Marc-André Hamelin, Piano

Russian music from the imperial and Soviet eras sets the stage for Schubert’s moving contemplation on his own mortality. Scriabin’s Fantasy and Feinberg’s dark-hued Sonata No. 3 are both impassioned works that present substantial technical challenges. No less daunting are Prokofiev’s set of five pungent Sarcasms, innovative works of great color and rhythmic drive. In Schubert’s B-flat Major Sonata, written two months before his death, the composer ponders his end in the first two movements, but an energetic scherzo lightens the mood before the driving finale.

Anne-Sophie Mutter and Friends

Anne-Sophie Mutter—the “undisputed queen of violin-playing” (The Times, London)—is featured in three of Beethoven’s most popular works, plus the New York premiere of a composition by Jörg Widmann, holder of this season’s Debs Composer’s Chair. The openhearted, free-flowing melodies of the “Spring” Sonata provide a striking contrast to the emotional intensity of the “Kreutzer,” while the eerie trembling effects from the piano in the slow movement of the D-Major Piano Trio earned the piece its “Ghost” nickname.

Emanuel Ax, Piano
Leonidas Kavakos, Violin
Yo-Yo Ma, Cello

To mark the centenary of Isaac Stern's birth, a present-day dream team—Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma—pays tribute to the legendary violinist and the ensembles he anchored, which included pianist Eugene Istomin and cellist Leonard Rose. This all-Beethoven program features an otherworldly cello sonata from the composer’s late period, a gentle violin sonata dedicated to his patron Archduke Rudolf, and an intense trio that helped redefine contemporary notions of chamber music.

The Philadelphia Orchestra

When Yannick Nézet-Séguin—“the greatest generator of energy on the international podium” (Financial Times)—conducts The Philadelphia Orchestra, it’s thrilling. And when the program features three Beethoven symphonies, the results are incandescent. With their trademark virtuosity and passion, this starry team of musicians performs three of the master’s finest symphonies: the witty Eighth, gentle Fourth, and joyously propulsive Seventh.

Maurizio Pollini, Piano

Praised for his “searching musicianship and exquisite pianism” (The New York Times), Maurizio Pollini’s mastery of Beethoven’s music has been a cornerstone of his remarkable career. In his final sonatas, Beethoven bade farewell to the sonata form with music that is emotionally riveting, technically breathtaking, and ever daring. Journey with the “dean of living pianists” (The Boston Globe) to a world where beauty, power, and intellect are fused in a kind of cosmic harmony.