tears become … streams become …

Douglas Gordon & Hélène Grimaud

December 9, 2014–January 4, 2015

Turner Prize-winning artist Douglas Gordon takes the elemental force of water as inspiration for a large-scale visual art installation in which acclaimed pianist Hélène Grimaud will perform a program of water-themed works by Debussy, Ravel, Liszt, and others, creating a confluence of live music and visual art that allows audiences to experience this celebrated music in a refreshingly new way. The installation will be open to the public in addition to performance times for further reflection.

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The xx

March 19–29, 2014

“A triumph of radical choreography and staging … [while] retaining the mystery of a unique, extraordinary experience.” –The Guardian (London)

After headlining major festivals and venues like Coachella and Radio City Music Hall, the Mercury Prize-winning trio comes to the Armory to create an intimate, site-specific environment to delve into uncharted levels of depth in their sound, defying perceptions of a traditional concert while redefining their music and their relationship to the audience in the process.

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Igor Levit, piano

March 12–13, 2014

“Levit’s recital revealed the links between Beethoven’s [sonatas] and hailed the emergence of an exciting new talent.” –The Guardian (London)

With a recent five-star performance at Queen Elizabeth Hall that “shows he is set to be one of this century’s big names” (The Telegraph, UK), pianist Igor Levit makes his North American recital debut with a program of Beethoven’s most cherished sonatas performed in the most intimate of settings.

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FLUX Quartet

April 26, 2014

“The Flux members approached their work with utmost seriousness, performing with painstaking care and utter conviction… proof that Feldman’s legacy is in good hands.” –The New York Times

Hailed by Alex Ross as “legendary for its furiously committed, untiring performances,” the intrepid ensemble brings their remarkable skill and passion to Morton Feldman’s String Quartet No. 2, a six-hour feat of endurance and transcendence for both performers and audience alike.

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István Várdai, cello

May 21–22, 2014

“István Várdai is a special kind of genius... with perfect intonation, ample interpretation, impeccable tempo — in short, he is an incredible virtuoso.” –Parlando

Thought to be some of the most beautiful and important compositions ever written for cello, Bach’s suites for unaccompanied cello are a collection of dances, each prefaced by a searching prelude. Cellist István Várdai makes his North American recital debut in a survey of these lauded works.”

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Macbeth

May 31–June 22, 2014

“Fast, furious and unstoppable … this Macbeth [knocks] the breath out of everyone, audience included.”
–The New York Times

Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston make their highly-anticipated New York stage debuts in the U.S. premiere of the intensely physical, fast-paced production by Branagh and Rob Ashford, which places the audience directly on the sidelines of battle, where blood, sweat, and the elements of nature can be directly felt as the action unfurls across the traverse stage.

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The Passenger

July 10–13, 2014

“One of the most unflinching engagements with this subject ever made.” –The Daily Telegraph (UK)

Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s opera is an astonishing account of the horrors of World War II and the unshakable hold that memories and torment from that time can have, even today. Visionary director David Pountney brilliantly stages this landmark work, which only now makes its eagerly-awaited New York premiere.

Co-presented by Park Avenue Armory and Lincoln Center Festival

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International Contemporary Ensemble

August 17–21, 2014

“One of the most adventurous and accomplished groups in new music” –The New York Times

The cutting-edge ensemble performs an intimate chamber music series crafted with the Board of Officers Room in mind, featuring portrait concerts of leading female composers and a final concert featuring three New York premieres.

Co-presented with the Mostly Mozart Festival.

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Anna Lucia Richter, soprano

October 2–6, 2014

“A wonderfully light, floating, luminous intonation with tender expressiveness. Singing as in a prayer: making one want to bend down on one’s knees in adoration.”
–Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)

The songs of Hugo Wolf offer some of the greatest challenges in the entire lieder repertory, both for their nuanced musical subtlety and their complex interaction between prose and music. German soprano Anna Lucia Richter comes to the Board of Officers Room to interpret these glittering vocal works in her U.S. recital debut.

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St Matthew Passion

October 7–8, 2014

“Astonishing … I challenge you not to be an emotional wreck by the end of it.” –The Guardian (London)

Regarded as one of the quintessential masterpieces of classical sacred music, Bach’s revered account of Christ’s Passion is ritualized by inventive director Peter Sellars, who creates a communal grieving process in a radically inclusive approach that eliminates the separation between artist and audience. Simon Rattle leads the Berliner Philharmoniker, a cast of superb singers, and extensive choral forces for the U.S. premiere of this epic production.

Co-presented by Park Avenue Armory and Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival

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