THE 2019–2020 RICHARD AND BARBARA DEBS COMPOSER’S CHAIR Jörg Widmann

Marco Borggreve Composer, clarinetist, and conductor Jörg Widmann has been appointed to the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair for the 2019–2020 season. Mr. Widmann’s captivating and powerfully visceral music has won him numerous high-profile commissions and countless performances from soloists, chamber ensembles, and major around the world. A much sought- after virtuoso clarinetist and dynamic conductor, he has performed his own works—as well as works by other composers—with , Mitsuko Uchida, the , and a host of other great artists. Mr. Widmann’s residency showcases his musical versatility and imaginative vision with his powerful orchestral works performed by The Cleveland Orchestra, Philharmonic, , and The MET Orchestra. The series also recognizes the striking originality in his with an all-star ensemble headlined by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, who gives the New York premiere of his new work for . He displays his formidable skills as a clarinetist, playing his own music as well as works by Schumann and Mozart in a trio with violist Tabea Zimmermann and pianist Dénes Várjon. He does triple duty with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, his own music and playing the , and with the International Contemporary Ensemble in a program devoted to his works. As part of his residency, he returns to his alma mater to conduct the Juilliard Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall. The series additionally features two lectures in which he discusses dissonance and beauty, as well as Beethoven’s lasting impact. Jörg Widmann is one of the most versatile and intriguing artists of his generation. He has recently appeared as soloist with orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Valery Gergiev; Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra with Bertrand de Billy; Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra with Sylvain Cambreling; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla; SWR Symphonieorchester with Peter Rundel; and Orchestre de with Daniel Harding. Mr. Widmann is the first Gewandhaus Composer, and was commissioned by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra to compose a new work, Partita, which premiered in Leipzig in March 2018 and was performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage the following month—both conducted by Andris Nelsons. Chamber music performances during the past seasons include a tour with the in performances of Mr. Widmann’s new Clarinet in Paris, Lugano, Amsterdam, Essen, , London, and , as well as Zankel Hall in March 2019; trio recitals with Tabea Zimmermann and Dénes Várjon in Helsinki and Freiburg, and at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Saal in Berlin, London’s Wigmore Hall, and Zankel Hall; recitals at San Francisco Performances and Tokyo’s Toppan Hall; and the premiere of a new piece written for him by Mark Andre at Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik in Germany. Among his regular chamber music partners are renowned soloists such as Sir András Schiff and Elisabeth Leonskaja. As a conductor, Mr. Widmann performs this season with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Boulez Ensemble, Kammerakademie Potsdam, and on tour in Germany with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. As principal conductor, he leads the Irish Chamber Orchestra in concerts in Ireland, Europe, and on a tour to South America. Mr. Widmann is a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin, a full member of the Bayerische Akademie of Schönen Künste, and, since 2007, the Freien Akademie der Künste Hamburg, the Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste, and the Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz. Recently, he was awarded the Robert Schumann Prize for Poetry and Music. He is professor for composition at the Barenboim- Said Academy in Berlin. Friday, October 4 at 8 PM Tuesday, January 28 at 7:30 PM Sunday, March 29 at 2 PM Stern/Perelman Zankel Weill The Cleveland Orchestra International The Widmann Lectures: Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director Contemporary Ensemble Thoughts on Beethoven and Conductor Jörg Widmann, Speaker Yefim Bronfman, Jörg Widmann, Jörg Widmann is one of the most enthralling JÖRG WIDMANN Trauermarsch Conductor and Clarinet composers of our day and frequently finds MAHLER Symphony No. 5 ALL–JÖRG WIDMANN PROGRAM inspiration—directly and indirectly—in the music Liebeslied for Eight Instruments of past composers. In this lecture, he speaks about his fascination with Beethoven and his Air for Solo Horn musical responses to the great master. Saturday, October 26 at 8 PM Etude No. 2 for Solo Stern/Perelman Quintet for , Clarinet, , Horn, and Piano Three Shadow Dances for Solo Clarinet Wednesday, April 1 at 7:30 PM Zankel Valery Gergiev, Music Director Freie Stücke (Free Pieces) and Conductor Jörg Widmann, Clarinet Leonidas Kavakos, Violin JÖRG WIDMANN Con brio Thursday, January 30 at 7 PM Tabea Zimmermann, BRAHMS Stern/Perelman Dénes Várjon, Piano SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 Anne-Sophie Mutter SCHUMANN Märchenerzählungen; Sponsored by Breguet, Fantasiestücke, Op. 73 Exclusive Timepiece of Carnegie Hall and Friends JÖRG WIDMANN Es war einmal ... Fünf Stücke The Munich Philharmonic residency with Valery Gergiev at Carnegie Hall is made possible Anne-Sophie Mutter, Violin im Märchenton for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano by a leadership gift from Mrs. Veronica Atkins. Ye-Eun Choi, Violin SCHUMANN Märchenbilder Vladimir Babeshko, Viola MOZART Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano in Daniel Müller-Schott, E-flat Major, K. 498, “Kegelstatt” Monday, November 18 at 7 PM Lambert Orkis, Piano Weill JÖRG WIDMANN New Work for String Quartet (NY Premiere) Monday, April 6 at 7:30 PM The Widmann Lectures: Weill On Dissonance and Beauty BEETHOVEN No. 5 in F Major, “Spring”; Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, Ensemble Connect Reflections on Music of No. 1, “Ghost”; Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, “Kreutzer” the Present and the Past JÖRG WIDMANN Oktett SCHUBERT Octet in F Major, D. 803 Jörg Widmann, Speaker Ensemble Connect is a program of Jörg Widmann is a passionate and eloquent Saturday, March 28 at 8 PM Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and speaker on all matters musical. In this fascinating the Weill Music Institute in partnership with lecture, he shares his thoughts about music past, Stern/Perelman the Department of Education. present, and future. Lead funding has been provided by Marina Kellen French and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Max H. Gluck Foundation, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Irving Harris Foundation, Hearst Foundations, The Kovner Foundation, Phyllis and Charles Rosenthal, Mitsuko Uchida, The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, Beatrice Santo Domingo, and Hope and Robert F. Smith. Tuesday, November 19 at 7:30 PM Piano and Director Additional support has been provided by the Arnow Family Fund, Zankel The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, E.H.A. Foundation, Barbara Meesun Hong Coleman, Concertmaster G. Fleischman, Leslie and Tom Maheras, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Leader Susan and Elihu Rose Foundation, Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Irish Chamber Orchestra Howard Solomon, and Trust for Mutual Understanding. MOZART Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, Public support is provided by the New York City Department of Jörg Widmann, Principal Conductor Education and the New York State Council on the Arts with support and Clarinet K. 453 of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. JÖRG WIDMANN Choralquartett (arr. for Ensemble Connect is also supported, in part, by endowment grants from The Kovner Foundation. Claron McFadden, Soprano chamber orchestra; NY Premiere, commissioned by MENDELSSOHN Sinfonia No. 8 in D Major Carnegie Hall) JÖRG WIDMANN Versuch über die Fuge MOZART Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat Major, MOZART Adagio and Fugue in C Minor, K. 546 K. 482 Tuesday, June 16 at 8 PM JÖRG WIDMANN 180 beats per minute Support for the 125 Commissions Project is provided by members of Stern/Perelman Carnegie Hall’s Composer Club. WEBER Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, Op. 34 The MET Orchestra Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Music Director and Conductor Elza van den Heever, Soprano JÖRG WIDMANN Lied R. STRAUSS Four Last Songs; Perspectives: Yannick Nézet-Séguin