Classical Music Season 2020 in São Paulo Celebrates Beethoven’s 250th Anniversary

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – The leitmotif of the municipal concert season starting in March will be the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest names in classical music – Ludwig van Beethoven, born in the city of Bonn in 1770. The composer’s work will be the highlight of both the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) and the Municipal Theater program.

The year 2020 also includes a visit by the musicians of the Russian National Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra; the staging of seven operas, including Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida; and the appearance of the American soprano Latonia Moore and the Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov.

OSESP – The season begins on March 5th, at Sala São Paulo, with the premiere of the new orchestra’s principal conductor. Maestro Thierry Fischer will conduct Beethoven’s Solemn Mass in D Major, Op. 123. Recognized as one of the German composer’s masterpieces, the work for chorus, orchestra, and solo singers was written during the same time as his Ninth Symphony, between 1819 and 1823.

Throughout 2020, Thierry Fischer will conduct Beethoven’s Symphonies 1-8. The former orchestra conductor, Marin Alsop, will conduct the Ninth Symphony. OSESP will also perform other works by Beehoven: the five Piano Concertos, the Violin Concerto, the Romance nº 2 and the Triple Concerto. Among the chamber works, 2020 will feature the 32 Piano Sonatas and the last six String Quartets.

French violist Antoine Tamestit is the Artist in Residence this season, while Australian Brett Dean is the visiting composer. In 2020, the OSESP will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of the death of Alberto Nepomuceno, whose work and performance paved the way for the development of a distinctively national music.

Municipal Theater – The 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth is also a highlight of the centennial stage program, located in the center of São Paulo. This year, the program was prepared by artistic director Hugo Possolo. “We will see the return of the Signature Book, the extension of the New Modernists – a series that housed other artistic expressions such as the circus, the theater and that in 2020 begins to incorporate and interact with the artistic bodies of the Municipal Theater. These groups will be included in the shows and, this way, we will be able to further exploit all our power and excellence”, said Possolo in the disclosure of the 2020 program.

Fidelio, the only opera composed by Beethoven, will be staged in November, in a venue open to the general public still to be announced. The work will be directed by award-winning playwright Rodolfo García Vasquez, founder of the theatre company Os Satyros. In June the public will be given the opportunity to watch a double bill of two operas based on plays by Plínio Marcos: ‘Navalha na Carne’ and ‘Homens de Papel’. This is the first time the Municipal Theater has commissioned operas in its 108-year history. Other lyrical highlights include the works Don Giovanni, Benjamin and Die Fledermaus. The works will feature musicians from the São Paulo Municipal Symphony Orchestra (OSM), as well as the São Paulo Municipal Lyric Choir.

Cultura Artística – The tradition of promoting great concerts at Sala São Paulo is continued in the institution’s 2020 program. One of this year’s highlights takes place in early June, with two performances by pianist Daniil Trifonov. Winner of the 2018 Grammy and recognized as artist of the year at the 2016 Gramophone Classical Music Awards, the New York-based Russian is considered one of the greatest talents of the new generation. His repertoire includes compositions by Brahms, Rachmaninov, and Bach.

Violinist Joshua Bell will perform in São Paulo in November, together with the chamber orchestra Academy Saint Martin in the Fields. Founded by Sir Neville Marriner, the orchestra is a reference to the St-Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, London, where the first concert was held in 1958. The program includes Beethoven’s Symphony n. 3 (the “Eroica”) and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.

Beethoven will also be honored by a French duo in September. Cellist Gautier Capuçon and pianist Jerôme Ducros will perform a full program of sonatas at Sala São Paulo as part of the Cultura Artística 2020 season. Among the year’s highlights are Tchaikovsky’s Symphony n.4 by the Russian National Orchestra and Bruckner’s “Romantic,” Symphony n.4.

Mozarteum Brasileiro – The cultural association has also prepared a busy agenda for this year. On October 20th and 21st, the Berlin Radio Choir (Rundfunkchor) will perform in the city, together with the Concerto Köln, a chamber ensemble renowned as the vanguard of Early Music.

For the first time in Brazil, the North American soprano Latonia Moore promises an unforgettable performance, with excerpts from operas by Giacomo Puccini (La Bohème), George Gershwin (Porgy and Bess) and Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story).