The Opening Night Gala of Carnegie Hall's 119th season takes place Thursday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m. with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Music Director James Levine. Evgeny Kissin plays Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21, and harpist Ann Hobson Pilot performs the New York premiere of John Williams’ On Willows and Birches. Also on the program are Berlioz’s Le Carnaval romain Overture and Debussy’s La mer.

Michael Feinstein, noted interpreter of the “Great American Songbook,” kicks off his annual Carnegie Hall series, Standard Time with Michael Feinstein, on Wednesday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Soprano Sandrine Piau makes her New York recital debut with pianist Susan Manoff on Friday, October 9 at 7:30 p.m. Please note that this concert replaces the previously announced performance by soprano Genia Kühmeier.

On Friday, October 9 at 8:00 p.m., The New York Pops makes its debut under new Music Director Steven Reineke, launching its 2009–2010 Carnegie Hall season with guest artist Wayne Brady and a program titled Wayne Brady's Sammy and Sam: A Tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. and Sam Cooke.

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Ensemble ACJW, featuring fellows of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education—begins its 2009–2010 New York City concert season on Tuesday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m. with a concert featuring Daniel Bernard Roumain’s Five Chairs And One Table; Dvorák’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 87; and Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. The program is also performed on Friday, October 9 at 8:00 p.m. at Skidmore College’s Filene Recital Hall.

Legendary sitar player/composer Ravi Shankar plays in concert with his daughter, sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar, on Saturday, October 10 at 8:00 p.m.

Kicking off the 2009–2010 WFUV Live at Zankel series, Wisconsin-based folk-rock band Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons will bring its unique blend of Americana roots music and Delta blues to Zankel Hall on Saturday, October 10 at 8:30 p.m. The band’s forthcoming album Mockingbird will be released in September. Joining Chisel for this performance is Grammy Award-winning, Minnesota-based guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Dan Wilson whose first full-length solo album, Free Life, is now out on American Recordings.

The Philadelphia Orchestra performs the first of three concerts at Carnegie Hall this season on Tuesday, October 13 at 8:00 p.m. Chief Conductor and Artistic Adviser Charles Dutoit leads a program to include Barber’s Adagio for Strings; Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16, featuring 22-year-old rising-star soloist Yuja Wang; and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.

Soprano Christine Brewer and pianist Craig Rutenberg present a recital on Wednesday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m. with works by Richard Strauss, Joseph Marx, Benjamin Britten, John Carter, Sidney Homer, Edwin McArthur, Paul Sargent, Frank Bridge, Idabelle Firestone, and Frank LaForge.

Mitsuko Uchida returns to Carnegie Hall on Wednesday, October 14 at 8:00 p.m. with an all-Beethoven recital featuring the composer’s last three sonatas: No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109; No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110; and No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111.

Carnegie Hall’s three-concert “Haydn After Mozart” focus begins on Thursday, October 15 at 8:00 p.m. with a performance by Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and The Monteverdi Choir, led by the ensembles’ Artistic Director and founder Sir John Eliot Gardiner, featuring Haydn’s The Seasons with soprano Lucy Crowe, tenor James Gilchrist, and bass Matthew Rose. On Saturday, October 17 at 8:00 p.m., soprano Sophie Karthäuser and bass Vuyani Mlinde join the ensemble and Maestro Gardiner for a performance of Haydn’s The Creation.

Also part of the “Haydn After Mozart” focus, fortepianist Andreas Staier performs an all-Haydn recital on Friday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m.

The Punch Brothers, a bluegrass band led by acclaimed mandolin player Chris Thile, perform on Friday, October 16 at 8:00 p.m.

On Saturday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m., the Takács Quartet make the first of three Carnegie Hall appearances this season, each program featuring the premiere of a new work performed alongside works of Beethoven and Schumann. This performance features the New York premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s String Quartet No. 11; Schumann’s String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 41, No. 1; and Beethoven’s “Razumovsky” String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1.

Soprano Dame Emma Kirkby performs an intimate program entitled Music at Twilight: Songs and Solos from Early 17th-Century Europe with lute player Jakob Lindberg on Tuesday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m.

This fall, Carnegie Hall presents Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: Celebrating Chinese Culture, a citywide festival paying tribute to China’s diverse and vibrant culture and its influence around the world with 21 days of events at Carnegie Hall and New York partner institutions, presented from October 21 to November 10. Festival performances will feature many genres of music, including Western symphonic and chamber music influenced by Chinese culture, traditional folk music, and contemporary music, including premieres by internationally recognized Chinese composers, as well as dance, exhibitions, and much more. October events include:

•   On Wednesday, October 21 at 7:30 p.m., Ancient Paths, Modern Voices opens in
    Zankel Hall with the Quanzhou Marionette Theater, a troupe that is the foremost
    exponent of this ancient tradition from Fujian Province in southern China. For this
    performance, which includes singing and musical accompaniment, the troupe
    performs excerpts from a wide variety of traditional Chinese folk tales.

•   Qin and Chinese Calligraphy will be presented on Thursday, October 22 at 6:30
    p.m. at the China Institute. In this lecture-demonstration, Mingmei Yip explores
    the ancient Chinese philosophy of nurturing life and longevity by harnessing breath,
    energy, and qi (chi) through qin-playing and calligraphic brush strokes.

•   On Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24, both at 7:30 p.m., pipa virtuoso
    Wu Man curates, performs, and hosts two programs of traditional Chinese music in
    Zankel Hall. Taste of China, on Friday, presents a wide range of traditional Chinese
    musical styles performed by a variety of self-taught performers and classically
    trained musicians. The Dong Female Singing Group perform polyphonic music,
    Zhao Jiazhen performs on the qin, and the Ba Da Chui percussion quartet
    perform on instruments that play a central role in most Chinese traditional music.
    On Saturday, Ancient Spirits features traditional music heard at ancient village
    rituals. The Li Family Daoist Band and Zhang Family Band present this music
    which is still deeply rooted in the daily life of Chinese villagers today.

•   The festival also includes a series of free Neighborhood Concerts presented by
    Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute featuring performances by Chinese artists in
    community venues throughout New York. On Saturday, October 24 at 3:00 p.m. at
    University Settlement in Manhattan, Wu Man hosts a concert by Chinese
    percussion quartet Ba Da Chui. On Sunday, October 25 at 2:00 p.m. at Flushing
    Town Hall in Queens, Ensemble ACJW performs chamber music by the illustrious
    Class of 1978, the first graduating class from the music conservatories after the
    Cultural Revolution. The Zhang Family Band performs on Sunday, October 25 at
    3:00 p.m. at the Henry Street Settlement in Manhattan in a concert featuring old
    tune traditional music with shadow puppets.

•   On Saturday, October 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 25 at 7:30 p.m., Shen
    Wei Dance Arts, the New York-based company featured at the 2008 Opening
    Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, launches its 10th anniversary
    season with a Works & Process at the Guggenheim program that explores Shen
    Wei’s creative process through performance and discussion with the artist.

•   The Asia Society presents a traditional Chinese Teahouse featuring the culture of
    music and tea together on Sunday, October 25 at 7:00 p.m. This intimate meeting
    of the two art forms takes place at the Asia Society and features the Dong
    Female Singing Group and qin player Zhao Jiazhen.

•   On Monday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m., Ensemble ACJW presents Class of 1978 in
    Weill Recital Hall, a program featuring chamber music by the composers of the
    renowned first graduating class from music conservatories after the Cultural
    Revolution. The program will include Chen Qigang’s Instants d'un Opéra de Pékin
    for Solo Piano; Chen Yi’s Qi for Flute, Cello, Percussion, and Piano; Bright Sheng’s
    String Quartet No. 3; Guo Wenjing’s Parade for Six Peking Opera Gongs, Op. 40;
    and Zhou Long’s Taigu Rhyme for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Percussion.

•   Another renowned member of the “Class of ’78,” the Grammy and Oscar-winning
    composer Tan Dun will lead the Juilliard Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall on
    Monday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m. in a program of his works featuring the world
    premiere of a new violin concerto with soloist Cho-Liang Lin.

•   On Tuesday, October 27 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, pianist
    Lang Lang makes his first festival appearance, performing chamber music with
    several young Chinese musicians, including 10-year-old piano prodigy Marc Yu,
    tenor GeQun Wong, erhu player Guo Gan, and cellist Hai-Ye Ni in a program
    including traditional Chinese music as well as Schubert’s Rondo in A Major, D.
    951; a fantasy on themes from Bizet’s Carmen; and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A
    Minor, Op. 50.

•   Michael Tilson Thomas conducts Lang Lang and the Juilliard Orchestra in the
    world premiere of a new piano concerto Er Huang by composer Chen Qigang on
    Wednesday, October 28 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage.
    Carnegie Hall commissioned this work specifically for the Ancient Paths, Modern
    Voices festival from Chen, the revered “Class of ’78” composer who studied under
    Messiaen and was music director of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening
    Ceremony. Also on the program: Chinese works for solo piano performed by Lang
    Lang, Lou Harrison’s Eastern-tinged Pacifika Rondo and Mahler’s Das Lied von
    der Erde with mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and tenor Gregory Kunde.

•   On Friday, October 30 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, the Hong
    Kong Chinese Orchestra, one the world's leading symphonic ensembles of
    traditional Chinese instruments, performs a program of Chinese works by
    composers Law Wing-Fai, Guo Wenjing, Zhao Jiping, and Cheng Dazhao, under
    Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Yan Huichang. The concert also features
    cello soloist Trey Lee.

•   Select art galleries in Chelsea and beyond join forces for China in Chelsea, a
    celebration of Chinese contemporary visual arts. During the festival, participating
    galleries will exhibit works by some of today's leading figures from the Chinese art
    world.

•   Throughout October: Silk and Bamboo: Music and Art of China, an exhibition
    celebrating the diverse musical heritage of China, will be presented by the
    Metropolitan Museum of Art from September 5, 2009 through February 7, 2010. The
    exhibit includes about 80 objects drawn largely from the Museum’s permanent
    collection, and features a wide variety of musical instruments and art, including a
    rare Ming dynasty ivory-covered pipa (lute) and lacquered qin (zither), extraordinary
    bells from the fifth century B.C., and Han dynasty pottery dancing figures and
    musicians.

Pianist Murray Perahia returns to Carnegie Hall on Friday, October 23 at 8:00 p.m. with a program including Bach’s Partita No. 6 in E Minor, BWV 830; Beethoven’s Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109; and Schumann’s Kinderszenen.

New Orleans native composer, educator, and trumpeter Terence Blanchard leads his progressive and electrifying band, whose members all contribute daring originals to the group's repertoire, on Wednesday, October 28 at 8:30 p.m. as part of Carnegie Hall’s The Shape of Jazz series.