Symphony Orchestra of India, Autumn 2018 Season: Alexander Lazarev brings a global experience to NCPA

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Mumbai is all set for the Autumn season of the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), India’s first and only professional orchestra.

Spanning over six concerts between 4 to 16 September, the current season will feature Russian conductors and former chief conductor and artist director of Bolshoi Theatre, Alexander Lazarev, who will be conducting in India for the first time.

It will also present soloists Nurit Stark (violin), Katherine Bicknell (flute), Daniela Iolkicheva (harp); Sevak Avanesyan (cello); Alexei Volodin (piano), along with music director of SOI, Marat Bisengaliev, and associate music director of SOI, Zane Dalal.

“With every season of NCPA’s SOI, we strive to present some of the world’s greatest performances by esteemed artistes from around the world. This season, SOI will present four concerts and two recitals over two weeks featuring some internationally renowned artists. One of the highlights of this season will be Lazarev, who will be conducting in India and the SOI for the very first time. I’m sure the audience will relish and appreciate this musical experience,” Khushroo N Suntook, NCPA chairman and founder of the Symphony Orchestra of India, said in a statement.

The first day of the season will open with a performance featuring Israeli violinist Stark. Led by Lazarev, the performance will include works of Richard Wagner, Bloch, and Tchaikovsky. Lazarev, whose innovative repertoire ranges from the 18th century to the avant-garde, was also the chief conductor and artistic director of the Bolshoi Theatre from 1987 to 1995 — the first person for over thirty years to hold both positions concurrently. Stark will perform Bloch’s only full-blown violin concerto ever composed.

The season will go on to witness the works of Dvořák and Prokofiev conducted by violinist Bisengaliev and Avanesyan on the cello. A laureate of many international competitions such as the international cello competition “Gerardmer” (France) and the European Competition for Young Soloists (Luxemburg), Sevak will perform the famous Dvořák cello concerto. He plays on the very first Matteo Goffriller cello from 1689, given to him by legendary cellist Mischa Maisky.

The season will conclude with the works of Mozart, Rachmaninoff, and Stravinsky conducted by Dalal. Volodin who will be performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 3, is known to possess a diverse repertoire, from Beethoven and Brahms to Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and many more. He is an exclusive Steinway and Sons’ artist.

Here is how the Autumn 2018 season is scheduled to unfold:

4 September (Tuesday), 7 pm

Conductor: Alexander Lazarev Violin: Nurit Stark

Wagner: Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Bloch: Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky: Suite No 3

Venue: Jamshed Bhabha Theatre

5 September (Wednesday), 7 pm

Recital Violin: Nurit Stark Piano: Cédric Pescia

Mozart: Violin Sonata in C major No 20, K 303 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No 10, Op 96 Schubert: Fantasy in C major, D934

Venue: Tata Theatre

8 September (Saturday), 7 pm

Conductor: Alexander Lazarev Flute: Katherine Bicknell Harp: Daniela Iolkicheva

Mussorgsky: Prelude to Khovanshchina Mozart: Flute and Harp Concerto in C major, K299/287c Sibelius: Symphony No 2

Venue: Jamshed Bhabha Theatre

12 September (Wednesday), 7 pm

Violin: Marat Bisengaliev Cello: Sevak Avanesyan

Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op 104 Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, Op 100

Venue: Jamshed Bhabha Theatre

15 September (Saturday), 7 pm

Recital Piano: Alexei Volodin

Schumann/Liszt: “Widmung” Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor Tchaikovsky/Pletnev: Concert Suite from The Sleeping Beauty Balakirev: Islamey, Op 18

Venue: Tata Theatre

16 September (Sunday), 5 pm

Conductor: Zane Dalal Piano: Alexei Volodin

Mozart: Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 3 Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird

Venue: Jamshed Bhabha Theatre

Further details on performances and bookings, can be found on SOI’s website .

The Symphony Orchestra of India Autumn 2018 Season will take place between 4 to 16 September at NCPA, Mumbai