Kennedy Center, NSO, Saint-Saëns-Ohlsson, November 2025

Saint-Saëns’

“Organ Symphony” Ohlsson plays Beethoven

THE JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

NOVEMBER 13, 2025 AT 7 P.M.; NOVEMBER 14, 2025 AT 11:30 A.M.;

NOVEMBER 15, 2025 AT 8 P.M. | CONCERT HALL

Louis Langrée, conductor Garrick Ohlsson, piano

Marvin Mills, organ

LOUISE FARRENC

Overture No. 1 in E Minor (1834) (1804–1875)

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major (1795) (1770–1827)

i. Allegro con brio

ii. Largo

iii. Rondo: Allegro Garrick Ohlsson, piano

INTERMISSION

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

Symphony No. 3 in C minor, (1835–1921) “Organ Symphony” (1886)

i. Adagio – Allegro moderato –Poco adagio

ii. Allegro moderato – Presto –Maestoso

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

THANK YOU TO OUR PERFORMANCE SPONSOR

In memory of organists Lucille Beaty and Dorcas Beaty Stegelmann

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,

Jean Davidson 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. This is only the beginning. The 95th season is filled with musical discovery, celebrated artists, and unforgettable experiences.

This season features iconic works that have stood the test of time, from classic masterpieces to thrilling contemporary music. The NSO also has the opportunity to share the stage with an exceptional lineup of guest artists and conductors—beloved icons and rising stars alike. Performing new music is something the NSO truly believes in. Make history with us as we present innovative new works, including five world premieres.

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. 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.

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,

Con tutto il cuore,

Gianandrea Noseda

Gianandrea Noseda

Music

Music Director, National Symphony Orchestra

Director, National Symphony Orchestra

Che la musica vi porti gioia e ispirazione—may music bring you joy and inspiration.

Che la musica vi porti gioia e ispirazione—may music bring you joy and inspiration.

Notes on the Program

Overture No. 1 in E minor

LOUISE FARRENC

Born May 31, 1804, in Paris, France

Died September 15, 1875, in Paris, France

The pianist and composer Louise Farrenc settled in Paris in 1825, after touring Europe with her new husband, the flutist Aristide Farrenc. She sought more work as a performer and teacher, helped Aristide to set up a new music publishing house, and found time to return to studying composition with Anton Reicha. Over the course of the 1820s and early 1830s, she began to release her own keyboard pieces, several of which were arrangements, variations, and fantasies based on contemporary operas by composers like Gioachino Rossini, Carl Maria von Weber, and Vincenzo Bellini. She wrote her first orchestral works that didn’t involve piano in 1834: two symphonic overtures, one in E minor and one in E-flat major.

These overtures were not intended to precede a specific theatrical or operatic production. They are more like the ouvertures commonly found at the start of instrumental or orchestral suites during the baroque era—substantial, relatively selfcontained movements with an appropriate balance of pomp and excitement. Farrenc and her husband shared a passion for early music, and her Overture in E minor makes a clear nod to the sounds of bygone eras. The opening of the piece is a regal Adagio, in which the spacious rhythms and sequence of harmonies lend the music a similar quality to works by French baroque composers like François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau. The fabulous orchestration, on the other hand, emphasizes the winds, horns, and trombones, securely setting the piece in the noisy world of the mid-19th-century symphony. This combination of elements almost prefigures the controversial arrangements that the 20thcentury conductor Leopold Stokowski made of Johann Sebastian Bach's music, in which he brought a robust, thick set of instrumental sounds to 18th-century scores.

In the Allegro agitato that follows this lofty introduction, Farrenc writes music in the style of those composers she used as a basis for her earlier piano works. The violins play a slightly frantic gesture—the kind that would precede a storm scene in operas of the time. A contrasting theme, heard first in the clarinet, is a melody in the manner of arias by Rossini, who shaped every tune to be sweet, singable, and blemish-free. Farrenc manages to seamlessly toggle between the dramatic climaxes and characterful gestures that were popular in her era and elements of style from the baroque and Classical periods.

Farrenc found extraordinary success as a performer, pedagogue, and composer of piano and chamber music. But though she completed three symphonies in the 1840s, these and the two overtures wound up being her only major orchestral compositions, and none were published in her lifetime. In part, this related to the general economic and logistical difficulties of getting large-scale works performed at this time, which were almost certainly exacerbated by the fact that Farrenc was a woman. The 19th-century French critic François-Joseph Fétis also blamed a public that was often uninterested in hearing the music of unfamiliar musicians. As he described, “[their] only standard for measuring the quality of a work is the name of its author. If the composer is unknown, the audience remains unreceptive, and the publishers, especially in France, close their ears anyway when someone offers them a halfway decent work; they believe in success only for trinkets. Such were the obstacles that Madame Farrenc met along the way.” Hearing this overture, we get little hints that help us to imagine what a tone poem or an opera by Louise Farrenc might have contained.

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Born approx. December 17, 1770, in Bonn, Germany

Died March 26, 1827, in Vienna, Austria

Ludwig van Beethoven moved to Vienna in late 1792, with a bursary from the archbishop of Bonn and the intention of starting composition lessons with Joseph Haydn. These studies didn’t go particularly well; Haydn was spending a great amount of time in London at that point in his life, which meant that Beethoven quickly had to fend for himself as a pianist and composer in a new city. He wrote quite a lot of music in those first years, but it wasn’t until 1795 that he published his Op. 1, a set of three groundbreaking trios for piano, violin, and cello, in which he attempted to raise the stature of such instrumentation to equal that of the symphony and the string quartet.

It was a big year for him; at the end of March, he gave his official Vienna debut, performing a newly written piano concerto. Scholars have debated which piece he played on that occasion. Some historians, starting with the 19th-century Viennese musicologist Gustav Nottebohm, have argued that it was the Second Piano Concerto, which Beethoven had composed in the late 1780s while he was still living in his hometown of Bonn. But many contemporary researchers believe it was in fact the Concerto in C major, which Beethoven had completed by 1795, that he presented at that important concert. He performed the Concerto in C major a few more times over the following years, and it helped him to cement his reputation as a soloist. Beethoven revised it in 1800 and published it as his Op. 15 in 1801. It soon became known as his Piano Concerto No. 1, since it was printed just a few months before he released his Concerto in B-flat major, which, though written earlier, was catalogued as his Piano Concerto No. 2.

Many of Beethoven’s early published compositions have a rambunctious, slightly loose quality to them. They were written at the same time as he was composing for less formal occasions—town dance numbers, mandolin sonatinas, and piano variations—and some of the rowdier qualities of these unpublished works found their way into the more refined pieces that Beethoven wanted to make public. There are bits of this side of Beethoven in the Concerto in C major. In the first movement, the piano has climactic passages that feature triplets in one hand and clanging chords in the other, with accents on offbeats that give the music the feeling of a wild dance that has gotten out of control. In the latter half of the second movement, Beethoven varies one of his themes by turning it into a lilting waltz, a little touch of charm taken from the Viennese music hall. And in the middle of the third movement, a minor-key contrasting episode has a delightful, helterskelter, chase-scene energy.

Overall, though, the Concerto in C major is more loyal to the Classical tradition that had been established by Mozart and Haydn than many other works Beethoven wrote around this time. It seems particularly indebted to Mozart, who included brilliant, unprecedented wind parts in his later piano concertos. In the opening movement of his piece, Beethoven writes bubbling, bouncing bassoon lines, and he closes large sections of the movement with triumphant wind choruses. He also includes moments when the strings drop out, the winds play solos, and the piano has simple, rolling accompaniments. This texture is similar to what is found in the Quintet for Piano and Winds that Beethoven wrote in 1796, a work he modelled on a piece Mozart composed in 1784. The concerto’s slow movement features extraordinary clarinet solos, which respond to the piano’s questioning melodies with soothing reassurance. A similar quality is found in the arresting moment of repose that happens a few measures before the piece comes to a close. The piano plays a winding, slightly anxious cadenza. Then, the oboes and horns quietly respond by summarizing the keyboard’s line with a calm gesture, resolving all previously felt tension so the full band can enjoy the bombastic confidence of the final six measures.

Notes on the Program

Symphony No. 3 in C minor, “Organ Symphony”

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

Born October 9, 1835, in Paris, France

Died December 16, 1921, in Algiers, Algeria

Camille Saint-Saëns wrote his Symphony No. 3 in C minor between 1885 and 1886 on commission from the London Philharmonic Society. He was scheduled to perform Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the orchestra, and for the occasion, they asked him to write and conduct a symphony for the second half of the program. SaintSaëns was familiar with Saint James’s Hall, where the concert would take place, so he felt confident including an organ part in the piece. This “Symphony with Organ” was a resounding success at the premiere as well as at subsequent performances, pleasing the conductor. He reflected on the piece, “I have given all that I have to give. What I have done I shall never do again.” He made good on his word. He lived for another three and a half decades, receiving many requests for a new large-scale orchestral work in that time, but he never wrote another symphony.

The so-called “Organ Symphony” is set in four movements, though Saint-Saëns links the first two movements and the last two movements together, a structure he had experimented with in his 1885 D-minor Violin Sonata. The piece opens with a few thoughtful measures in a slow tempo, which are quickly followed by an urgent Allegro moderato. He gives this Allegro an anxious quality through a brilliant trick of orchestration: the winds play a winding theme in doubled notes, while the strings play the same sequence of pitches with sustained bows. This is almost impossible to line up in practice, resulting in a wavy, expressive smear. The slow movement initially appears to be a sweet, nostalgic tag to the first movement, but it gradually develops into an intimate piece of orchestral chamber music. Saint-Saëns uses the supple key of D-flat major, which has an inward, closed sound because this tonality inhibits the string players’ use of bright, ringing open strings.

This second movement is marked by the first entrance of the organ. Saint-Saëns was a sought-after organist and had worked at the Madeleine Church in Paris for many years. He often told an anecdote about a woman getting married there who asked him to play exclusively funeral marches—she wanted to cry on the altar. He could have justifiably added the second movement of this symphony, with its long, yearning melodies, to his teary wedding playlist. Saint-Saëns is subtle and judicious in his use of the organ in the movement, allowing the generous hum of the instrument to create a sense of spiritual communion. It gives the impression of a sensitive soul improvising from the back of a church service and fitting in well with a choir and congregation. After a pause, SaintSaëns follows this meditation with a dramatic, swashbuckling scherzo that includes a rowdy middle section in which two pianists lead the ensemble in creating pure pandemonium.

The organ is the King of Instruments—at least according to Mozart, a couple centuries of marketing copy from organ builders and proselytizers, and the current King of England. It is true that the organ can produce more attention-capturing sound than the brightest horns in the brass section of a symphony. In the glorious finale of his Third Symphony, Saint-Saëns shows us the raw power of the instrument in flamboyant fashion. The organ only enters a handful of times, but, when it does, it plays the redfaced despot, huffing and puffing and bellowing grand, choral proclamations that the others on stage, the tireless administrators of the orchestra, must scramble to fulfill. The trumpets, capitulating to the autocrat, boost the organ’s statements with triumphant fanfare, imitating the sound of the organ’s pipes in lines that soar above the masses. Others put up a fight, such as the rebellious cellists and second violinists, who open up a scurrying fugue, or the high winds, who offer a contrasting perspective with a hopeful theme. By the end, the reverberating, electrifying orchestra has transformed into an organ, assimilating to the commanding force, though the righteous, stubborn timpanist manages to beat out a few final notes of resistance.

Meet the Artists

Louis Langrée, conductor

French conductor Louis Langrée became Director of the Théâtre national de l’Opéra Comique in November 2021, named by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. Following a successful ten years as Music Director at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Langrée was appointed Music Director Laureate through the 2027–2028 season.

In the 2025–2026 season, Langrée makes debuts with the Kansas City Symphony and Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and returns to the National Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall, Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for his first performances as Music Director Laureate. On the operatic stage, Langrée leads productions of Così fan tutte with the Wiener Staatsoper in Vienna and Monte Carlo.

A regular presence in New York since his 1998 debut, Langrée has conducted around 250 performances and concerts at Lincoln Center, the Mostly Mozart Festival, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York Philharmonic. Guest conductor appearances include the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Vienna Philharmonic, as well as Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. In addition to the Met, he frequently conducts at the leading opera houses, including Vienna State Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, and at festivals including Glyndebourne, Aix-en-Provence, BBC Proms, Edinburgh International, the Hong Kong Arts

Festival, Wiener Festwochen, Salzburg Mozartwoche, and Whitsun. Salzburg Mozartwoche, and Whitsun.

An advocate for the music of our time, Langrée has conducted world premieres by Daníel Bjarnason, Julia Adolphe, Guillaume Connesson, Anna Clyne, Jonathan Bailey Holland, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Nico Muhly, André Previn, Caroline Shaw, and Christopher Rouse.

Among his recent recordings, the DVD of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet, filmed at the Opéra Comique in Paris with the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, won the “Best Recording of the Year” Award at the International Opera Awards, “Best Video Performance” at the International Classical Music Awards, the Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros, Caecilia Prize, and Diapason d’Or of the Year. His last two CDs with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra were both nominated for "Best Orchestral Performance" at the Grammy Awards®.

Previous music director roles include the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center (2003–2023), Orchestre de Picardie, Opéra National de Lyon, Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, and chief conductor of the Camerata Salzburg. A native of Alsace, France, Langré is an Honorary Member of the Confrérie Saint-Étienne d’Alsace, an Alsatian winemakers’ brotherhood dating back to the 14th century. Langrée is a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur and an Officier des Arts et des Lettres.

Garrick Ohlsson, piano

Since his triumph as winner of the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, pianist Garrick Ohlsson has established himself worldwide as a musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess. Although long regarded as one of the world’s leading exponents of the music of

Meet the Artists

Frédéric Chopin, Mr. Ohlsson commands an enormous repertoire, which ranges over the entire piano literature. A student of the late Claudio Arrau, Mr. Ohlsson has come to be noted for his masterly performances of the works of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, as well as the Romantic repertoire. To date, he has at his command more than 80 concertos, ranging from Haydn and Mozart to works of the 21st century, the most recent being Oceans Apart by Justin Dello Joio, commissioned for him by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and now available on Bridge Recordings. For the first time in its history, the Chopin Competition has invited an American to chair the jury, and Mr. Ohlsson assumes that role for the 19th incarnation in October 2025. He will then return as guest soloist to The Cleveland Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra, followed in the winter by a duo tour with violist Richard O’Neill, which takes them from Los Angeles to Charlottesville, St. Paul, and New York’s 92nd Street Y. In solo recital, he can be heard in Vienna, London, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

An avid chamber musician, Mr. Ohlsson has collaborated with the Cleveland, Emerson, Tokyo, and Takács string quartets. His recording with the latter of the Amy Beach and Edward Elgar quintets, released by Hyperion in June 2020, received great press attention. Passionate about singing and singers, Mr. Ohlsson has appeared in recital with such legendary artists as Magda Olivero, Jessye Norman, and Ewa Podleś.

Marvin Mills, organ

Native Philadelphian Marvin Mills is organist at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Kensington, Maryland. He is also the music director of the acclaimed National Spiritual Ensemble and guest artist with the Ritz Chamber Players, based in Jacksonville, Florida. Previous positions include Associate Minister of Music at

National City Christian Church; Director of Music at All Souls Church, Unitarian; and University Organist at Howard University, all in Washington, DC.

Active with the District of Columbia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists since 1984, he has served as dean (1990–1992), board member, foundation trustee, regional convention secretary, and chairman for regional and chapter competitions, exemplifying his commitment to the mission of the Guild and his belief in the expressive power of the organ as an instrument for use in worship and concert. Since 1995, he has also participated in the Guild’s Pipe Organ Encounters for Youth and Adults, helping all ages to experience various aspects of pipe organ study.

As a clinician, he has given workshops for the Unitarian Universalists Musicians Network, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, and the Association of Disciples Musicians, as well as at the regional and chapter levels of the American Guild of Organists, spanning topics from the Negro Spiritual and organ music of Black composers to hymn playing, organ accompaniment, and organ repertoire. He participated in a day-long seminar on the Sights and Sounds of the Pipe Organ sponsored by the Smithsonian Institute, focusing on the art of organ transcription using Moussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition as a model.

For over a decade, Mr. Mills has been a featured artist at the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival as recitalist, chamber musician, and choral conductor—preparing the Festival Chorus for major works such as Haydn’s Creation; the Requiems of Mozart, Brahms, and Verdi; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9; and Handel’s Samson. A prizewinning composer, his Four Spirituals for Denyce Graves have been performed throughout the country at colleges and universities by aspiring singers. A setting of a Phillis Wheatley poem, “On Virtue,” was commissioned by the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for its Poets Corner. He made his theatrical conducting debut with the Washington Savoyards in its production of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha in 2010 and is a vocal coach/staff pianist at Morgan State University.

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.

Pipe Dreams

This November, Louis Langrée leads the National Symphony Orchestra and organist Marvin Mills in Camille Saint-Saëns’ triumphant Symphony No. 3—the “Organ Symphony.” It’s a rare opportunity to hear the towering chords of the organ thunder through the Concert Hall.

Those glistening silver pipes at the back of the stage are ready to sing out, but what the audience can see is only a fraction of the majestic instrument.

Installed in 2012, the current Rubenstein Family Organ replaced the Center’s “Filene” organ, installed in 1972 and eventually deemed unsalvageable in 2008. After four years of fundraising, two years of construction, and over three months of installation, the new Casavant Bros. company organ made its debut in the Concert Hall.

The installation process was no easy feat. Two technicians tuned and voiced the organ each night over several weeks. With one man at the console and the other 40 feet in the air among the pipes, they worked together to perfect the sound by opening or closing air holes and shaving or moving parts of pipes. The precise, careful process paid off, creating the powerful, breathing instrument that lives in the Concert Hall today.

BY THE NUMBERS

3 packed semitrucks hauled the instrument to the Center

20 tons is the instrument’s total weight

4,972 pipes of all sizes make up the organ

0.625 inches is the length of the smallest pipes

32 feet is the length of the largest pipes

150 decibels is the loudest an organ can reach

The organ’s console consists of…

4 manual keyboards

32 long wooden pedals

104 stops (knobs that each control a group of 61 pipes)

A technician tunes the new Rubenstein Family Organ during installation

Loud and Clear

Nine terms to know in the Concert Hall, loosely defined.

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.

Sonata

Originally, a musical composition played on instruments. In modern usage, “sonata” can mean a piece for a soloist or an ensemble, often with two to four movements.

If a work or a movement is written in sonata form, it is structured in three sections: exposition, development, and recapitulation.

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.

Cantata

A musical composition with both a vocal and an instrumental part. Cantatas are often used in church services—church cantatas

Overture

An orchestral instrumental introduction to a dramatic musical work, such as an opera or a ballet. Composers, particularly those of the Romantic Period, sometimes composed independent concert overtures, intended to begin a larger musical program.

Romantic music

Works associated with the 19th-century Romantic Period. Building off the intellectual innovation of the Romanticism movement, Romantic music emphasizes self-expression, emotion, and experimentation.

Chaconne

A musical framework characterized by a three-beat meter, a major key, a repeating bassline, and/or a harmonic progression—a series of chords.

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

Vanessa Thomas, Director of Education Activation & Engagements

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

Lily Maroni, Senior Manager, Advertising Communications

Elizabeth Stoltz, Advertising Production & Special Projects Assistant Manager

Kaila Willard, Marketing Manager, Analytics and CRM Strategy

Derek Younger, Director, Sales & Ticketing Service

ORCHESTRA OPERATIONS & CONCERT PRODUCTION

Brooke Bartolome, Assistant Manager, Orchestra Operations

Joseph Benitez, Media & OPAS Support Coordinator

N. Christian Bottorff, Assistant Stage Manager

Cayley Carroll, Director, Production & Orchestra Operations

Karyn Garvin, Director of Orchestra Personnel

David Langrell, Stage Manager

Sufyan Naaman, Personnel and Auditions Coordinator

Ava Yap, Operations Assistant

Kennedy Center Staff

KENNEDY CENTER EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

President, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Chief Financial Officer

Ambassador Richard Grenell

Donna Arduin General Counsel

Senior Vice President, Development

Senior Vice President, Marketing

Senior Vice President, Special Events

Vice President, Human

Vice President, Operations

Vice President,

Vice President, Public Relations

Chief Information Officer

Executive Director, National Symphony Orchestra

General Director, Washington

Concert Hall Staff

Theater Manager

Box Office Treasurer

Berke

Dale

Osborne

Donlon

Allen V. McCallum Jr.

Deborah Glover

Head Usher Cathy Crocker

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.

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 (NSO) spotlights a different musician in the Orchestra. For this program, former Assistant Principal Viola Abigail Evans Kreuzer discusses onstage memories, her childhood in the classical music world, and the potentially warranted vitriol of viola jokes.

Name: Abigail Evans Kreuzer

Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Instrument: Viola

Years with the NSO: 21

How did you find your way into the world of professional musicianship? We ended up in Pittsburgh because my dad got his dream job in the Pittsburgh Symphony—he was a bass player. Sometimes he brought me along to rehearsals, and I got to sit in the hall by myself and watch people do amazing things on stage. It felt very exciting to me. When I started playing in an orchestra myself, it just felt like home.

What attracted you to the viola? I actually came to the viola by complete chance. I started as a violinist, but one summer, I was going to attend Meadowmount School of Music, which is a summer practice festival. They were offering extra scholarship money for anyone willing to play viola in a chamber group. I was really nervous about it because I didn't read the clef, but I somehow managed to figure out a way to convert treble clef to alto. It was so glorious; I just wanted to keep doing it. I took a year off and studied the viola privately with Paul Silver, who was a violist in the Pittsburgh Symphony. He got me ready for college auditions, and then I went to the Cleveland Institute of Music as a violist.

Do you think that the instruments musicians choose reflect their personalities? It's a chicken-or-the-egg situation. Certain personalities are drawn to certain instruments, but the culture of those instruments also influences their personalities. The viola is famous for having a whole genre of jokes about it. They're broken down into a few categories. One is that violists are terrible musicians—they sound bad when they play. Another genre is, like, violists are stupid. And then the other one is just doing destructive things to a viola because it's such a terrible instrument that it should be destroyed. It comes from the viola being a very awkward instrument—what it takes for it to be able to sound good. What I like about violists is that they often have a very good sense of humor about being the butt of the joke.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time at the NSO? The one that will stand out to me probably as long as I live is the last concert we did with [Spanish conductor] Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. We played Pines of Rome, and we all knew that he was not well. He still had a lot of mental energy, but his body was very frail, and we later found out he had cancer. As the piece went on, he looked like he was gasping for air. He stumbled forward, and one of my colleagues had to support him, and everything stopped for a few moments. He sat down on the podium and took a moment, and then he lifted his arm and was like, “Let's go. Why did you guys stop playing?” Our principal clarinet at the time, Loren Kitt, just started playing again. We finally got to the last movement, which is this very triumphant march. At that point, he stood up and finished the piece on his feet. We were all completely emotional. It was one of those moments that you don't forget—just to see the music carrying him through that. All of us on stage wanted to lift him up.

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.

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Ferrández plays Lutosławski

Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Edward Gardner leads Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular Symphony No. 5. Pablo Ferrández uses the cello’s dynamic tonal range to engage the orchestra in a captivating conversation.

November 20, 2025 at 7 p.m.

November 22, 2025 at 8 p.m.

November 23, 2025 at 3 p.m.

NSO at The Anthem: Home Alone In Concert

A true holiday classic, this beloved comedy features renowned composer John Williams’ charming and delightful score performed live-topicture by the NSO.

This performance takes place at The Anthem.

December 9, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

Handel’s Messiah

Washington, D.C.’s glorious holiday tradition! Handel’s Messiah is as wonderful today as it was more than 280 years ago, inspiring joy from both first-time listeners and returning audiences.

December 18, 2025 at 7 p.m.

December 19, 2025 at 8 p.m.

December 20, 2025 at 8 p.m.

December 21, 2025 at 1 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.

Winter Daydreams:  Noseda conducts Tchaikovsky’s First Trpčeski plays Saint-Saëns

Fri., Mar. 6 at 11:30 a.m.

Sat., Mar. 7 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.

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.

*Please note: The National Symphony Orchestra does not perform in these concerts.

A Holiday Pops! with Melinda Doolittle

Washington, D.C.’s most dazzling holiday concert returns! This year, soul–stirring songstress Melinda Doolittle—celebrated for her irresistible, Gospel/R&B sound—lights up the festively decorated Concert Hall as special guest.

December 12, 2025 at 8 p.m.

December 13, 2025 at 2 p.m.

December 13, 2025 at 8 p.m.

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

Told through a mesmerizing hybrid of animated and live action filming, a magical Sprite embarks on a musical journey through the inner workings of an orchestra! Violin strings vibrate, brass valves slice air, and drumheads resonate like you’ve never seen before—all set to live music from the National Symphony Orchestra.

March 29, 2025 at 2 p.m.

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

1970s A look back at our history

A look back at our history

1987

NSO Music Director Mstislav Rostropovich conducts the NSO with guest soloist soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, his wife.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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