The Kennedy Center, NSO, Eschenbach / Beethoven, October 2025
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OCTOBER 16, 18 & 19, 2025 | CONCERT HALL
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Isabelle Faust, violin
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Egmont – Overture
Violin Concerto
Symphony No. 7
THANK YOU TO OUR SEASON SPONSORS
The NSO Music Director Chair is generously endowed by Roger Sant and Congresswoman Doris Matsui
Noseda Era Fund Supporters
The Amici di Gianandrea
Patrons are requested to turn off cell phones and other electronic devices during the performance. Any video and/or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.
Welcome
Dear Friends,
As we open the National Symphony Orchestra’s 95th season, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt thanks to you—our devoted patrons, supporters, and friends. Your presence this evening, and your unwavering support throughout the year, mean more than words can convey. It is your love of music, your generosity, and your steadfast belief in the arts that delight this remarkable orchestra.
In 1931, Hans Kindler founded the NSO with a bold vision: to build a world-class symphony orchestra in the heart of our nation’s capital. Nearly a century later, that vision continues to be our driving force. Today, under the dynamic artistic leadership of Gianandrea Noseda, we are more inspired than ever to share powerful performances with our audiences. The NSO is not simply an orchestra; it is a family of artists joined together through a shared love of music, unity of purpose, and commitment to something greater than us.
The NSO is more than what you see on stage—it is a living, breathing institution devoted to enriching lives. Our robust education and community engagement programs reach thousands of students, educators, and families each year. Between our Youth Fellowship Program and Summer Music Institute, to Young People’s Concerts, we strive to make music accessible to everyone—especially the next generation.
This commitment to connect with broader audiences is also seen through our vibrant, genre-defying series, led by the remarkable Steven Reineke, our Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor. Steven brings a wide-reaching musical vision to the NSO, bridging genres and generations. His programming has opened the door for new audiences to discover a love for orchestral music, while continuing to captivate longtime fans with the highest levels of artistry.
As we embark on this milestone season, we are reminded that our journey would not be possible without you. Thank you for being an essential part of this vibrant and enduring musical community.
With deepest gratitude and warmest regards,
Executive Director
National Symphony Orchestra
From the Music Director
Cari amici,
It is with immense joy and anticipation that I welcome you to the National Symphony Orchestra’s 95th anniversary season. This moment is more than a milestone—it is a celebration of our deep musical legacy and a renewed commitment to bringing powerful, moving performances to our community and beyond.
Our season opened in grand fashion this September with a celebratory Gala Concert featuring the incomparable Yuja Wang, whose artistry never fails to astound. She brought her brilliant intensity to Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, a work that pulses with drama, lyricism, and triumph.
We are also proud to welcome back wonderful guest conductors. From October 16 to 19, we open our doors to a cherished member of the NSO family—our esteemed former Music Director, Christoph Eschenbach—for an all-Beethoven program featuring the luminous violinist Isabelle Faust. And this is only the beginning. The 95th season is filled with musical discovery, celebrated artists, and unforgettable experiences.
I am deeply grateful to share this journey with you. Your presence in the concert hall is what brings our music fully to life. Thank you for being a part of the NSO family—for your passion, your applause, and your unwavering support.
Con tutto il cuore,
Gianandrea Noseda Music Director, National Symphony Orchestra
Che la musica vi porti gioia e ispirazione—may music bring you joy and inspiration.
Notes on the Program
Overture to Goethe’s Egmont, Op. 84
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Born approx. December 16, 1770, in Bonn, Germany
Died March 26, 1827, in Vienna, Austria
“The first casualty when war comes,” observed Senator Hiram Johnson in 1917, “is truth.” So when Napoleon invaded Vienna in May 1809, convinced that the Austrian Empire was the major stumbling block to his domination of Europe, it is not surprising that censorship of literature, of the press, and of the theater was instituted immediately. The months until the French departed in October were bitter ones for the Viennese. The value of the national currency dwindled, food was in short supply, and freedoms were limited. Soon after the first of the year, with Napoleon’s forces gone, the director of the Hoftheater, Josef Härtel, arranged for the production of a series of revivals of the dramas of Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the great figures of the German stage. Appropriately, two plays he chose dealt with the oppression of a noble people by a foreign tyrant and with the eventual freedom the patriots won for themselves—Schiller’s William Tell and Goethe’s Egmont.
Beethoven was commissioned to write the music for Goethe’s 1789 play. (Adalbert Gyrowetz was assigned William Tell. Gioachino Rossini’s setting of the tale was still two decades in the future.) Egmont, based on an incident from 1567, depicts the subjugation of the Netherlands to the tyrannical Spanish rulers, the agony of the people, and their growing defiance and dreams of liberty. The work ends with Count Egmont’s call for revolution and his vision of eventual victory in the moments before his execution. Beethoven approached his task with zeal, out of both his unmitigated respect for the author and his humanist belief in the freedom and dignity of man.
The theme of political oppression overthrown in the name of freedom was also treated by Beethoven in his only opera, Fidelio, and the musical process employed there also served well for Egmont. The triumph of good over evil, of light over darkness, is portrayed through the overall structure of the work: major tonalities replace minor at the moment of victory; bright orchestral sonorities succeed dark, somber ones; fanfares displace sinuous melodies. Devoid of overtly dramatic trappings, it is the same emotional road he travelled in the Fifth and Ninth Symphonies.
The Overture to Egmont compresses the action of the play into a single musical span. A stark unison begins the introduction. Twice, stern chords from the strings are answered by the lyrical plaints of the woodwinds. An uneasy hush comes over the last measures of this solemn opening. The main body of the Overture commences with an ominous melody in the cellos. A storm quickly gathers (note the timpani strokes), but clears to allow the appearance of the contrasting second theme, a quicker version of the material from the introduction. The threatening mood returns to carry the music through its developmental central section and into the recapitulation. The second theme is extended to include passages cloaked in the burnished sound of horns and winds. A falling, unison fourth followed by a silence marks the moment of Egmont’s death. Organ-like chords from the winds sustain the moment of suspense. Then, beginning almost imperceptibly but growing with an exhilarating rapidity, a stirring song of victory is proclaimed by the full orchestra. Tyranny is conquered. Right prevails.
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
In 1794, two years after he moved to Vienna from Bonn, Beethoven attended a concert by an Austrian violin prodigy named Franz Clement. To Clement, then fourteen years old, the aspiring composer wrote, “Dear Clement! Go forth on the way which you hitherto have travelled so beautifully, so magnificently. Nature and art vie with each other in making you a great artist. Follow both and, never fear, you will reach the great—the greatest—goal possible to an artist here on earth. All wishes for your happiness, dear
Notes on the Program
youth; and return soon, that I may again hear your dear, magnificent playing. Entirely your friend, L. v. Beethoven.”
Beethoven’s wish was soon granted. Clement was appointed conductor and concertmaster of the Theater an der Wien in Vienna in 1802, where he was closely associated with Beethoven in the production of Fidelio and assisted him with the premiere of the Third Symphony. Clement, highly esteemed by his contemporaries as a violinist, musician, and composer for his instrument, was also noted for his fabulous memory. One tale relates that Clement, after participating in a single performance of Joseph Haydn’s The Creation, wrote out a score for the entire work from memory. Of Clement’s style of violin performance, Boris Schwarz wrote, “His playing was graceful rather than vigorous, his tone small but expressive, and he possessed unfailing assurance and purity in high positions and exposed entrances.” It was for Clement that Beethoven produced his only Violin Concerto.
The sweet, lyrical nature and wide compass of the Concerto’s solo part were influenced by the polished style of Clement’s playing. The five soft taps on the timpani that open the work not only serve to establish the key and the rhythm of the movement, but also recur as a unifying motto throughout. The main theme is introduced in the second measure by the woodwinds in a chorale-like setting. A transition, with rising scales in the winds and quicker rhythmic figures in the strings, accumulates a certain intensity before it quiets to usher in the second theme, another legato strophe entrusted to the woodwinds. The development is largely given over to wide-ranging figurations for the soloist. The recapitulation begins with a recall of the five drum strokes of the opening, here spread across the full orchestra sounding in unison.
Though the hymnal Larghetto is technically a theme and variations, it seems less like some earthbound form than it does a floating constellation of ethereal tones, polished and hung against a velvet night sky with infinite care and flawless precision. Music of such limited dramatic contrast cannot be brought to a satisfactory conclusion in this context, and so here it leads without pause into the vivacious Rondo, for which the solo violin trots out the principal theme before it is taken over by the full orchestra. This jaunty tune returns three times, the last appearance forming a large coda.
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
In the autumn of 1813, Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, the inventor of the metronome, approached Beethoven with the proposal that the two organize a concert to benefit the soldiers wounded at the recent Battle of Hanau—with, perhaps, two or three repetitions of the concert to benefit themselves. Beethoven was eager to have his as-yet-unheard A major Symphony of the preceding year performed and thought the financial reward worth the trouble, so he agreed. The concert consisted of this “Entirely New Symphony” by Beethoven, marches by Jan Ladislav Dussek and Ignaz Pleyel performed on a “Mechanical Trumpeter” fabricated by Mälzel, and an orchestral arrangement of Wellington’s Victory, a piece Beethoven had concocted the previous summer for yet another of Mälzel’s musical machines, the clangorous “Panharmonicon.” The evening was such a success that Beethoven’s first biographer, Anton Schindler, reported, “All persons, however they had previously dissented from his music, now agreed to award him his laurels.”
The orchestra for that important occasion included some of the most distinguished musicians and composers of the day: Spohr, Schuppanzigh, Dragonetti, Meyerbeer, Hummel, and Salieri all lent their talents. Spohr, who played among the violins, left an account of Beethoven as conductor. “Beethoven had accustomed himself to indicate expression to the orchestra by all manner of singular bodily movements,” wrote Spohr. “So often as a sforzando [a sudden, strong attack] occurred, he thrust apart his arms, which he had previously crossed upon his breast. At piano [soft], he crouched down lower and lower as he desired the degree of softness. If a crescendo [gradually louder]
Notes on the Program
then entered, he slowly rose again, and at the entrance of the forte [loud] jumped into the air. Sometimes, too, he unconsciously shouted to strengthen the forte.”
The Seventh Symphony is a magnificent creation in which Beethoven displayed several technical innovations that were to have a profound influence on the music of the 19th century: he expanded the scope of symphonic structure through the use of more distant tonal areas, he brought an unprecedented richness and range to the orchestral palette, and he gave a new awareness of rhythm as the vitalizing force in music. It is particularly the last of these characteristics that most immediately affects the listener, and to which commentators have consistently turned to explain the vibrant power of the work. Perhaps the most famous such observation about the Seventh Symphony is that of Richard Wagner, who called the work “the apotheosis of the Dance in its highest aspect ... the loftiest deed of bodily motion incorporated in an ideal world of tone.” Couching his observation in less highfalutin language, American critic and musicologist John N. Burk believed that its rhythm gave this work a feeling of immense grandeur incommensurate with its relatively short forty-minute length. “Beethoven,” Burk explained, “seems to have built up this impression by willfully driving a single rhythmic figure through each movement, until the music attains (particularly in the body of the first movement and in the finale) a swift propulsion, an effect of cumulative growth which is akin to extraordinary size.”
A slow introduction, almost a movement in itself, opens the Symphony. This initial section employs two themes: the first, majestic and unadorned, is passed down through the winds while being punctuated by long, rising scales in the strings; the second is a graceful melody for oboe. The transition to the main part of the first movement is accomplished by the superbly controlled reiteration of a single pitch. This device not only connects the introduction with the exposition but also establishes the dactylic rhythm that dominates the movement.
The Allegretto scored such a success at its premiere that it was immediately encored, a phenomenon virtually unprecedented for a slow movement. Indeed, this music was so popular that it was used to replace the brief slow movement of the Eighth Symphony at several performances during Beethoven’s lifetime. In form, the movement is a series of variations on the heartbeat rhythm of its opening measures. In spirit, however, it is more closely allied to the austere chaconne of the baroque era, with its fixed structure based on a constantly repeating bass phrase, than to the light, figural variations of Classicism. The third movement, a study in contrasts of sonority and dynamics, is built on the formal model of the scherzo, but expanded to include a repetition of the horn-dominated Trio (Scherzo – Trio – Scherzo – Trio – Scherzo).
In the sonata-form finale, Beethoven not only produced music of virtually unmatched rhythmic energy (“a triumph of Bacchic fury,” in the words of Sir Donald Tovey), but did it in such a manner as to exceed the climaxes of the earlier movements and make it the goal toward which they had all been aimed. So intoxicating is this music that some of Beethoven’s contemporaries were sure he had composed it in a drunken frenzy. An encounter with the Seventh Symphony is a heady experience. Klaus G. Roy, the distinguished program annotator for The Cleveland Orchestra, wrote, “Many a listener has come away from a hearing of this Symphony in a state of being punch-drunk. Yet it is an intoxication without a hangover, a dope-like exhilaration without decadence.”
To which the composer’s own words may be added. “I am Bacchus incarnate,” boasted Beethoven, “appointed to give humanity wine to drown its sorrow.... He who divines the secret of my music is delivered from the misery that haunts the world.”
Meet the Artists
Christoph Eschenbach,
conductor
Christoph Eschenbach is a phenomenon amongst the top league of international conductors.
Universally acclaimed as both a conductor and pianist, he firmly belongs to the European intellectual line of musical tradition, yet he combines this with a rare emotional intensity, producing performances revered by concertgoers worldwide. Renowned for the breadth of his repertoire and the depth of his interpretations, he has held directorships with many leading orchestras and gained the highest musical honours. In exploring the conditions that led to the emergence of such a charismatic talent, we can look to his early years—born at the heart of war-torn Europe in 1940, his early childhood was scarred by a succession of personal tragedies. It can truly be said that music was his saviour, and his life began to change when he learned the piano. Now over 80, his keen artistic curiosity is undiminished, and he still thoroughly enjoys working with the finest international orchestras. He is also well-known as a tireless supporter of young talent—this is his greatest passion, and he values his contribution to mentoring up-and-coming talent over and above his own distinguished career. Moved by the energy and the drive of young people— “Those one hundred percent artists,” as he calls them—he has a personal mission to pass the torch to the next generation. Some of his notable discoveries to date include the pianist Lang Lang, the violinist Julia Fischer, and the cellists Leonard Elschenbroich and Daniel Mü llerSchott. As Artistic Advisor and lecturer at the famous Kronberg Academy, he accompanies young violinists, cellists, and violists on their way to becoming worldclass soloists.
Eschenbach, born February 20, 1940, in German-occupied Breslau, was a war
orphan, raised in Schleswig-Holstein and Aachen by his mother’s cousin, the pianist Wallydore Eschenbach. Her lessons laid the foundation of his illustrious musical career. Following piano studies with Eliza Hansen and conducting with Wilhelm BrücknerRüggeberg, he won notable piano awards— such as the ARD Competition Munich 1962 and the Concours Clara Haskil 1965—that helped to pave the way for his growing international fame.
Supported by mentors such as George Szell and Herbert von Karajan, the focus of Christoph Eschenbach’s career increasingly moved to conducting. He was Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich from 1982 to 1986; Music Director of Houston Symphony from 1988 to 1999; Artistic Director of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival from 1999 to 2002; and Music Director of the NDR Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg from 1998 to 2004, the Philadelphia Orchestra from 2003 to 2008, and the Orchestre de Paris from 2000 to 2010. From 2010 to 2017, Eschenbach held the position of Music Director of the Washington National Symphony Orchestra. From 2019 to 2023, he was the Music Director of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. In September 2024, he became Artistic Director at the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic in the now Polish city of his birth.
Alongside his prestigious appointments, Eschenbach has always attached great importance to his extensive activities as a guest conductor, working with orchestras such as the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, La Scala Milano, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo.
Over the course of seven decades, Christoph Eschenbach has built an impressive discography of over 100 recordings, both as a conductor and a pianist, with a repertoire ranging from Bach to contemporary music. Many of his recordings have gained benchmark status and have received numerous awards, including the German Record Critics’ Prize, the MIDEM Classical Award, and a Grammy Award®. Christoph Eschenbach has been awarded the Chevalier de la
Meet the Artists
Légion d’Honneur and is a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres; he is a holder of the German Federal Cross of Merit and a winner of the Leonard Bernstein Award. In 2015, he received the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, known as “the Nobel Prize of music,” for his achievements as conductor and pianist.
Isabelle Faust, violinist
renowned violinist
“deep and complex” interpretations of the baroque to the (Minnesota Star Tribune). With “clarity, gutsy depth, and technical brilliance,” she performs as a soloist with the world’s leading orchestras and in recital at the premiere concert halls (San Francisco Classical Voice).
Having won the Leopold Mozart and Paganini Competitions at a very young age, she began performing with the world’s major orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Freiburger Barockorchester leading to close and sustained relationships with conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Giovanni Antonini, Franç ois-Xavier Roth, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Daniel Harding, Philippe Herreweghe, Jakub Hrůša, Klaus Mäkelä, Robin Ticciati, and Sir Simon Rattle, among others.
The breadth of Ms. Faust’s artistry encompasses the baroque to the contemporary and the solo to the symphonic, with a heavy investment in chamber music as well. Notable collaborations include a coproduction of Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat with the Salzburg Marionette Theater and the Salzburg Festival featuring puppetry by Georg Baselitz and a performance from French actor Dominique Horwitz, as well as performances of György Kurtág’s
Kafka Fragments with Austrian-British soprano Anna Prohaska, Schubert’s Octet performed on period instruments, and recitals with Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov and South African harpsichordist Kristian Bezuidenhout. Her most recent world premieres include compositions by Péter Eötvös, Brett Dean, Ondřej Adámek, and Rune Glerup, and in May 2026, she will premiere a new work for violin and orchestra by the Slovenian composer Vito Žuraj.
Highlights of the 2025–2026 season include performances of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Les Siècles and Ustina Dubitsky, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and Bernard Labadie, the National Symphony Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach, and the Orchestre National de Lyon and Thomas Dausgaard, as well as Schumann’s Violin Concerto with the Orchestre de Paris and Klaus Mäkelä, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Dinis Sousa, the Copenhagen Philharmonic and Thomas Dausgaard, Bartok’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Kevin John Edusei, Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and Philippe Jordan, the Dvořák Violin Concerto with the Munich Philharmonic and Petr Popelka, and the Netherlands Philharmonic and Eva Ollikainen, among others.
This season, she is Artist-in-Residence with the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and at the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam.
A prolific recording artist, Ms. Faust’s albums are overwhelmingly praised by critics and have been awarded many European prizes, including the Diapason d’Or, the Gramophone Award, the Choc de l’anné e, and more. Recent recordings include György Ligeti’s Violin Concerto with Les Siècles led by François-Xavier Roth, Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Jakub Hrůša, works for violin and orchestra by Pietro Locatelli with Il Giardino Armonico, and works for solo violin by Biber, Matteis, Pisendel, Vilsmayr, and Guillemain. Her recordings of the Bach Partitas and Sonatas are amongst the prizes of many baroque
Meet the Artists
collectors, as are the violin concertos by Beethoven and Alban Berg with the Orchestra Mozart under the direction of Claudio Abbado.
National Symphony Orchestra
The 2025–2026 season is the National Symphony Orchestra’s 95th and Music Director Gianandrea Noseda’s ninth season. Gianandrea Noseda serves as the orchestra’s seventh music director, joining the NSO’s legacy of distinguished leaders: Christoph Eschenbach, Leonard Slatkin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Antal Doráti, Howard Mitchell, and Hans Kindler. Its artistic leadership also includes Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Steven Reineke.
Since its founding in 1931, the NSO has been committed to performances that enrich the lives of its audience and community members. In 1986, the National Symphony became an artistic affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where it has performed since the Center opened in 1971. The 96-member NSO participates in events of national and international importance, including the annual nationally televised concerts on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol, live-streamed performances on medici.tv, and local radio broadcasts on WETA Classical 90.9 FM. Since launching its eponymous recording label in 2020, the NSO has embarked on ambitious recording projects, including its first complete Beethoven Symphony cycle and the release of the first-ever cycle of George Walker’s Sinfonias, both led by Noseda. Recent projects include Four Symphonic Works by Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon conducted by Noseda, and William Shatner’s So Fragile, So Blue, recorded live in the Concert Hall with the NSO under Steven Reineke. Forthcoming releases with Gianandrea Noseda include music by Gustav Mahler, William Grant Still, and Samuel Barber’s opera Vanessa.
The NSO’s community engagement and education projects are nationally recognized, and career development opportunities for young musicians include the NSO Youth Fellowship Program and its acclaimed, tuition-free Summer Music Institute.
Loud and Clear
Nine terms to know in the Concert Hall.
Symphony
An extended work with multiple sections—typically four movements.
A “symphonic” piece is a long piece with multiple interpretations of a musical idea. A repeated, transformed musical idea is called a theme.
Orchestra
A group of musicians who play together.
In the Western European tradition, an orchestra often includes the four major instrument families—brass, woodwinds, strings, and percussion. An especially large orchestra is called a symphony orchestra. A smaller orchestra is called a chamber orchestra.
Movement
A section of a musical work. Movements are often separated by silences, and they typically differ in tempo—speed.
Concerto
A piece pairing a technically advanced soloist with the support of an orchestra, usually in three movements. Though there may be multiple soloists, the contrast between a larger ensemble and a soloing group defines a concerto.
Suite
Multiple pieces intended to be performed together. Suites may take from larger works such as an opera or a ballet. For 17th- and 18th-century works, “suite” often refers to a sequence of dances in the same key.
Romantic music
Works associated with the 19th-century Romantic period. Building off of the intellectual innovation of the Romanticism movement, Romantic music emphasizes self-expression, emotion, and experimentation.
Uppercase-“C” Classical music
Works associated with the 18th-century Classical period. Characteristics include an emphasis on formal structures, balance, and clear-cut melodies. Lowercase-“c” classical music may also refer to formal compositions invested in technical depth, usually derived from the European tradition.
Fanfare
A brief piece, typically played on brass instruments with percussion accompaniment. Fanfares are often lively and ceremonial.
Tone poem
An orchestral piece meant to convey a non-musical subject such as an art piece, landscape, story, or mood.
National Symphony Orchestra
GIANANDREA NOSEDA , MUSIC DIRECTOR
The Roger Sant and Congresswoman Doris Matsui Chair
STEVEN REINEKE , PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC ADVISOR
VIOLINS
Nurit Bar-Josef, Concertmaster
Ying Fu, Associate Concertmaster, The Jeanne Weaver Ruesch Chair
Ricardo Cyncynates, Assistant Concertmaster
Xiaoxuan Shi, Second Assistant Concertmaster
Jane Bowyer Stewart
Heather LeDoux Green
Lisa-Beth Lambert
Jing Qiao
Marina Aikawa
Peiming Lin
Derek Powell
Regino Madrid**
Meredith Riley**
Marissa Regni, Principal
Dayna Hepler, Assistant Principal
Cynthia R. Finks
Deanna Lee Bien
Glenn Donnellan
Natasha Bogachek
Carole Tafoya Evans
Jae-Yeon Kim
Wanzhen Li
Hanna Lee
Benjamin Scott
Malorie Blake Shin
Angelia Cho
Kei Sugiyama**
VIOLAS
Daniel Foster, Principal, The Mrs. John Dimick Chair
Dana Kelley, Assistant Principal
Denise Wilkinson
Nancy Thomas
Jennifer Mondie
Tsuna Sakamoto
Ruth Wicker
Mahoko Eguchi
Abigail Evans Kreuzer
Rebecca Epperson
Chiara Dieguez**
Jacob Shack**
CELLOS
David Hardy, Principal, The Hans Kindler Chair, The Strong Family and the Hattie M. Strong Foundation
Raymond Tsai, Assistant Principal
David Teie
James Lee
Rachel Young
Mark Evans
Eugena Chang Riley
Loewi Lin
Britton Riley
Noah Krauss
BASSES
Robert Oppelt, Principal
Richard Barber, Assistant Principal
Jeffrey Weisner
Ira Gold
Paul DeNola
Charles Nilles
Alexander Jacobsen
Michael Marks
HARP
Adriana Horne, Principal
FLUTES
Aaron Goldman, Principal
Leah Arsenault Barrick, Assistant Principal
Matthew Ross
Carole Bean, Piccolo
OBOES
Nicholas Stovall, Principal, The Volunteer Council Chair
Jamie Roberts, Assistant Principal
Harrison Linsey***
Kathryn Meany Wilson***, English Horn
CLARINETS
Lin Ma, Principal
Eugene Mondie, Assistant Principal
Paul Cigan
Peter Cain, Bass Clarinet
BASSOONS
Sue Heineman, Principal
David Young, Assistant Principal
Steven Wilson
Sean Gordon, Contrabassoon
HORNS
Abel Pereira, Principal, The National Trustees’ Chair
James Nickel, Acting Associate Principal
Markus Osterlund***
Scott Fearing
Robert Rearden
Geoffrey Pilkington**
TRUMPETS
William Gerlach, Principal, The Howard Mitchell Chair, The Strong Family and the Hattie M. Strong Foundation
Michael Harper, Assistant Principal
Michail Thompson
Tom Cupples
TROMBONES
Craig Mulcahy, Principal
Evan Williams, Assistant Principal
David Murray
Matthew Guilford, Bass Trombone
TUBA
Stephen Dumaine, Principal, The James V. Kimsey Chair
TIMPANI
Jauvon Gilliam, Principal, The Marion E. Glover Chair
Scott Christian, Assistant Principal
PERCUSSION
Eric Shin, Principal, The Hechinger Foundation Chair
Erin Dowrey, Assistant Principal
Scott Christian
Jason Niehoff*
KEYBOARD
Lambert Orkis, Principal
Lisa Emenheiser*
ORGAN
William Neil*
LIBRARIANS
Elizabeth Cusato Schnobrick, Principal
Zen Stokdyk, Associate
Karen Lee, Assistant
PERSONNEL
Karyn Garvin, Director
Sufyan Naaman**, Coordinator
STAGE MANAGERS
David Langrell, Manager
N. Christian Bottorff, Assistant Manager
The National Symphony Orchestra uses a system of revolving strings. In each string section, untitled members are listed in order of length of service.
*Regularly Engaged Extra Musician
** Temporary Position
***Leave of Absence
National Symphony Orchestra Staff
ADMINISTRATION
Jean Davidson, Executive Director
Sabryn McDonald, Executive Assistant
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Kasama Apfelbaum, Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis
Nigel Boon, Vice President, Artistic Planning
John Roloff, Vice President, Orchestra Operations
ARTISTIC PLANNING
Justin Ellis, Senior Producing Director
Ana Vashakmadze, Artistic Assistant Administrator
DEVELOPMENT
Kate Baker, Assistant Manager, NSO Board and Leadership Campaigns
Laney Pleasanton, Manager, NSO Individual Giving
Pamela Wardell, Senior Director of Development
EDUCATION
Stephanie Baker, Manager, Career and Development Programs
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Eric Rubio, Director of Finance & Administration
HUMAN RESOURCES
Tony Amato, Director, Total Rewards
Chanel Kemp, Talent Acquisition Manager
Patrice McNeill, Director, HR Operations
Lisa Motti, HRIS Coordinator
Ericka Parham, Benefits Analyst
John Sanford, Senior Business Partner
MARKETING & ADVERTISING
Scott Bushnell, Senior Director, Creative and Brand Strategy
Sufyan Naaman, Personnel and Auditions Coordinator
Ava Yap, Operations Assistant
Kennedy Center Staff
KENNEDY CENTER EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
The National Symphony Orchestra also warmly acknowledges the work of the following Kennedy Center partners and their teams:
President, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Chief Financial Officer
General Counsel
Vice President of Human
Ambassador Richard Grenell
Donna Arduin
Senior Vice President, Marketing����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Kimberly J. Cooper
Senior Vice President, Development
Vice President, Public Relations
Vice President, Special Events
Vice President, Facilities
Director, Office of the President
Vice President, Education
General Director, Washington National
Chief Information Officer
Concert Hall Staff
Bob Sellappan
Theater Manager Allen V. McCallum Jr.
Box Office Treasurer Deborah Glover
Head Usher
Stage Crew
*Represented by ATPAM, the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers.
The technicians at the Kennedy Center are represented by Local #22, Local #772, and Local #798 I.A.T.S.E. AFL-CIO-CLC, the professional union of theatrical technicians.
Cathy Crocker
Zach Boutilier, Michael Buchman, Paul Johannes, April King, John Ottaviano, and Arielle Qorb
Steinway Piano Gallery is the exclusive area representative of Steinway & Sons and Boston pianos, the official pianos of the Kennedy Center.
The American Guild of Musical Artists, the union of professional singers, dancers and production personnel in opera, ballet and concert, affiliated with the AFL-CIO, represents the Artists and Staging Staff for the purposes of collective bargaining.
The box office at the Kennedy Center is represented by I.A.T.S.E, Local #868.
National Symphony Orchestra musicians are represented by the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Federation of Musicians, AFM Local 161-710.
Orchestrated Lives
Each month, the National Symphony Orchestra spotlights a different member of the Orchestra. For this program, Principal Horn Abel Pereira talks about offstage memories, the particular love affair between the cello and the horn, and the open sea.
Name: Abel Pereira
Hometown: Porto, Portugal
Instrument: Horn
Years with the NSO: 11
How did you find your way into the world of professional musicianship? When I was 14, before I went to art school, I thought I was going to become a fisherman just like my dad. Then I met this horn teacher, and he said, “You have two options. One is you spend the week fishing—going to the ocean and taking risks and being on a boat. Then you can come on weekends and play some music with the community band. Or you practice, practice, practice, and one day you will spend the whole week playing music. Then on weekends you can go on a boat and enjoy yourself.” I thought, “Well, I guess [the second’s] a better option for me,” and that's basically what I've been doing.
Have you been able to get out to the water much during your tenure? I have a boat that I like to take out. I spend the weekend days enjoying the water, because I miss that part of my life. There’s a good complement between music and the ocean. We don't have the ocean, unfortunately, but we have the bay. We have the river. It’s fine.
What attracted you to the horn? The sound of the horn can be powerful, but it can also be very mellow. It can be soft and kind, but it can also be harsh and aggressive. Some people say that the cello is the closest instrument to the human voice, but I would say it’s the horn as well as the cello. In a lot of the symphonic repertoire, the horn passages are together with the celli and violas. I think it's because the composers realized that the sound of the horn can match very, very well with the cello. It can also match very well with the woodwinds, but, curiously, it's a brass instrument. We are kind of amphibious.
What is one favorite memory from your time with the NSO? I have many great memories, right from the start during my trial year. In April of that first season, I was offered the job, which is unusual because usually it takes at least one entire season. I remember that was the week of Mahler [Symphony No.] 5, which is a big, big piece for the horn. I have a great memory of being on stage and being told by the orchestra manager that I got the job. I got very excited.
And offstage? You know, whenever we go on tour, we play in different halls every night, and it's always very, very exciting to bring our music to other cultures and let them know what we're doing here. Offstage, too. During the tours, we have more opportunities to hang out with other colleagues and friends—go out for dinner, have a drink, or just walk around visiting. Those memories will stay forever.
Support your ORCHESTRA
The mission of the National Symphony Orchestra, an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is to engage audiences locally, across the country, and around the world through excellence in performance and education. Each year, the NSO offers approximately 150 concerts as well as some of the country’s most extensive community and educational programming. It regularly participates in events of national and international importance, including performances for state occasions, high-level government events, and regularly televised holiday appearances for Capitol Concerts and local radio broadcasts on WETA, making the NSO one of the most-heard orchestras in the country.
Give your support in this 95th season by becoming a Member, joining the NSO Circles, or pledging a Legacy Gift. Visit tkc.co/SupportNSO or scan the QR code.
Thank You to Kennedy Center Supporters
The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees
National Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors
Washington National Opera Board of Trustees
The Kennedy Center President’s Council
The Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts
President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts
National Committee for the Performing Arts
National Symphony Orchestra National Trustees
The Kennedy Center Circles Board
The Kennedy Center Community Advisory Board
The Kennedy Center Corporate Fund Board
The Kennedy Center 50th Anniversary Committee
Corporate Donors
Individual and Foundation Donors
Endowment Gifts, Bequests, and Legacy Donors
Building the Future Campaign Donors
Visit tkc.co/Support for a full listing of donors and to learn how you can join us by becoming a Member.
Andrew Geraci
Concerts this Fall!
NSO Presents: Matthias Goerne & Daniil Trifonov
Two titans of classical music join forces for an intimate performance of Schubert’s song cycle
Winterreise: renowned baritone Matthias Goerne and Grammy Award–winning pianist Daniil Trifonov. Please note: the NSO does not perform on this program.
October 21, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Don Juan & Romeo and Juliet
| Grimaud plays Gershwin
Awaken your heart with Strauss’ Don Juan, a man’s restless pursuit of passion; and Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, a tale of love at its purest. Led by Jader Bignamini, the concert also features Gershwin’s jazz-infused Piano Concerto in F with Hélène Grimaud.
October 30–November 1, 2025
Steven’s Classical Mixtape
NSO Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor
Steven Reineke brings the playlist of his dreams to life! Steven’s Classical Mixtape is packed with unforgettable melodies—from Boléro to Clair de Lune, Nimrod, and Pines of Rome, plus a few surprises along the way.
November 7 & 8, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Marie Staggat
2025–2026 CLASSICAL SEASON PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
Eschenbach returns:
An Evening of Beethoven
Thu., Oct. 16, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 18, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 19, 2025 at 3 p.m.
NSO Presents*
Matthias Goerne & Daniil Trifonov
Tue., Oct. 21, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Don Juan & Romeo and Juliet Grimaud plays Gershwin
Thu., Oct. 30, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 31, 2025 at 11:30 a.m.
Sat., Nov. 1, 2025 at 8 p.m.
NSO Presents*
Alexandre Kantorow
Sat., Nov. 1, 2025 at 3 p.m.
Saint-Saëns’ “Organ Symphony” Ohlsson plays Beethoven
Thu., Nov. 13, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 14, 2025 at 11:30 a.m.
Sat., Nov. 15, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Ferrández plays Lutosławski
Thu., Nov. 20, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 22, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 23, 2025 at 3 p.m.
Handel’s Messiah
Thu., Dec. 18, 2025 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 19, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 20, 2025 at 8 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 21, 2025 at 1 p.m.
The Rite of Spring Trifonov plays Brahms
Thu., Jan. 15, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 16, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 17, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Songs of Destiny & Fate
Thu., Jan. 22, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 23, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 24, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Le Poème Divin
Brahms’ Double Concerto
Thu., Jan. 29, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 30, 2026 at 11:30 a.m.
Sat., Jan. 31, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Shostakovich’s Eighth
Abduraimov plays Tchaikovsky
Thu., Feb. 5, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 6, 2026 at 11:30 a.m.
Sat., Feb. 7, 2026 at 8 p.m.
American Mosaic
Thu., Feb. 19, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 21, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 22, 2026 at 3 p.m.
Shaham & Shaham play Reena Esmail
Robertson conducts Sibelius’ Fifth
Thu., Feb. 26, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 27, 2026 at 11:30 a.m.
Sat., Feb. 28, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Hahn & Woods play
Carlos Simon
Brahms’ Third
Thu., Mar. 12, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 13, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 14, 2026 at 8 p.m.
*Please note: The National Symphony Orchestra does not perform in these concerts.
NSO Presents*
Alexandra Dovgan
Sat., Mar. 14, 2026 at 3 p.m.
Death and Transfiguration
Khachatryan plays Sibelius
Thu., Apr. 2, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Apr. 3, 2026 at 11:30 a.m.
Sat., Apr. 4, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Bruckner’s Seventh Gerlach plays Haydn
Fri., Apr. 10, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sat., Apr. 11, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Mozart’s “Jupiter” & Bach’s Brandenburg No. 1
Wed., Apr. 15, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Thu., Apr. 16, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Fri., Apr. 17, 2026 at 8 p.m.
NSO Presents*
Khatia Buniatishvili
Fri., Apr. 24, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Opera in Concert
Puccini’s Il trittico
Wed., Apr. 29, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Fri., May 1, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Renée Fleming’s Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene
Fri., May 29, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sat., May 30, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Cann plays Coleman
Fri., June 5, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sat., June 6, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Philip Glass’ “Lincoln”
Dalene plays Barber
Fri., June 12, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Sat., June 13, 2026 at 8 p.m.
Concerts for Young Audiences
Super
Cello!
The city is safe with the help of a unique cellist: professional musician by day, superhero by night. The day begins as usual—from waking up in the morning, to traveling to rehearsal, to getting ready for a concert…but things take a turn when robots and aliens try to take over the music hall. It’s up to Super Cello to use the soothing power of music to save the day! Most enjoyed by ages 5+
Collaboration with Teller Productions of Atlanta, GA
October 18 & 19, Family Theater
Halloween Spooktacular
Trick or treat over to the Concert Hall for some scary good tunes! The Concert Hall transforms into a ghostly sight when ghoulishly attired National Symphony Orchestra musicians perform spooky fun classics—new and old. Join in the fun of this Halloween celebration concert, conducted by Evan Roider. Most enjoyed by ages 5+
October 26, Concert Hall
Musical Tails
A National Symphony Orchestra piano quintet takes you on a journey through the timeless tales of the Mother Goose Suite by Maurice Ravel and the magical world of tails from Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals. The young and young-at-heart are invited to listen and experience these playful stories narrated in English and Spanish and performed through chamber music. Most enjoyed by ages 5+
January 24 & 25, Family Theater
A look back at our history
1939
NSO Music Director Hans Kindler leads the Orchestra in a summer outdoor concert on a floating barge anchored at the foot of the stone steps below the Lincoln Memorial.
Harris & Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
A look back at our history
1958
Music Director Howard Mitchell conducts the NSO at Constitution Hall. Photographer unknown, Courtesy of the Kennedy Center Archives
1970s A look back at our history
NSO Music Director Antal Doráti conducts the NSO.
Photo by Richard Braaten, Courtesy of the Kennedy Center Archives
A look back at our history
1987
NSO Music Director Mstislav Rostropovich conducts the NSO with guest soloist soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, his wife.
Photo by Joan Marcus, Courtesy of the Kennedy Center Archives
A look back at our history
1996
Music man Bobby McFerrin wowed Washingtonians when he conducted the National Symphony Orchestra concerts for families and school children.
Photo by Carol Pratt, Courtesy of the Kennedy Center Archives
2000 A look back at our history
Pianists John Browning, Sara Davis Buechner, Brian Ganz, Joseph Kalichstein, Lambert Orkis, and Jeffrey Siegel play Franz Liszt’s Hexameron with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Music Director Leonard Slatkin for the Piano 2000 festival.
Photo by Carol Pratt, Courtesy of the Kennedy Center Archives
2015 A look back at our history
Kendrick Lamar and the NSO led by Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke delivered a one-night-only performance featuring some of Lamar’s biggest hits and the first-ever live performances of music from his lyrical masterpiece “To Pimp a Butterfly.”
Photo by Elman Studio, Courtesy of the Kennedy Center Archives
2022 A look back at our history
As the concluding event of Kennedy Center’s 50th Anniversary celebration, Leonard Bernstein’s MASS returned 51 years after its world premiere at the Center in a dynamic staging featuring the NSO, guest conductor James Gaffigan, and baritone Will Liverman in the role of Celebrant.
Photo by Scott Suchman, Courtesy of the Kennedy Center Archives
Take home... a musical memory.
Mozart Magic Flute Earrings
These exquisite earrings bring Mozart’s masterpiece to life with fluteinspired details that create a visual symphony. $42
NSO Cap and T-shirt
Our new National Symphony Orchestra cap and tee let you show your pride in our world-class symphony. $30 each
Make Your Own Music Mug
No better way to start your day than with a coffee mug imprinted with blank sheet music and sticker notes so you can compose your own melody. $20
Visit our two gift shops on Level A and in the Hall of States. Shop online 24/7 at tkc.co/shop
