Enjoy the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic’s annual concert from Schönbrunn Palace with guest conductor Gustavo Dudamel and famed pianist Yuja Wang playing works including Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
Great Performances: Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2019 Conducted by Gustavo Dudamel Premieres Friday, August 9 on PBS
Annual open-air concert at Austria’s Schönbrunn Palace features critically acclaimed pianist Yuja Wang
Synopsis:
Famed conductor and music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel returns to the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace with the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra for Great Performances: Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2019, premiering Friday, August 9 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app. The program features popular selections from both European and American composers and is dedicated to the musical connection between continents: the old world of Europe and the new world of America.
The program includes Leonard Bernstein’s overture to “Candide” and American classics such as John Philipp Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Renowned pianist Yuja Wang joins the orchestra for George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” and performs Chopin’s Waltz in C Sharp Minor, op. 64 #2 for an encore.
This year marks Dudamel’s second time conducting the annual concert special, having led the orchestra in 2012. Past conductors include Bobby McFerrin (2004), Zubin Mehta (2005 and 2015), Plácido Domingo (2006), Valery Gergiev (2007, 2011 and 2018), Georges Prêtre (2008), Daniel Barenboim (2009), Franz Welser-Möst (2010), Lorin Maazel (2013), Christoph Eschenbach (2014 and 2017) and Semyon Bychkov (2016). The free outdoor concert is broadcast to more than 80 countries worldwide.
Music Selections and Composers:
- Overture to “Candide” – Leonard Bernstein
- “Rhapsody in Blue” – George Gershwin
- Waltz in C sharp minor, op.64 #2 – Frédéric Chopin
- “Casablanca Suite” – Max Steiner
- “The Stars and Stripes Forever” – John Philipp Sousa
- Adagio for Strings – Samuel Barber
- “The Star-Spangled Banner March,” op. 460 – Carl Michael Ziehrer
- Symphony No. 9 in E minor, op. 95 “From the New World,” 4th movement, allegro con fuoco – Antonín Dvořák
Encores:
- “Hoe-Down” from “Rodeo” – Aaron Copland
- “Viennese Spirit” waltz – Johann Strauss (Jr.)
Notable Talent:
- Gustavo Dudamel, conductor, internationally renowned music and artistic director and conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
- Yuja Wang, critically acclaimed Beijing-born pianist featured as an artist-in-residence at three world-famous venues: Carnegie Hall, the Wiener Konzerthaus, and the Luxembourg Philharmonie; named Musical America’s Artist of the Year in 2017.
Noteworthy Facts
- Dudamel just completed his 10th season as the musical and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, coinciding with its ongoing 100th anniversary celebration season.
- In 2017, Dudamel was the youngest-ever conductor to lead the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Day Concert, watched annually by over 60 million people in 90 countries.
- In 2018, Dudamel finished a tour of the Americas with the Vienna Philharmonic, stating that it represented “America as one.”
- Among many other accolades, Dudamel was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame this year as one of world’s premier classical music conductors.
- Yuja Wang recently performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Tanglewood Music Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under conductor Andris Nelsons, followed by a tour with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Kirill Petrenko, featuring Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3.
Production Credits
From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2019 is a production of ORF in collaboration with Wiener Philharmoniker and in association with THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. For Great Performances, John Walker and Richard R. Schilling are producers; Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.
Underwriters/Funders
Major funding for Great Performances is provided by The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the Irene Diamond Fund, Rosalind P. Walter, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, The Starr Foundation, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, the Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, The Agnes Varis Trust, The Phillip and Janice Levin Foundation, and PBS. Exclusive corporate support for the concert is provided by Rolex.
Series Overview:
The series is produced by THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. WNET is one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. Throughout its more than 40-year history on PBS, Great Performances has provided viewers across the country with an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming.
The Summer Night Concert reached over 1 million views on youtube: