The Big Three present their seasons

            The Big Three of concert-giving are of course the Mozarteum Argentino, Nuova Harmonia and Festivales Musicales de Buenos Aires. Two of them bet heavily on the pull of the Colón over sponsors and subscribers and find themselves in the unpleasant possibility that a prolonged impasse in the conflict between the workers and the Government might affect the disponibility of the Theatre.  There are variants: the Coliseo for the Mozarteum (whose programming is wholly at the Colón) and naturally for Nuova Harmonia, whose home it is (they have only one concert at our great symbol of classical music). Or the Auditorio de Belgrano for Festivales, who plan about half of their season at the great hall. Let´s hope for the best and imagine that somehow the conundrum will be resolved.

            This year the Mozarteum and Nuova Harmonia present seasons of equal quality. On June 26 and 27 the Mozarteum will boast a surefire number: the Orquesta  Simón Bolívar de Venezuela under Gustavo Dudamel in Mahler´s Seventh Symphony and a mixed bag: Ravel, Evencio Castellanos (Venezuelan), Carlos Chávez (Mexican) and Stravinsky (the Mozarteum as usual offers two subscriber series). Their season starts on May 2 and 3 with the famous Budapest Festival Orchestra under Ivan Fischer, with two programmes, featuring respectively József Lendvay in Paganini´s Violin Concerto Nº 1 and pianist Dejan Lazcic in Weber´s "Konzerstück", with two standard symphonies (Tchaikovsky´s Fifth and Schumann´s Third), plus some Dvorák and Bartók.

            The wonderful Emerson Quartet will show their outstanding level in Mendelssohn, Bartók and Beethoven (May 23 and 24). The Munich Chamber Orchestra under Alexander Liebreich will offer a stimulating combination of works, with the talented soprano Christiane Oelze giving us Schönberg´s Quartet Nº 2 (which has an added soprano part) and Pergolesi´s cantata "Orfeo" (probably a premiere), along with a C.P.E.Bach symphony and Shostakovich´s Chamber Symphony op.110ª (an orchestration of his Eighth Quartet). June 13 and 14. After the Venezuelans, the Britten Sinfonia with Pekka Kuusisto (violin and conductor) and tenor Allan Clayton  will show their versatility in three Britishers (Purcell, Tippett and Britten´s "Les Illuminations") , and –minus the tenor- in two USA minimalists, Steve Reich and John Adams (his "Shaker loops"). August 8 and 10.

            The two programmes of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen both present Christian Tetzlaff (also conductor) in Mendelssohn´s Violin Concerto op.64, but the other scores are different: on August 29, Haydn´s Symphony Nº 80 and Mozart´s towering "Jupiter" Symphony, plus Schönberg´s "Transfigured Night"; on August 30, the scheme of Haydn (Nº 7, "Midday") and Mozart (Nº 40) is repeated, but adding Mozart´s rarely heard Violin Fantasia op. 131. Our admirable pianist Ingrid Fliter comes back after several years, playing Beethoven and Chopin (September 5 and 6). Return visit of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège, this time under Domingo Hindoyan, featuring pianist Jonathan Gilad in Grieg and Gershwin; along with repertoire pieces, two probable premieres: "Harmonies du soir" by Ysaÿe and Jean-Luc Fafchamps´"Lettre soufie: L (ÂM)". October 24 and 25. Thus ends a season that this time avoids ballet (I personally agree).

            We still don´t have the programmes, but Nuova Harmonia does announce artists and dates, all at the Coliseo except one. The Quartet of Milan´s La Scala will collaborate with pianist Paolo Restani on April 26. Then, a welcome back to the Bamberg Symphony under Jonathan Nott with pianist Till Fellner (May 9). Later, the 20-member Orchester die Kölner Akademie under Michael Alexander Willens (June 2). One of the outstanding presentations of the year will surely be the Rotterdam Philharmonic under an important conductor, Leonard Slatkin, on the first of July (debut of both orchestra and conductor). Pianist Michele Campanella will play Liszt on July 14. High quality is guaranteed with the Berlin Philharmonic Octet (August 18). A hearty welcome back to that splendid Baroque ensemble, Europa Galante under Fabio Biondi (September 14). Those old friends, violinist Shlomo Mintz and pianist Peter Jirikovsky, are here again on September 21. The Trio Modigliani makes its debut on October 18. And the season comes to an end at the Colón on October 29 with the St Petersburg Symphony under Vladimir Lande with pianist Maxim Mogilevsky.

            Festivales Musicales calls its season "Art and Virtuosism". Pianist Roger Muraro will premiere the Liszt transcription of the "Symphonie Fantastique" by Berlioz (May 11, Colón). The Orquesta de Cámara de Chile conducted by Juan Pablo Izquierdo offers well-trodden Beethoven (Leonore Nº 3, Third Symphony) and the "Emperor Concerto" with pianist Horacio Lavandera (June 8, Colón). Quite unknown, instead, are the pieces that will be played by the talented Verdehr Trio at the Auditorio de Belgrano, by Werner, Madsen, Rorem, Sierra, Dvorak and Sheng (June 21).

            The Lyon-based Café Zimmermann gives us French Baroque (several premieres) with soprano Claire Brua; the players are French and Argentine. June 27, Avenida.  The Estudio Coral de Buenos Aires under Carlos López Puccio will celebrate its 30th anniversary on July 11 (Colón). Then follows a collaboration with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic repeating a programme that will be included in the orchestra´s subscription series, with violinist Xavier Inchausti in Paganini and Mahler´s Fourth. Colón, July 20. Certainly it will be quite an occasion to hear Víctor Torres and Fernando Pérez in Schubert´s mighty cycle "Die Winterreise" (Avenida, August 8). A 9-member group called Interpreti Veneziani will present that apparently inevitable Vivaldi cycle "The Four Seasons". Auditorio de Belgrano, October 5. It will be interesting to get to know a brilliant pianist, Valentina Lisitsa, who will tackle nothing less than Chopin´s Etudes and Liszt´s "Totentanz" (Colón, October 19).

            And finally, Handel´s fascinating oratorio "Samson" (Colón, October 31), conducted by Mario Videla, with the Camerata Bariloche and the Orfeón de Buenos Aires (Néstor Andrenacci and Pablo Piccinni).