David Robertson’s 2018-2019 Highlights

David Robertson to lead Sydney Symphony Orchestra tour of European musical capitals
November 25-December 9
Vienna, Munich, Berlin, Warsaw, Antwerp, Hamburg, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg

2019 Valedictory season as SSO Chief Conductor, Artistic Director
Will Continue to Lead SSO in Future Seasons as Sydney Opera House Begins Renovation
SSO season, beginning January 2019, features Australian composers and premieres, visits by musical friends from Europe and US, concert production of Peter Grimes, Andre Previn and Tom Stoppard’s collaboration, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

Robertson to conduct New York Philharmonic October 10 – 13
Part of New NYP Music Director Jaap van Zweden’s First Festival, The Art of Andriessen

In New York, Robertson also begins tenure as Juilliard’s Director of Conducting Studies, Distinguished Visiting Faculty
Will Conduct the Juilliard Orchestra – Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie at David Geffen Hall, May 3
In Canada, Robertson will make debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, January 10 – 13
A Return to Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, January 16 – 17

In the US David Robertson Conducts the work of his mentor, Pierre Boulez, with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, January 26 – 27
Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna, with Mozart’s Requiem

Stravinsky and Bernstein, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, April 25 – 28

In Europe, Robertson returns to favored orchestras: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in Munich, Czech Philharmonic in Prague, Cadaques Orchestra in Spain

In the 2018-19 season, Conductor David Robertson – associated with the world’s most noted musical institutions, and as an independent thinker and champion of the art form – will traverse three continents to continue his passionate pursuit of three musical tracks: orchestral performance spanning centuries of repertoire with a special focus on music’s future; opera and the theatrical setting of music; and teaching and cultivating the next generation of musical leaders.

As teacher of the art and practice of conducting, Robertson began his new role as Director of Conducting Studies, Distinguished Visiting Faculty, of The Juilliard School, in September 2018. He will maintain a considerable schedule at Juilliard, woven into conducting engagements and projects in North America, Europe, and Australia, and use a wide range of repertoire, from Wagner to Sibelius, Messiaen to John Adams, to draw aspiring conductors into the rapidly evolving sensibility of orchestral vision and leadership. As part of his Juilliard commitment, Robertson will conduct at least one performance annually with the Julliard Orchestra – on May 3, 2019, he will lead the Orchestra in Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.

Robertson begins the 2018-19 season at home, as a featured conductor of new New York Philharmonic Music Director Jaap van Zweden’s first festival, The Art of Andriessen (October 10 – 13), before returning to Australia to continue his highly rewarding collaboration with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. In November, with the SSO, he will delve into Beethoven Seven: Rhythm and Energy, an exploration of the great symphony in relation to the compositions of contemporary and other composers, including Brett Dean and James MacMillan. A final SSO 2018 season concert series, featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, and the Korngold Violin Concerto performed by Renaud Capuçon, will serve as a stepping off point for a tour of European musical capitals by David Robertson and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, to include Vienna, Munich, Berlin, Warsaw, Antwerp, Hamburg, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, and more.

The new year begins with a journey to new horizons to the North – a Canadian debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (January 10 – 13), and a long-anticipated return to the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (January 16 – 17). In 2019, Robertson will also conduct US orchestras, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (January 26 – 27), where he will pair a masterwork of his mentor, Pierre Boulez, Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna, with Mozart’s Requiem. Robertson will conduct Stravinsky’s Firebird (Complete) and Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 (The Age of Anxiety) with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (April 25 – 28).

Throughout the month of February, to open the 2019 season of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra – his valedictory season as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the SSO – Robertson will conduct music from the Australian soul by Grainger and Nigel Westlake, juxtapositions from Steve Reich to Bartók, and the contrasting ideas of Amériques of Varèse with the Australian premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s The Jungle – Symphony No. 4 with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Robertson’s musical celebration as leader of the SSO continues through November 2019, and he will conduct the Orchestra in future seasons as renovation of the Sydney Opera House begins.

During the 2018-19 season, David Robertson also happily returns to make music with favored European Orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in Munich, Czech Philharmonic in Prague, and the Cadaques Orch in Spain.