Release Date: September 30, 2005

National Gallery of Art Announces 2005-2006 Concert Season

Washington, DC—Forty-one concerts by acclaimed American and international musicians make up the innovative 64th season of free concerts at the National Gallery of Art, including eleven performances in celebration of exhibitions. Presented under the direction of Stephen Ackert, head of the music department, concerts are held every Sunday from October 2, 2005, through June 25, 2006, except December 25 (Christmas Day), January 1 (New Year’s Day), April 16 (Easter), and May 28 (Memorial Day).

Seating begins at 6:00 p.m. and concerts start promptly at 6:30 p.m. in the Garden Court of the West Building or in the East Building Auditorium. Entrance to concerts in the West Building is at Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW; entrance to concerts in the East Building—held in December, March and April only—is at Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. There is no entry or re-entry after 6:30 p.m. at either location. The Garden Café in the West Building is open until 6:00 p.m. for visitors’ convenience. Monthly listings of the concert programs, including specific locations, may be obtained from the Gallery’s Web site at www.nga.gov/programs/music/index.shtm or by calling (202) 842-6941.

FALL SEASON

The National Gallery Orchestra will open the season on October 2 under the direction of guest conductor Christopher Kendall, who was recently appointed head of the University of Michigan School of Music in Ann Arbor. The world-renowned Beaux Arts Trio will perform the second concert of the season on October 9. Other chamber ensembles of international reputation will include the Takacs String Quartet (October 23), the Pacifica String Quartet (December 11 in the East Building Auditorium), and the Kronos Quartet (April 2, 2006). The National Gallery Vocal Arts Ensemble, entering its second highly successful year as a chamber choir under the artistic direction of soprano Rosa Lamoreaux, will present a program of Gregorian chant, laude, and music by Palestrina in honor of the exhibition Masterpieces in Miniature: Italian Manuscript Illumination from the J. Paul Getty Museum (November 6).

WINTER SEASON

Highlights of Gallery concerts in the holiday season will include a recital by classical accordionist Geir Draugsvoll, presented in cooperation with the Royal Norwegian Embassy as an adjunct to the Norwegian Christmas Festival (December 4). The Gallery’s holiday concerts will take place on December 18, when the Suspicious Cheese Lords sing baroque and Renaissance music of the season, and on January 8, when the National Gallery Orchestra plays its traditional Viennese New Year concert under the baton of guest conductor José Serebrier. In 2006 the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King will fall on a Sunday (January 15), and the guest ensemble at the Gallery on that occasion will be the Howard University Choir, led by conductor J. Weldon Norris.

MOZART ON THE MALL

In January and February 2006, the Gallery joins other presenters in “Mozart on the Mall,” a coordinated series of concerts honoring the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In addition to all-Mozart concerts by the National Gallery Orchestra under the direction of Otto Werner-Mueller (January 22), the Mozart Piano Quartet (February 5), and the Kuijken String Quartet (February 19), the Gallery will offer a special brochure and gallery talks focusing on painting and sculpture during Mozart’s era.

SPRING SEASON

The concerts of February 26, March 5, and March 12 will feature music selected to enhance the exhibition Dada. On March 19, the Egidius Kwartet from the Netherlands will perform baroque music in honor of Amorous Intrigues and Painterly Refinement: The Art of Frans van Mieris. On April 9, the Eusia String Quartet and pianist James Dick will perform early 20th-century chamber music in honor of Cézanne in Provence. The final two concerts of the season will honor Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and the Renaissance of Venetian Painting. On June 18, the National Gallery Vocal Arts Ensemble will sing a program of Italian madrigals, and on June 25 countertenor Drew Minter will appear with the Renaissance ensemble Tempesta di Mare.

PIANISTS

Lovers of piano music will want to make repeated visits to the Gallery this season to hear recitals by Rita Bouboulidi (October 16), Håvard Gimse (November 13), Awadagin Pratt (November 27), the Paratore Brothers (January 29), Piotr Andrszewski (April 23), Joseph Schwartz (May 14), and Sara Davis Buechner (June 11).

CONCERTS IN HONOR OF EXHIBITIONS

Masterpieces in Miniature: Italian Manuscripts from the J. Paul Getty Museum (September 25, 2005–January 2, 2006) will be celebrated on November 6, during the National Gallery Vocal Arts Ensemble’s performance of Gregorian chant, and music by Palestrina. Dada will be celebrated with two concerts. On March 5, 2006, in the East Building Auditorium, Martin Marks, with the Aardvark Ensemble, performs music for silent films and other works associated with the Dada movement, and on March 12, the Alloy Orchestra will perform the same type of program. To celebrate the exhibition Amorous Intrigues and Painterly Refinement: The Art of Frans van Mieris, the Egidius Kwartet will present baroque music by Dutch and other northern European composers on March 19.

The Eusia String Quartet, with pianist James Dick, performs music by Debussy and Fauré in honor of the blockbuster exhibition Cézanne in Provence on April 9. In honor of Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and the Renaissance of Venetian Painting, the National Gallery Vocal Arts Ensemble performs Renaissance Italian madrigals on June 18, and on June 25, Drew Minter and Tempesta di Mare perform virtuoso music from the late Italian Renaissance.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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