The Kennedy Center, NSO, Graf/Capuçon, October 2025
Schubert’s “Unfinished” Capuçon plays Berg
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OCTOBER 9–11, 2025 | CONCERT HALL
Hans Graf, conductor
Renaud Capuçon, violin
JOHANN STRAUSS II Rosen aus dem Süden - Waltzes (Roses from the South)
ALBAN BERG Violin Concerto
INTERMISSION
FRANZ SCHUBERT Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D 759, "Unfinished"
JOHANN STRAUSS II Kaiser-Walzer (Emperor Waltz)
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. Hans Graf will guide us through Schubert’s poignant Unfinished Symphony, a masterpiece of introspection, paired with Alban Berg’s emotionally profound Violin Concerto, performed by the great Renaud Capuçon. Then, 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.
Meet the Artists
Hans Graf, conductor
Known for his wide range of repertoire and creative programming, the distinguished Austrian conductor Hans Graf is one of today’s most highly respected and experienced musicians. With Hans Graf, “a brave new world of musicmaking under inspired direction” (The Straits Times) began at the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, where he was unanimously appointed Chief Conductor from the 2020–2021 season, and then Music Director from the 2022–2023 season.
Maestro Graf also currently holds the title of Principal Guest Conductor of the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra of Denmark and formerly served as Music Director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, L’Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, the Basque National Orchestra Euskadi, and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. He has appeared with nearly all major orchestras of the United States including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In Canada, Graf has appeared with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa.
In Europe, he has conducted Austria’s Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, and Tonkünstler Orchestra; Germany’s Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Dresden Philharmonic, Konzerthaus
Rochester Berlin, and many others; the Netherlands’ Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, and Residentie Orchestra; Belgium’s Orchestre National de Belgique and Antwerp Symphony Orchestra; Scandinavia’s Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and many others; the United Kingdom’s London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others; Russia’s Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Russian National Orchestra; Eastern Europe’s Budapest Festival Orchestra; and still so many others. In the Far East and Southern Hemispheres, Graf is a regular guest with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Auckland Philharmonia, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the KBS Symphony Orchestra Seoul, the Hong Kong and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestras, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.
A frequent conductor at the Salzburg Festival since 1983, Graf has also participated in the prestigious festivals Maggio Musicale, Bregenz, and Aix-enProvence in Europe and Tanglewood, Blossom, Aspen, Grant Park, and Bravo! Vail in the United States.
In the world of opera, Maestro Graf has led many performances at the Vienna State Opera and at various opera houses in Munich, Berlin, Paris, and Rome, among others. More recent productions include Richard Wagner’s Parsifal in Zurich and Modest Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov in Strasbourg. In 2014, he was awarded the Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis for Richard Strauss’s Feuersnot at the famed Vienna Volksoper, where he returned in 2021 to lead Richard Strauss’ beloved Der Rosenkavalier.
Hans Graf’s extensive discography is found on the EMI, Orfeo, CBC, Erato, Capriccio, and JVC labels and includes all the symphonies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert, the complete orchestral works of Henri Dutilleux (recorded under the composer’s
supervision), and the world-premiere recording of Alexander von Zemlinsky’s Es war einmal. Graf’s semi-staged production of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck with the Houston Symphony won both the Grammy® and ECHO Klassik awards for Best Opera Recording.
Born near Linz in 1949, Graf studied conducting with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache, and Arvīd Jansons. He is Professor Emeritus for Orchestral Conducting at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. For his services to music, he was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’honneur by the French government and the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold from the Republic of Austria.
Renaud Capuçon, violinist
French violinist and conductor
Renaud Capuçon is firmly established internationally as a major soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. He is known and loved for his poise, depth of tone, and virtuosity, and he works with the world’s most prestigious orchestras, artists, venues, and festivals.
Born in Chambéry in 1976, Renaud Capuçon began his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris at the age of 14, winning numerous awards during his five years there. Following this, Capuçon moved to Berlin to study with Thomas Brandis and Isaac Stern and was awarded the Prize of the Berlin Academy of Arts. In 1997, Claudio Abbado invited him to become concertmaster of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, which he led for three summers, working with conductors including Boulez, Ozawa, Welser-Möst, and Claudio Abbado.
Since then, Capuçon has established himself as a soloist at the very highest level. He performs with leading orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National
de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Münchner Philharmoniker, and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. His many conductor relationships include Barenboim, Bychkov, Denève, Dohnányi, Dudamel, Eschenbach, Haitink, Harding, Paavo Järvi, Mäkelä, Nelsons, Nézet-Séguin, Roth, Shani, Sokhiev, Ticciati, Long Yu, and van Zweden. Highlights in the 2025–2026 season include two appearances at Carnegie Hall, a European tour with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer, and returns to the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Berlin, and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
A great commitment to chamber music has led him to collaborations with Argerich, Angelich, Barenboim, Bashmet, Bronfman, Buniatishvili, Grimaud, Levit, Pires, Soltani, Trifonov, Yo-Yo Ma, and Yuja Wang, and has taken him, among others, to the Berlin, Lucerne, Verbier, Aix-en-Provence, Roque-d’Anthéron, San Sebastián, Stresa, Salzburg, Edinburgh International, and Tanglewood festivals. Capuçon has represented France at some of the world’s most prestigious international events; he has performed with Yo-Yo Ma under the Arc de Triomphe for the official commemoration of Armistice Day in the presence of more than 80 heads of state and played for world leaders at the G7 Summit in Biarritz. More recently, Capuçon performed at the reopening ceremony of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris with his brother, cellist Gautier Capuçon, which was attended by more than 1,500 international dignitaries. Since 2021, Capuçon has been the Artistic Director of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, where he usually appears as conductor and play-director. He is regularly invited to conduct leading orchestras, including the Wiener Symphoniker, Karajan-Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker, GürzenichOrchester Köln, and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, to name only a few. Guest engagements as a conductor in the 2025-2026 season include a tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, returns to the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre National de Mulhouse, and debut guesting weeks with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s as part of their Bach Festival
2026 at Carnegie Hall.
Capuçon is the Artistic Director of three festivals: the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad since 2016, the Easter Festival in Aix-enProvence, which he founded in 2013, and, most recently, the Rencontres Musicales Festival in Evian from 2023.
Capuçon has built an extensive discography. In September 2022, Capuçon announced the launch of his creative partnership with Deutsche Grammophon, and two months later released his first album with the yellow label—a collection of violin sonatas performed with Martha Argerich. More recent releases include a multi-CD album of Mozart’s 16 violin sonatas with pianist Kit Armstrong, a recording of the complete Mozart violin concerti with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and a collection of works by Gabriel Fauré to mark the centenary of the composer’s death. Capuçon’s latest album, released in 2025, presents a compendium of works by Richard Strauss, in which numerous solo and chamber works are bookended by a new studio recording of the composer’s Violin Concerto, performed with the Wiener Symphoniker under Petr Popelka, and a reading of Ein Heldenleben from 2000, performed by the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, led by Capuçon and conducted by the late Seiji Ozawa.
Since 2014, Capuçon has taught at the Haute École de Musique in Lausanne. In June 2011, he was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite and in March 2016 Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur by the French government. In March 2020, he published his first book, titled Mouvement perpétuel.
Capuçon plays the Guarneri del Gesù “Panette” (1737), which belonged to Isaac Stern.
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.
Notes on the Program
Rosen aus dem Süden (Roses from the South)
JOHANN STRAUSS II
Born October 25, 1825, in Vienna, Austria
Died June 3, 1899, in Vienna, Austria
In Vienna’s famous City Park stands a gilded statue of Johann Strauss II merrily playing his violin. Long one of the most photographed sites in this city of music, the memorial has been attracting even more attention this year, as the world celebrates the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth, which officially takes place later this month (October 25).
True to tradition, this milestone year began with the strains of the “Waltz King,” as the Vienna Philharmonic ushered in 2025 with its internationally broadcast New Year’s Concert—a tradition dating back to 1939 that showcases music by Strauss and his circle.
Yet wherever they are heard, Strauss’s unforgettable melodies seem to conjure Vienna itself: the elegance of its ballrooms and the swirl of dancers in three-quarter time. Some of his waltzes evoke the natural world, like the birdsong and rustic sounds woven into Tales from the Vienna Woods. Other works capture the city’s vibrant social life, as in Tritsch-Tratsch (chit-chat), a witty musical portrait of gossip and lively conversation. And with the majestic strains of The Blue Danube, Strauss created not only his most famous waltz but also an enduring musical emblem of Vienna around the world. Even at the Congress of Vienna in 1814–15, where Europe’s leaders gathered to shape a new balance of power in the wake of Napoleon’s abdication, dancing became part of diplomacy—so much so that one observer quipped: “The Congress does not move forward, it dances.”
What had begun decades earlier as rustic couples’ dances in the Austrian and southern German countryside had, by this time, swept into the city’s ballrooms. During these glittering nights of diplomacy and revelry, the waltz was rapidly gaining favor, though its close embrace still carried a hint of scandal. A decade later, Johann Strauss I (1804–49) would seize on this new vogue, transforming the waltz from a popular pastime into a sophisticated art form for the concert hall. But it was Strauss’s eldest son who secured a truly international reputation for the waltz. Johann Strauss II (1825–99) eclipsed not only his father but also his two composer brothers, Josef and Eduard, through a prolific outpouring of more than 500 compositions—among them some 150 waltzes and a wealth of polkas and other ballroom dances; he also wrote marches and character pieces.
In addition to these instrumental works, Strauss became a celebrated figure of the operetta stage. His sparkling works in this genre—blending spoken dialogue with song and dance, and offering both wit and romance—provided a platform for many of his most beloved waltzes. The most famous example is Strauss’s Die Fledermaus (The Bat), his bubbly 1874 comedy of mistaken identities at a masked ball.
Rosen aus dem Süden (Roses from the South) likewise draws its melodies from his 1880 operetta Das Spitzentuch der Königin (The Queen’s Lace Handkerchief). Set in the Portuguese court of the 1500s— with the young Cervantes imagined as part of the cast—it weaves romance and political scheming into a fanciful tale whose implicit satire of royal power held pointed contemporary resonance for Strauss’s Viennese audiences.
More than a single waltz, Rosen aus dem Süden is a waltz medley drawn from some of the operetta’s most graceful melodies. It begins with a poetically reflective introduction and unfolds into a seamless succession of contrasting waltz sections, each with its own melody and mood, before culminating in a brilliant finale.
Strauss’s younger composer brother Eduard introduced the piece, conducting the Strauss Orchestra, which they had inherited from their father and which Johann had expanded. Originally formed to provide dance music at Viennese balls, under Johann’s leadership, the ensemble evolved into a polished concert orchestra capable of presenting works like this as music to be listened to as much as danced to.
Violin Concerto ALBAN BERG
Born February 9, 1885, in Vienna, Austria
Died December 24, 1935, in Vienna, Austria
Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto is often described as a bridge between two worlds: the vanished fin-desiècle Vienna of Strauss waltzes and Gustav Mahler’s early symphonies, and the radical modernism of the Second Viennese School. Its unique blend of innovation and heartfelt lyricism shows why Berg remains the most accessible of Schoenberg’s disciples. Even listeners who assume that atonal music—that is, music without a fixed key center—must sound “ugly” or distorted often find themselves deeply moved by Berg.
A highly sensitive artist, Berg wrote music that combines the passion and emotional intensity of Romanticism with the modernist techniques pioneered by his teacher Arnold Schoenberg. Among Berg’s works, the Violin Concerto stands out for its lyrical beauty and its intricate web of personal meanings. It is the most frequently performed of all his compositions and remains one of the 20th century’s most powerful concertos.
Berg wrote the Violin Concerto in 1935, the final year of his life. By then, the rise of the Nazis had made performance of atonal music impossible throughout Germany, where it was condemned as “degenerate art.” Berg, who lived in Vienna, was confronted by a dire financial situation. When the Russian-American violinist Louis Krasner approached him with a commission for a new concerto, Berg set aside work on his opera Lulu to accept the project, knowing it would provide urgently needed income. The premiere took place posthumously in Barcelona in April 1936.
As Berg began composing, the Concerto acquired an unexpectedly personal dimension. In April 1935, Manon Gropius—the 18-year-old daughter of Mahler’s widow Alma and the architect Walter Gropius—died suddenly of polio. Berg had been a close friend of Alma and a devoted admirer of Mahler’s music. He had watched Manon grow from childhood into a promising young actress, and her untimely death left him deeply shaken. Berg decided to write the Concerto as a tribute to her, poignantly inscribing the score “to the memory of an angel.”
The Concerto thus became a kind of musical requiem for Manon—and, in retrospect, for Berg himself. Just months after completing the work, Berg died unexpectedly of blood poisoning on Christmas Eve, before he could hear the premiere. The Concerto’s preoccupation with mortality and spiritual transcendence has since been interpreted as an unintended farewell from the composer to the world.
By the time he wrote the Concerto, Berg had moved beyond the freely atonal style of his earlier opera Wozzeck to embrace the 12-tone system developed by Schoenberg and his circle in the 1920s. In this method, all of the melodic and harmonic material is derived from a fixed series of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale.
The twelve-tone series Berg chose for the Violin Concerto is striking for the way it evokes echoes of traditional harmony. This becomes clear right after the brief, searching introduction. Berg’s opening theme embeds a G minor chord as well as elements of the whole-tone scale associated with musical Impressionism. This subtle dialogue between an unsettlingly modern language and remnants of tradition shapes the entire work.
The Concerto’s two movements are each divided into two sections, creating a four-part structure. The first begins with a lyrical Andante, with the solo violin singing across its full range like a human voice. This leads into a scherzo-like Allegretto, full of dancing rhythms that recall the waltzes of Berg’s native Vienna. Near the close of this section, Berg introduces a tender folk song from Carinthia, the alpine region of southern Austria, where he spent summers as a child. Played gently by the trumpets, its nostalgic simplicity takes on a bittersweet quality amid the surrounding dissonance.
The second movement begins with a fiery Allegro. Its restless rhythms drive the music toward a dramatic climax. Suddenly, the turbulence dissolves as Berg ushers in one of the most transcendent moments in early 20th-century music by alluding to a chorale by Johann Sebastian Bach, O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (O Eternity, Thou Word of Thunder). The clarinets intone Bach’s melody while the violin floats above with serene, hymn-like lines. In his score, Berg even wrote out the chorale’s text, which speaks of a “heavenly home” beyond earthly suffering.
As the Adagio unfolds, earlier ideas return in fleetingly recalled glimpses. The folk song reappears briefly—now, though, as a distant echo. The solo violin climbs ever higher, reaching a luminous peak before descending into stillness. In the final moments, the orchestra recalls the Concerto’s opening idea, bringing the journey full circle.
Symphony No. 8, “Unfinished”
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Born January 31, 1797, in Vienna, Austria
Died November 19, 1828, in Vienna, Austria
Vienna is the thread binding the three composers on this program: like Johann Strauss II and Alban Berg, Schubert was Viennese by birth, and together they chart a century of Viennese style. In the Vienna where Beethoven was remaking the symphony, the younger Schubert (born a generation after Beethoven) expanded his own sense of what the form could hold.
Yet one of Schubert’s most famous works is a symphony left incomplete. A mystique surrounds the Symphony No. 8 in B minor (1822), known to posterity as the “Unfinished,” especially since its tragically short-lived composer had another six years of intense creativity ahead of him. Just why Schubert set the work aside after completing only two movements remains one of music history’s great enigmas. Unlike Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem—which actually was halted by the composer’s untimely death—Schubert’s symphony seems to have been laid aside for reasons we can only conjecture.
Was there a creative impasse? One theory holds that Schubert, keenly aware of the bar Beethoven had set—though the Ninth was still to come—struggled to imagine a finale that could balance the breadth and gravity of the opening movement. Another points to the severe illness he contracted late in 1822—very likely syphilis—whose shock may have made returning to the piece emotionally fraught. We cannot know. The mystery is part of the work’s spell.
Schubert’s choice of B minor was unusual for symphonies of the time. This key sat off the beaten path for symphonies. For string players, the most resonant symphonic keys (G, D, or A) align with open strings; B minor lies less naturally under the hand, yielding a darker, more veiled sonority. Add to that the fact that minor-key symphonies were rarer overall, and the choice of B minor already colors the “Unfinished” with an uncommon shade from the start.
The first movement begins almost imperceptibly in the low strings, a murmur that seems to rise out of silence. Listen for how Schubert heightens unease by letting the accompaniment arrive before the melody: restless violins and discreet pizzicatos prepare the way for the oboes and clarinets to sing the plaintive main theme. A sustained linking note in the bassoons and horns ushers in the next idea, again prefaced by accompaniment before the cellos quietly sing their indelible melody. The music swells to climaxes of startling intensity when Schubert begins to develop these ideas, but the grim pathos of the opening returns to cast a shadow at the end of the movement.
The only other extant movement, Andante con moto (in a consoling E major), enters another world: poised on the surface, mercurial underneath. A gently descending figure supports a prayerful melody. Soon, the clarinet enters with a glowing line. At the symphony’s posthumous premiere in 1865, the influential critic Eduard Hanslick praised the “life-giving sunshine” of Schubert’s music, describing the whole movement as “a melodic stream” of such clarity that “you can see every pebble on the bottom.”
Still, that apparent clarity is ruffled by passionate undercurrents. And though the movement ends serenely in E major, it leaves a telling open-endedness: it does not return to the symphony’s home key of B (whether in minor or major)—the kind of tonal “coming home” a listener of Schubert’s time would have expected. With no finale to follow, the “Unfinished” closes on a cadence that feels like a promise left beautifully hanging.
Sketches for a third-movement Scherzo exist, and some scholars argue that Schubert recycled music intended originally as the fourth movement into his incidental score for Helmina von Chézy’s play Rosamunde in 1823. The afterlife of the “Unfinished” is a story in itself. In 1823, after receiving an honorary diploma from the Graz Music Society, Schubert sent his friend and fellow composer Anselm Hüttenbrenner the autograph of the two completed movements plus the Scherzo sketches. Yet Hüttenbrenner kept the manuscript for more than four decades, unseen. When the Viennese conductor Johann von Herbeck visited him in Graz in 1865, he persuaded the composer’s old friend to part with it—reportedly sweetening the deal by promising to perform one of Hüttenbrenner’s own overtures. On December 17, 1865, Herbeck led the belated world premiere in Vienna, presenting the two movements and tacking on the finale of Schubert’s Third Symphony to round it off.
Schubert would return to the symphonic genre in 1825, contributing one of the 19th century’s monuments with his epic “Great” Symphony in C major. Yet by themselves—despite several attempts to “finish” the “Unfinished”—the two movements of the B minor Symphony feel complete in their incompleteness.
Kaiser-Walzer (Emperor Waltz)
JOHANN STRAUSS II
Born October 25, 1825, in Vienna, Austria
Died June 3, 1899, in Vienna, Austria
Johann Strauss II composed the Kaiser-Walzer (Emperor Waltz) in the lead-up to the 40th anniversary of Franz Joseph I’s reign as Emperor of Austria-Hungary in 1888. That same year saw the rise of a new ruler, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who had just ascended the throne of the young German Empire, forged in 1871 under Otto von Bismarck’s leadership. Franz Joseph’s state visit to Berlin followed in August 1889. The Kaiser-Walzer received its premiere there in October, under Strauss’s baton. By having his work published with an intentionally ambiguous title (his original impulse had been to call it “Hand in Hand”), Strauss tactfully allowed both monarchs to imagine the waltz as dedicated to them.
The opening sets a stately mood with a quiet, march-like introduction before giving way to the irresistible triple-meter grace of the waltz. As in many of Strauss’s great concert waltzes, this prelude launches into a chain of varied waltz episodes, each with a distinct atmosphere. The KaiserWalzer culminates in a pensive recollection of the opening waltz theme led by the solo cello before Strauss crowns the piece with a burst of celebration.
Another son of Vienna, Arnold Schoenberg, harbored an abiding affection for the city’s waltz tradition and made celebrated chamber arrangements of both Rosen aus dem Süden and the KaiserWalzer. By distilling Strauss’s opulent original into the clarity of a small ensemble, he offered a fresh perspective on a symbol of old-world Vienna.
In 1921, Schoenberg even organized a special concert devoted entirely to the music of Johann Strauss II for his Society for Private Musical Performances, which he had founded after the First World War as a safe haven for modern music. At a time when public concerts often provoked scandal and noisy protests, Schoenberg envisioned an “abuse-free zone” where contemporary works could be heard and understood without the distraction of hostile critics or hecklers—who were explicitly barred from attending.
For the Strauss program, Schoenberg invited his former students Alban Berg and Anton Webern to contribute arrangements of their own. Having heard Berg’s Violin Concerto earlier on this program, we can glimpse the same paradox that must have fascinated observers of Schoenberg: how the radical modernists of early 20th-century Vienna remained deeply entwined with the waltz tradition that had shaped their musical world.
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
Eschenbach returns: An Evening of Beethoven
The former NSO Music Director returns with an all-Beethoven program brimming with lyricism and energy. Acclaimed violinist Isabelle Faust makes her much-anticipated NSO debut in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto.
October 16, 2025 at 7 p.m.
October 18, 2025 at 8 p.m.
October 19, 2025 at 3 p.m.
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.
Take a larger-than-life cinematic journey covering 23 films in one momentous performance. Relive the most iconic moments and music from MCU’s defining canon of films at this custom-curated live-to-film experience!
Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts. All rights reserved.
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
