Budapest Festival Orchestra and conductor Iván Fischer performed Mahler's Symphony No. 3 at Carnegie Hall on 2.6.2026. Mahler's nature finds a voice, speaking profound secrets that man can only foresee in dreams. Running over 100 minutes, it depicts divine beauty and harshness, human sin and salvation.

A horn fanfare awakens Pan, god of the hall, on a January day at -15°C. Brass responds, joined by bass drum and solo trombone. The orchestra’s noble spirit reflects the earth’s breath, chaos, destruction, and creation. Double basses and percussion are placed around the hall, making Carnegie’s 2,800 seats breathe as one living creature. A march begins, life surging forth; Fischer draws crystal-clear sound, stirring the heart.

At Carnegie Hall on 2.6.2026, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, led by Iván Fischer, opened with Pärt’s Summa, singing a Credo—“I believe.” Their voices, simple yet prism-like, created a wave of quiet light through the hall. In Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, Vengerov’s eloquent solo and the orchestra engaged in a lively dialogue. Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 revealed transparent interplay, with lines ascending and descending like light, while a Hungarian folk medley returned the music to its roots, inviting audience participation and joy.

Verdi’s Requiem resonated deeply. With the Cleveland Orchestra, Most, and the Cleveland Choir, the opening Requiem aeternam felt as if the sound arose from behind me. In Dies iræ, the intense orchestra conveyed the fear of sin, while the trumpet in Tuba mirum echoed through Carnegie Hall. In Recordare, the solo voice quietly pleaded for remembrance, and in Lacrimosa, the final Amen felt intimate and personal. In Offertorio and Sanctus, prayer and praise seemed to emerge from within; in Agnus Dei and Lux Æterna, voices and strings purified the heart. Finally, in Libera me, the fear of death and longing for salvation resonated powerfully through orchestra, choir, and solo singers—an unforgettable spiritual experience.

New York’s choral and orchestral ensemble Musica Sacra performed “Classics for Christmas” at Carnegie Hall on December 17, 2025. The program featured Christmas-related works by Bach, Thompson, Corelli, and Handel, with soprano Kathryn Lewek and harpist Mariko Anraku as soloists. Highlights included Bach’s Gloria in excelsis Deo, excerpts from Handel’s Messiah, and Rachmaninoff’s Bogoroditse Devo, creating a rich, festive, and deeply moving concert. The performance was led by conductor Kent Tritle.

Trifonov’s program traced Russian modernism and Romantic expression, opening with Taneyev’s Prelude and Fugue, where he highlighted clarity, restrained lyricism, and transparent counterpoint. Prokofiev’s Visions fugitives revealed fleeting humor and delicacy, while Myaskovsky’s single-movement Sonata conveyed shadow, tension, and virtuosity with precise control. In Schumann’s Sonata, he contrasted Florestan and Eusebius through agile scherzos, lyrical arias, and a spirited finale, uniting improvisatory freedom with poetic depth. Across the program, Trifonov balanced technical mastery, expressive nuance, and psychological insight, illuminating the music’s inner voice and emotional breadth.

Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Yannick Nézet-Séguin's All Brahms at Carnegie Hall on December 9, 2025.

Chamber Orchestra of Europe

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Conductor

Veronika Eberle, Violin

Jean-Guihen Queyras, Cello

Program

ALL-BRAHMS PROGRAM

Tragic Overture

Double Concerto

Symphony No. 1

Three Latvian musicians, Gidon Kremer, Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė, and Georgijs Osokins, had a trio recital at Zankel on 12.4.2025

11.21.2025 Musicians From Marlboro at Weill Recital Hall. A chamber music group made up of young musicians associated with the Marlboro Music Festival in the United States. The festival, established in 1951, is known as a place where young and experienced musicians come together to study and perform chamber music. Selected members of the group give concerts both in the U.S. and abroad.

The world of Nicolas Altstaedt, Cello and Thomas Dunford, Lute's "viol x cello x lute x Bach x modern."that means all contemporaries, an intimate and stimulating dialogue between the two and the audience. The Bourbon sophistication and Bach. It continues with Pärt and then Marais.

Christian Măcelaru and the Orchestre National de France at Carnegie Hall on 11.9.2025. The program began with Elsa Barraine’s Symphony No. 2, Voïna (War), composed in 1938, just before the outbreak of World War II. Barraine’s work captivates with its modern French transparency condensed into a stable structure.