Witness history at the world premiere of Kennedy Center Honoree Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln,” a new work that brings one of America’s most iconic figures to life. Led by Grammy-winning conductor Karen Kamensek, the program continues with Barber’s poetic Violin Concerto and Gershwin’s enormously popular An American in Paris.

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Philip Glass’ “Lincoln” Dalene plays Barber

Kennedy Center

Michelle Cann, a champion of American composers and “pianist of sterling artistry” (Gramophone), returns to perform a world premiere by Valerie Coleman—named one of the “Top 35 Women Composers” by The Washington Post. Conductor Kellen Gray frames the evening with works reflecting the breadth of our nation’s story: Dvořák’s American Suite, inspired by his time in the U.S., and the Catfish Row suite from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

Cann plays Coleman

Renée Fleming joins conductor James Gaffigan in an exploration of the ever-changing relationship between humanity and the natural world. Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene blends stunning imagery of nature with reflections in music of the human experience in the environment. The program also includes masterpieces by two of the most important American composers of the 20th century: Charles Ives and Aaron Copland.

Renée Fleming’s Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene

Members of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra emerge from the orchestra pit and take their place on the Millennium Stage to share the rich and varied chamber music repertoire. Each musician plays a solo part and the interaction among them creates an astonishing range of sounds and emotions.

Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ_ZQW5C2pw&amp;t=2s

The Artelize Podcast Presenting Will Shutes: 'Bring it down out of the clouds to human being level'

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFe6mW6x9pc

The Artelize Podcast: 'Amplifying What Makes Us Human'. A conversation with Zuly E. Inirio

Podcast link: https://youtu.be/4hagYvrYbuM

The Artelize Podcast and Kasper Holten - Pedefining Opera for the modern world

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d36M5Hi6O80

The Artelize Podcast - A legacy of innovation in Opera: Celebrating Marc A. Scorca

Superstar pianist Khatia Buniatishvili plays expressively and boldly, with immediate command of the stage. Influenced by Georgian folk music, she calls the piano a “symbol of musical solitude.” Buniatishvili signed to the Sony Classical label in her early twenties, after receiving several competition prizes and establishing a top-level international career.

NSO Presents: Khatia Buniatishvili

Thunder and lightning alongside the smiling, radiant face of a father: it’s Jupiter, the king of all gods! Experience the heavenly drama of Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, “Jupiter,” in the hands of Gianandrea Noseda, who opens the concert with Bach’s large-scale Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and Jacques Loussier’s jazz-infused, neo-Bach Concerto for Violin and Tabla.

Mozart’s “Jupiter” & Bach’s Brandenburg No. 1

NSO Principal Trumpet William Gerlach takes center stage in one of the most celebrated pieces of his instrument’s repertoire—Haydn’s sparkling Trumpet Concerto. Gianandrea Noseda completes the evening with Bruckner’s grand Symphony No. 7, a drama of majestic horns and hushed violins building to a victorious return home.

Bruckner’s Seventh Gerlach plays Haydn

Strauss’ Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration) traces the final moments of a life: memories surface, struggles fade, and a soul wins its final release. Under the baton of Simone Young, the NSO displays the full scope of Strauss’ vision and the promise of beyond. Winner of the prestigious International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition Sergey Khachatryan brings fire to Sibelius’ Violin Concerto.

Death and Transfiguration Khachatryan plays Sibelius

Through a mesmerizing hybrid of animated and live action filming, follow a magical Sprite as it embarks on a musical journey through the inner workings of an orchestra. Violin strings vibrate, brass valves slice air, and drum heads resonate like you’ve never seen before—all set to live music from members of the NSO. By the film’s end, the orchestra comes together in a spectacular finale!

NSO Family Concert: Philharmonia Fantastique

Superstar Hilary Hahn and Grammy-nominated NSO newcomer Seth Parker Woods come together for the world premiere of Carlos Simon’s Double Concerto, a work that expands the dialogue between violin, cello, and orchestra. Warmth and complexity unfold in Brahms’ Symphony No. 3, blending bravado with introspection.

Hahn & Woods play Carlos Simon Brahms’ Third

A “revelation” at the 2018 International Grand Piano Competition in Moscow where she stormed to victory at the age of 10, Alexandra Dovgan has become a teenage piano phenomenon with sold-out concerts worldwide. Witness her extraordinary talent in a performance of Chopin’s passionate Piano Sonata No. 3, Prokofiev’s complex Piano Sonata No. 2, and more. Please note: the NSO does not perform on this program.

NSO Presents: Alexandra Dovgan

Concert in Washington D.C.

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Visionary maestro David Robertson conducts a program of movement and transformation. Nielsen’s Helios Overture follows the path of the sun across the sky, while the world premiere of Reena Esmail’s Double Concerto puts star siblings Gil and Orli Shaham center stage. To close, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 dances with themes shaped by landscape and time, with its famous finale inspired by the sight of a flock of swans flying overhead.

Shaham & Shaham play Reena Esmail Robertson conducts Sibelius’ Fifth

The Apollo Orchestra with principal Conductor David Chan welcomes Romain-Olivier Gray, cello, as our featured soloist in Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major.

London Symphony

The Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church

Thomas Wilkins leads a true celebration of American music! Experience the charm of Copland’s iconic ballet Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, followed by Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with 18-time Grammy-winning banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck. To close, the NSO presents the world premiere of Peter Boyer and Joseph Sohm’s American Mosaic, an NSO co-commission featuring stunning video imagery, powerful live narration, and quintessential American melodies to celebrate the land, people, and spirit of the United States for its 250th birthday.

American Mosaic

Be moved by a program of towering contrasts, drama, and defiance. Behzod Abduraimov, “the most perfectly accomplished pianist of his generation” (The Independent), makes his NSO debut in Tchaikovsky’s thundering Piano Concerto No. 1. Gianandrea Noseda closes the concert with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8, an unflinching response to war wrapped in moments of tension, reflection, and strength.

Shostakovich’s Eighth Abduraimov plays Tchaikovsky

Gianandrea Noseda conducts a program that moves from the rich interplay of Brahms’ Double Concerto to the cosmic vision of Scriabin’s Symphony No. 3, Le Poème Divin. In this deeply personal work, Scriabin creates a musical narrative of, as he puts it, “the evolution of the human spirit, torn from an entire past of beliefs and mysteries… to a joyous and intoxicated affirmation of its unity with the universe.”

Le Poème Divin Brahms’ Double Concerto

The Washington Chorus joins Gianandrea Noseda and the NSO for three choral masterpieces by Brahms. Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) and Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates) grapple with fate’s inescapable hand—one offering celestial consolation, the other a foreboding omen. Nänie, named for the Roman goddess, is a powerful requiem set to the poem by Friedrich von Schiller. These mesmeric works choral set the stage for a visceral finale: Schumann’s Symphony No. 2.

Songs of Destiny & Fate

Gianandrea Noseda and NSO favorite Daniil Trifonov reunite! First, the virtuoso performs Brahms’ mighty First Piano Concerto, known for its brooding majesty and immense scale. Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring follows—a notorious masterwork that shocked audiences at its premiere and forever changed the course of music with its primal, untamed energy.

The Rite of Spring Trifonov plays Brahms

Experience the heartbreaking Adagio from Mahler’s unfinished Symphony No. 10 conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, whose Mahler interpretations Bachtrack calls “devilishly good.” Soprano Camilla Nylund and bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny take the stage in Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony, a monumental exploration of love and longing.

Orchestral events in Washington, DC

Philip Glass’ “Lincoln” D...

National Symphony Orchestra

Cann plays Coleman

National Symphony Orchestra

Renée Fleming’s Voice of ...

National Symphony Orchestra

Kennedy Center Opera Hous...

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Perfo...

The Artelize Podcast Pres...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast: 'Am...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast and ...

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The Artelize Podcast - A ...

Artelize

NSO Presents: Khatia Buni...

National Symphony Orchestra

Mozart’s “Jupiter” & Bach...

National Symphony Orchestra

Bruckner’s Seventh Gerlac...

National Symphony Orchestra

Death and Transfiguration...

National Symphony Orchestra

NSO Family Concert: Philh...

National Symphony Orchestra

Hahn & Woods play Carlos ...

National Symphony Orchestra

NSO Presents: Alexandra D...

National Symphony Orchestra

Concert in Washington D.C...

Wiener Philharmoniker

Shaham & Shaham play Reen...

National Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony

Apollo Orchestra

American Mosaic

National Symphony Orchestra

Shostakovich’s Eighth Abd...

National Symphony Orchestra

Le Poème Divin Brahms’ Do...

National Symphony Orchestra

Songs of Destiny & Fate

National Symphony Orchestra

The Rite of Spring Trifon...

National Symphony Orchestra

Mahler’s Tenth, Adagio Ly...

National Symphony Orchestra