All Over Albany

Joshua Bell to play with the Albany Symphony Orchestra again

The opening night for the 2014-2015 season of the Albany Symphony Orchestra will be September 6 at the Palace and it will feature acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell. Tickets are currently available as part of season subscription packages, some of which start at $149.

Bell is a renowned performer who's sold millions of albums. He plays a 300-year-old Stradivarius that he bought for almost $4 million. He was also the subject of a great Washington Post story a few years back in which he played incognito for commuters in a Washington Metro station. He previously appeared with the ASO back in 2011.

A handful of other bits about the ASO's upcoming season are after the jump. It's current season is still in progress -- it next performs Beethoven's Third Symphony at Troy Music Hall March 1.

Earlier on AOA: Grammy winners David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony Orchestra, the little symphony that could

Via the ASO:

+ Opening Night will feature acclaimed soloist Joshua Bell who last performed with the Symphony in 2012. Revered as a superstar within and outside of the world of classical music, Bell is known for his virtuosity and superb tone, as well as his impassioned stage performances. Some of his many accolades include various Grammy Awards for his many recordings in the Classical music genre. Bell's interpretation of John Corigliano's score in The Red Violin won an Oscar in 2000. In 2008, Bell participated in a cultural experiment titled "Pearls before Breakfast" by Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post wherein Mr. Bell posed as a busker, performing on his "ex Huberman" Violin in a Washington DC subway, unrecognized to the many commuters. This social experiment on how we appreciate art went viral in media outlets and has begun a passionate conversation on our appreciation of art and recognition of artistry. This experiment was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. Joshua Bell currently holds the position of Music Director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. The Albany Symphony will celebrate this momentous evening with the return of a gala dinner and celebration.

+ A Season for the Seasons: Tchaikovsky's fateful Sixth Symphony, "Pathétique" and Beethoven's expressive Sixth Symphony, "Pastorale", will begin the Symphony's Classical series of concerts in October and November. The Symphony will welcome winter with Mendelssohn's "Scottish" Symphony, evoking the mystical Scottish isle and Brahms Third Symphony.

+ Mozart's Requiem: In March The Albany Symphony will perform All Amadeus at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, a weekend of performances dedicated to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart featuring the vocal talents of Albany Pro Musica. The two performances will feature a juxtaposition of interpretation on Mozart's Requiem Mass. Sunday, March 22 will feature traditional repertoire, while the Saturday, March 21 program will feature a variation on this beloved piece by the Sleeping Giant Composer Collective that will highlight the mysterious wonder of the haunting classic in a context that both challenges and reveres the original score

+ An Evening with Time for Three: The world's first classically trained garage band, Time for Three defies traditional classification. They join the Albany Symphony to perform Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon's "Concerto 4-3," a piece they commissioned and premiered with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2008.

+ World Premieres: The season includes three world premiere works by living American composers - Michael Torke's The Winter's Tale for Cello and Orchestra, Clint Needham's We Are All from Somewhere Else, and a new work from Andrea Reinkemeyer.

+ Guest Artists: In addition to Time for Three, the 14.15 season features an array of talented guest artists - pianist Joyce Yang, cellist Julie Albers, tuba player Carol Jantsch, violinist Caroline Goulding and percussionist Colin Currie. Plus, guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen who currently serves as the music director of both the Memphis Symphony and Chicago Sinfonietta.

+ Dogs of Desire: Classical chamber orchestra meets rock band as the Dogs of Desire break new musical ground. Composer Collective Sleeping Giant will collaborate with the Dogs on a brand new multimedia production featuring their own compositions as part of the 2015 American Music Festival.

photo: Bill Phelps