ORCHESTRAL RESIDENCIES WITH ESA-PEKKA SALONEN AND PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA
AND GUSTAVO DUDAMEL’S SIMÓN BOLÍVAR SYMPHONY; WORLD PREMIERE OF THE SECRET GARDEN; WEST COAST PREMIERE OF
EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH; THÉÂTRE DE LA VILLE’S PRODUCTION OF IONESCO’S RHINOCÉROS IN THE COMPANY’S FIRST U. S. TOUR;
THIRD ANNUAL OJAI NORTH! FESTIVAL WITH MARK MORRIS AS MUSIC DIRECTOR;
KRONOS QUARTET APPOINTED ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE;
AND SIX PERFORMANCES OF SWAN LAKE WITH MARIINSKY BALLET & ORCHESTRA
HIGHLIGHT CAL PERFORMANCES 2012‒2013 SEASON
Mark Morris’s Holiday Classic The Hard Nut and
Rare Visits from Joffrey Ballet and Béjart Ballet Lausanne Headline an Extraordinary Dance Series
Featuring Nine New Works from Eight Companies
2012‒2013 Season Features the Return of Legendary Artists Yo-Yo Ma, Christian Tetzlaff, The Tallis Scholars, Handel and Haydn Society, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, and Mummenschanz, and
Debuts of Eric Owens, Leonidas Kavakos, Simon Trpčeski, Miloš, Les 7 Doigts de la Main Circus,
Georgia’s Ensemble Basiani and Fran Lebowitz
2012–2013 season kicks off with third annual Fall Free for All on September 30
BERKELEY, CA—Thirteen multiperformance residencies with important ensembles, including the Philharmonia Orchestra led by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela led by Gustavo Dudamel; the appointment of the Kronos Quartet as Artists in Residence; artistic collaborations with the Ojai Festival and San Francisco Opera; and contemporary masterpieces, such as Einstein on the Beach and Théâtre de la Ville’s production of Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinocéros define Matías Tarnopolsky’s third season as Director of Cal Performances. An acknowledged leader in the international performing arts field, Cal Performances has brought the finest and most innovative performers from around the world to Northern California and the campus of UC Berkeley for more than a century. For Cal Performances’ 107th season, Tarnopolsky further refines his programming philosophy, emphasizing artistic excellence, accessibility for all and the advocacy for vibrant and relevant performing arts.
Of the 113 artists and ensembles presented in more than 125 performances throughout the season, 35 make their debuts at Cal Performances including, Eric Owens, Leonidas Kavakos, Milos, Les 7 Doigts de la Main Circus, Afiara String Quartet, Georgia’s Ensemble Basiani and Fran Lebowitz. Yo-Yo Ma, Mark Morris, Laurie Anderson, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Mariinsky Ballet & Orchestra, Emanuel Ax and Christian Tetzlaff are welcomed back to Berkeley. Additionally, Cal Performances continues its explorations of the masterpieces of centuries past with encore visits from The Tallis Scholars; Bach specialist Masaaki Suzuki with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society with director Harry Christophers in two concerts, including the rarely heard Handel oratorio Jephtha; and UC Berkeley’s own distinguished early music expert, Davitt Moroney.
Cal Performances joins an international consortium of co-commissioners to bring the seminal work of legendary artists Robert Wilson, Philip Glass and Lucinda Childs--Einstein on the Beach, an Opera in Four Acts—to the campus of UC Berkeley for the only fully realized performances west of the Hudson River. Never performed fully staged in the United States outside of New York City, the five-hour opera will be presented three times in Zellerbach Hall.
Collaborations and partnerships, both local and international, are fundamental to Matías Tarnopolsky’s vision for Cal Performances. A collaboration with San Francisco Opera brings the world premiere of Nolan Gasser and Carey Harrison’s The Secret Garden to Zellerbach Hall, along with Music Director Nicola Luisotti and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in their second visit in as many years; a campus-wide residency with the Kronos Quartet encompasses interaction with music students, a performance at Fall Free for All and a SchoolTime performance; a co-commission with Carnegie Hall makes possible a new work from composer Harrison Birtwistle for pianist Nicolas Hodges; a new work by Alonzo King from San Francisco’s LINES Ballet is featured on the programs of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Béjart Ballet Lausanne; and, for the third year, Cal Performances joins with the Ojai Music Festival to present Ojai North!, which focuses in 2013 on the singular artistic vision of longtime Cal Performances collaborator Mark Morris.
Cal Performances’ annual Orchestra Residency, designed to deepen the relationship between the world’s greatest orchestras and the Northern California cultural community and the UC Berkeley campus through lectures, master classes and extended programs, embarks on its third season with two internationally acclaimed conductors, each coming to Berkeley for the first time: Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela in a celebration of music from Latin America; and Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London performing three varied programs that include Berg’s Wozzeck, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Maher’s Symphony No. 9. These residencies are highly valued by students on campus, and by audiences at large. Discussing her participation in the Vienna Philharmonic residency and echoing the sentiments of many students, UC Berkeley Symphony cellist Rachel Keynton—who participated in master classes, open rehearsals and concerts—proclaimed the musical interaction “an inspiring and once-in-a-lifetime experience.” The Australian Chamber Orchestra and Richard Tognetti, with two programs that include works by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Haydn and Dvořák, will also be participating in an extended period on campus.
The 2012–2013 program also includes extended visits and rich offerings of events by Jazz at Lincoln Center, Handel and Haydn Society, Mariinsky Orchestra & Ballet and the Kronos Quartet, who serve as Cal Performances’ first artists in residence. Robert Wilson, Philip Glass and Lucinda Childs will each engage with UCB students in workshops and classes. Artists from The Joffrey Ballet, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will teach in Professor Lisa Wymore’s modern dance classes. In partnership with San Francisco Opera, four family workshops will take place in conjunction with the world premiere of The Secret Garden. Prompted by the Simón Bolívar Orchestra’s visit, Cal Performances will host a special “Forum on Music Education” on November 28. This UC Berkeley and Cal Performances sponsored event features international music educators and artists in a probing conversation about the successes of El Sistema and the state of arts education. Full details will be announced at a later date.
Begun at the start of his first season as Director, Tarnopolsky calls the Fall Free for All—scheduled to launch the season on September 30—“part of our DNA” and “perhaps the most important program we have to introduce the broader community of music lovers to the wealth and transformative talent we bring to the campus each year.” The first two events each brought more than 13,000 people to Berkeley, drawing arts aficionados and first-timers from as far away as Palo Alto and Stockton.
“This season, we celebrate creative relationships with some of world’s greatest artists and ensembles, we welcome new talents to our stages, and we restage an iconic masterpiece of modernism,” said Matías Tarnopolsky. “Our engaged and enthusiastic audiences, throughout Northern California and here in our own University community, embrace challenging cultural experiences, and this season truly offers us a journey through the stories, sounds and emotions that can only come from the performing arts, performed live by world-class artists.”
Cal Performances, located on the campus of the nation’s finest public university, is a beneficiary of UC Berkeley’s renowned intellectual and cultural environment. Cal Performances receives around 3% of its budget from the University, generates a healthy 60% from ticket sales and other earned income, and relies upon the generous contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations to provide the remaining funds. Through this important private support—with generous leading gifts from Wells Fargo, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Bank of America—Cal Performances is able to curate one of the world’s finest performing arts seasons and reach nearly 200,000 people each year through its programming and one of the most diverse Education & Community Programs in the country.
