Sopranos Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman, pianists Maurizio Pollini and Daniel Barenboim, violinists Itzhak Perlman and Kyung Wha Chung, and the National Symphony Orchestra under Mstislav Rostropovich are among the artists appearing on the 1991-92 Allied Arts series at Orchestra Hall.
Merrill Lynch will continue to support the Allied Arts Great Performers Series, underwriting 10 of the 20 series concerts, beginning with a recital by flutist James Galway on Oct. 6.
The National Symphony will lead the parade of visiting orchestras Oct. 9 with a concert featuring the young Wilmette cellist Wendy Warner, winner of the 1990 Rostropovich Competition; the program under Rostropovich`s baton will include the Shostakovich Symphony No. 8.
Other ensembles appearing under the Great Performers banner next year will be the Guildhall String Ensemble, with Michala Petri, recorder, Oct. 13; Warsaw Philharmonic, Kazimierz Kord conducting, Oct. 14; Bamberg Symphony, Christoph Eschenbach conducting, Oct. 20, and the Brandenburg Ensemble, conducted by Alexander Schneider, with Richard Stoltzman, clarinet, Nov. 3.
Also performing will be the Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood conducting, Nov. 8; Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons conducting, Nov. 15; Prague Symphony Orchestra, Petr Altrichter conducting, Nov. 17;
Waverly Consort, Dec. 1; St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Hugh Wolff (Feb. 23, 1992) and John Adams (March 22) conducting; and Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz conducting, Feb. 24.
Barenboim and Perlman, concluding the cycle of Mozart piano and violin sonatas begun this season, will appear in two recitals on Oct. 7 and 16 honoring the bicentennial of Mozart`s death.
Battle and Norman are to provide the season`s vocal gold, Battle in a song recital on Dec. 13, Norman in a concert on March 20, 1992. Pollini will return to the series March 15, as will guitarist John Williams on Oct. 27 and Chung (collaborating with pianist Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich) on May 1.
The piano series, long the cornerstone of Allied Arts` programming, again will comprise two series of six recitals each. Alicia de Larrocha will head the keyboard lineup on Nov. 17, to be followed by Cristina Ortiz, Nov. 24;
Barenboim, playing an all-Mozart recital, Dec. 1; and Anton Kuerti, Dec. 15.
The series continues with Andras Schiff, Feb. 9, 1992; Andrea Lucchesini, March 1; Andre Watts, April 5; Richard Fields, April 12; Richard Goode, April 26; Krystian Zimerman, May 3; Ian Hobson, May 17, and Robert Levin, May 31.
Details of the 1991-92 Allied Arts Pops Series will be announced this summer. For more information or a series brochure, phone 312-435-8122.
– Amadeus on disc: Once again, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra broadcast archives have made possible a fascinating compilation of recordings.
”Mozart,” a two-compact disc set containing never-before-released live CSO performances of works by Wolfgang Amadeus, has just been issued to coincide with the WFMT/CSO Radiothon 16 fundraiser. Chronologically, the eight works span 1957 (Finale from Horn Concerto No. 3, with Philip Farkas as soloist, Rafel Kubelik conducting) to 1985 (Serenade in B-Flat for Winds, Erich Leinsdorf conducting).
The choicest items here are a superb ”Magic Flute” Overture taken from a WGN telecast conducted by Hans Rosbaud in 1962, one month before his death, and an exhilarating Symphony No. 31 (”Paris”) directed by Fritz Reiner in 1961. Georg Solti is represented by a 1978 account of the ”Jupiter”
Symphony, which he hasn`t recorded commercially with the orchestra. The set costs $50 and is available by mail from the CSO Women`s Association, 224 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60604. Checks should be made payable to the Women`s Association.
The 1991 radiothon, incidentally, set a record for any CSO fundraiser:
The 42-hour broadcast last weekend hit a total $670,000 in pledges.
Ad lib: Taped performances of Music of the Baroque will return to the WFMT-FM 98.7 airwaves this month and next, beginning at 8 p.m. Monday with Mozart`s Mass in C Minor, Thomas Wikman conducting. Beginning May 12, the series will run at 4 p.m. on consecutive Sundays.
The Juilliard String Quartet has won the third annual Paul Fromm Award for special service to contemporary music. The award is named for the late Chicago wine merchant and philanthropist.
Jeffrey Tate has resigned as principal conductor of the Royal Opera for a similar post at the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. No successor has been announced. Tate, 47, will continue as principal guest conductor after he leaves the company in July.
Hans Werner Henze`s ”Das Verratene Meer” (”The Ocean Betrayed”) will have its American premiere Nov. 8 by the San Francisco Opera. The lyric tragedy, starring Ashley Putnam, is based on Yukio Mishima`s novel ”The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea.”
Other works to be heard during the company`s fall season include Verdi`s
”La Traviata,” Prokofiev`s ”War and Peace,” Bellini`s ”I Capuleti e i Montecchi,” Verdi`s ”Attila,” and Wagner`s ”Tristan und Isolde.”
