The 2018-2019 season of the Philharmonie de Paris is very rich in important events. For artists and spectators from all over the world, the modern auditorium with its perfect acoustics has become a must-see for classical music venues in a short time.
It is impossible to detail the many appointments of the season 2018-2019 but to get an idea, just name a name, that of Martha Argerich. The living legend of the piano has taken up residence in the Paris concert hall. She will perform four times in recital, concert or chamber music to pay homage to another great artist, the violinist Ivry Gitlis.
There are few places in the world that can boast on hosting so many big names. Daniel Barenboim, for example, proposes a cycle of Beethoven sonatas at the piano and conducts Boulez and Debussy as part of the French composer’s celebrations. Many events are also organized around the figure of Berlioz, especially in the spotlight in 2019 (it is the 150th anniversary of his death). François-Xavier Roth offers a particularly exciting Berlioz concert series. John Osborn and Kate Lindsey are on the bill for the Damnation of Faust directed this time by Emmanuel Krivine at the head of the Orchestre National de France.
The lyrical recitals follow one another at the Philharmonie de Paris and we must reserve our places without any further delay for Cecilia Bartoli, for example, who is reconnecting with the music of Vivaldi, a composer she has already remarkably well served. Music lovers will not want to miss Renée Fleming’s return to the stage and the most demanding will rush to the recital of Matthias Goerne and Leif Ove Andsnes or even to the Verdi gala with Plácido Domingo.
Other numerous operatic events are still to be noticed, such as Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress directed by Barbara Hannigan or the semi-scenic version of Janácek’s The Cunning Little Vixen by Peter Sellars and directed by Sir Simon Rattle. In addition to the great Baroque conductors such as Jordi Savall, John Eliot Gardiner, Marc Minkowski and Rene Jacobs who promise big appointments, Valery Gergiev closes the Wagnerian tetralogy.
The list of great guest conductors and renowned orchestras is long and prestigious. Accordingly, Riccardo Chailly comes to the Philharmonie of Paris at the head of the Orchestra of Scala of Milan, Andris Nelsons is on the bill with the Boston Symphony Orchestra then the Gewandhausorchester. We could mention Herbert Blomstedt, Mariss Jansons (and the Bayerischen Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra) or Bernard Haitink (with the London Symphony Orchestra) but we would forget Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Berliner Philharmoniker and many others … Paavo Järvi Alain Altinoglu.
Similarly, the Paris Orchestra conducted by Daniel Harding offers an impressive number of major events with incredible soloists like Radu Lupu, the Labèque sisters, Renaud Capuçon, Igor Levit, Janine Jansen, Christian Gerhaher … The recitals varnish the season 2018 -2019 like the ones of the beloved Khatia Buniatishvili, Lisa Batiashvili, Yuja Wang, Isabelle Faust, the too rare Krystian Zimerman or Yo-Yo Ma.
Other events are to be highlighted as this ballet by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui about the wounded of the Great War or the presence of composer Philip Glass himself. So many reasons to come to Paris in any season without forgetting to reserve your tickets in advance to enjoy a show at the Philharmonie de Paris.
