remarkable and intimate Metamorphosen—Richard Strauss’s late-in-life string masterpiece—stands undimmed as a memorial for the victims of war and as inspiration to rebuild after tragedy.

Get ready to let the music move you! Performing selections from his chart-topping DANCE! album, Daniel Hope and New Century will lead you through the history of Western dance music—from medieval times to the 20th century. Enjoy styles ranging from Baroque opera and Russian ballet to klezmer and tango, with music from Handel to Prokofiev, Florence Price to Astor Piazzolla, and much more. This imaginative concert will illuminate the universal nature of dance rhythms that have set bodies in motion and lifted spirits for centuries.