We are thrilled to announce our 78th concert season and unveil the 2018/2019 Phillips Music concerts. The visceral thrill of live music that our audiences experience is quite extraordinary. Musicians relish the atmosphere in our Music Room—they appreciate its intimacy, the surrounding artworks, and the ease of communicating with those present. We have found nothing more rewarding and are very grateful to each of you who come to our concerts. The Phillips Music team is eager for you to join us this season as we return to a refreshed Music Room. Following one year of renovation, we can now enjoy improved acoustics, new artwork (now including sculpture), an impressively quiet HVAC system, a cash bar prior to concerts and during intermissions, and . . . seat cushions!
Violinist Ulf Wallin, cellist Torleif Thedéen, and pianist Roland Pöntinen make their DC debut with works by Schumann, Prokofiev, Berg, and Schoenberg.
Violinist Tai Murray makes her DC debut with works by Pietro Locatelli , Niccolò Paganini, Fritz Kreisler, Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, Nathan Milstein, and John Corigliano.
Violinist Virgil Boutellis-Taft and pianist JuYoung Park will make their DC debut with works by Schumann, Brahms, Saint-Saëns, Janáček, Debussy, and Hossein.
The Calidore String Quartet will return to the Phillips to perform a new work by Caroline Shaw titled Three Essays (co-commissioned by The Phillips Collection), alongside works by Haydn and Robert Schumann.
Guitarist Ana Vidović makes her Phillips debut with works by J.S. Bach, Mario Giuliani, Francisco Tárrega, Agustín Barrios Mangoré, Domenico Scarlatti, and Astor Piazzolla.
A music documentary about Olivier Messiaen’s transcendent masterpiece, that he composed in a World War II prison camp, and debuted there on January 15, 1941. This film was completed on the 75th Anniversary of that historic premiere, and features “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band Ensemble performing in rehearsal and at The Phillips Collection. Created by H. Paul Moon.
Some of the world's leading pianists have played The Phillips Collection's Steinway Concert D 542016, but they started hearing something wrong with it: the soundboard. This half-hour documentary—named for the spruce wood that replaced the soundboard—tells the story of tearing the piano apart and bringing it back to life. Along the way, we learn how a piano works and witness the consummate art of restoration by PianoCraft. Rising international star Olivier Cavé puts it to the test in this cinematic music documentary by filmmaker H. Paul Moon.
