Carnegie Hall

(NEW YORK, NY; May 2, 2024)—Carnegie Hall today announced that Xian Zhang will lead the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) final performance of the 2023–2024 season on Thursday, May 9 at 8:00 p.m. Ms. Zhang will step in for the OSL’s Principal Conductor Bernard Labadie who has withdrawn due to illness. The program remains as previously announced, including the first-ever performance of Brahms’s Begräbnisgesang at Carnegie Hall, followed by Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem. The orchestra is joined by soprano Erin Morley, baritone Andrè Schuen in his OSL and Carnegie Hall debut, La Chapelle de Québec, and the Ensemble Altera chamber choir.

A long-time musical friend of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Ms. Zhang made her Carnegie Hall debut conducting OSL as part of the Maazel-Vilar Conductor's Competition in 2002, resulting in her win. She returned to Carnegie Hall with OSL in 2008, leading a program that included the New York premiere of Thomas Adès’s 3 Studies from Couperin. Ms. Zhang will also collaborate with OSL this summer as a part of Caramoor’s summer concert season, joined by celebrated classical guitarist Miloš for a program of Mozart, Joaquín Rodrigo, and American composer Nokuthula Ngwenyama. She appears at this May 9 concert at Carnegie Hall, courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera where she is currently conducting Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

Ticketholders with questions can email feedback@carnegiehall.org or call CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.

Artist Information
The 2023–2024 season marks Ms. Zhang’s eighth as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, which celebrated its centennial last season. She also holds the positions of Principal Guest Conductor of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, having previously held the position of Music Director between 2009–2016.

In high demand as a guest conductor, Ms. Zhang juggles an exceptionally busy diary of guest engagements alongside her titled commitments. Throughout the 2023–2024 season, she conducts Anthony Minghella’s acclaimed production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at The Metropolitan Opera in New York, featuring a starry cast that includes Aleksandra Kurzak, Eleanora Buratto and Asmik Grigorian sharing the role of Cio-Cio-San, and Matthew Polenzani as Pinkerton.

Following a busy summer 2023 season which saw her conducting Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, Ms. Zhang’s upcoming symphonic highlights include returns to The Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Houston Symphony, Orchestra of St Luke’s, and National Symphony Orchestra DC. Ms. Zhang remains a popular guest of London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony, NAC Ottawa, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Belgian National Orchestra, and Norwegian Opera where she returned last season for Puccini’s Tosca.

Letters for The Future (released 2022), Ms. Zhang’s recording on Deutsche Grammophon with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Time for Three, won multiple GRAMMY Awards in both the Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Kevin Puts’ Contact) and Best Classical Instrumental Solo categories.

Ms. Zhang previously served as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales, the first female conductor to hold a titled role with a BBC orchestra. In 2002, she won first prize in the Maazel-Vilar Conductor’s Competition. She was appointed New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor in 2002, subsequently becoming their Associate Conductor and the first holder of the Arturo Toscanini Chair.

Program Information
Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S
Xian Zhang, Conductor
Erin Morley, Soprano
Andrè Schuen, Baritone
La Chapelle de Québec
Ensemble Altera

ALL-BRAHMS PROGRAM

Begräbnisgesang
Ein deutsches Requiem

Sponsored by Northwell Health, Official Healthcare Partner of Carnegie Hall.

This concert is made possible, in part, by an endowment fund for choral music established by S. Donald Sussman in memory of Judith Arron and Robert Shaw.

 

 

Ticket Information

Tickets, priced $32–$105 are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.

For Carnegie Hall presentations taking place in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Weill Music Institute and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.

In addition, for all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

 

Photo of Xian Zhang © Benjamin Ealovega