Program Notes - Lincoln Center`s Great Performers

The Program
Wednesday Evening, April 13, 2016, at 7:30
Pre-concert lecture by Susan Orlando at 6:15
in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Chamber Orchestras
Accademia Bizantina
Ottavio Dantone, Conductor (New York conducting debut)
Christophe Coin, Cello
Sergio Azzolini, Bassoon
Delphine Galou, Contralto
ALL-VIVALDI PROGRAM
Concerto for strings in G major, RV 146
Allegro
Andante e sempre piano
Presto
Cello Concerto in D minor, RV 407
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Bassoon Concerto in G minor, RV 495
Presto
Largo
Allegro
(Program continued)
Please make certain all your electronic devices are switched off.
This performance is made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center.
Alice Tully Hall, Starr Theater
Adrienne Arsht Stage
Great Performers
BNY Mellon is Lead Supporter of Great Performers
Support is provided by Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser, Audrey Love Charitable Foundation,
Great Performers Circle, Chairman’s Council, and Friends of Lincoln Center.
Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.
Endowment support for Symphonic Masters is provided by the Leon Levy Fund.
Endowment support is also provided by UBS.
MetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln Center
Accademia Bizantina’s concert, Discovering More Vivaldi, has been partially sponsored by
the Baroque Music Foundation—Unveiling and Preserving Historic Masterpieces.
UPCOMING GREAT PERFORMERS EVENTS:
Sunday Afternoon, April 17, 2016 at 5:00 in Alice Tully Hall
Emerson String Quartet
HAYDN: Quartets Op. 76, Nos. 2 (“Fifths”) and 5
BEETHOVEN: Quartets Op. 18, Nos. 1 and 5
Pre-concert lecture by Scott Burnham at 3:45 in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Sunday Afternoon, May 8, 2016 at 3:00 in David Geffen Hall
Murray Perahia, Piano
HAYDN: Variations in F minor
MOZART: Sonata in A minor, K.310
BRAHMS: Ballade in G minor, Op. 118
BRAHMS: Two Intermezzos, Op. 119
BRAHMS: Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118
BRAHMS: Capriccio in D minor, Op. 116
BEETHOVEN: Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major (“Hammerklavier”)
Thursday Evening, May 12, 2016 at 7:30
Emerson String Quartet
HAYDN: Quartets Op. 76, Nos. 3 (“Emperor”) and 6
BEETHOVEN: Quartets Op. 18, Nos. 2 and 6
For tickets, call (212) 721-6500 or visit LCGreatPerformers.org. Call the Lincoln Center Info
Request Line at (212) 875-5766 to learn about program cancellations or to request a Great
Performers brochure.
Visit LCGreatPerformers.org for more information relating to this season’s programs.
Join the conversation: #LCGreatPerfs
We would like to remind you that the sound of coughing and rustling paper might distract the performers and your fellow audience members.
In consideration of the performing artists and members of the audience, those who must
leave before the end of the performance are asked to do so between pieces. The taking
of photographs and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in the building.
Great Performers I The Program
Sovvente il sole, from Andromeda liberata (1726)
D’un bel viso, from L’incoronazione di Dario (1717)
Intermission
Sinfonia from Dorilla in Tempe (1726)
Allegro
Andante
Allegro
Sorge l’irato nembo, from Orlando furioso
Bassoon Concerto in F major, RV 491
Allegro
Largo
[no tempo]
Cello Concerto in B minor, RV 424
Allegro non molto
Largo
Allegro
Agitata infido flatu, from Juditha triumphans devicta Holofernes
barbarie (1716)
Snapshot
Great Performers
By Rebecca Cypess
Timeframe
Vivaldi is well-known for a handful of his
most important instrumental concertos—
particularly The Four Seasons and L’estro
armonico—but the vast majority of his
music remains unfamiliar to most audiences
today. In bringing together vocal and instrumental music, this evening’s program illuminates Vivaldi as a complete musician—a
composer of instrumental music, opera, and
oratorio, as well as a performer, teacher, and
impresario.
ARTS
Numerous writers of the early 18th century
posited a close connection between vocal
and instrumental music: In 1723, the singing
teacher Pier Francesco Tosi wryly suggested
that “a little less fiddling with the voice, and
a little more singing with the instrument,
would be of great service to both.” This
hybrid approach, which treats the voice like
an instrument and musical instruments like
the most lyrical singer, was one of the most
remarkable features of Vivaldi’s compositional style, designed to astonish listeners
with virtuosity and to move them through
rhetorical and sentimental depth.
—Copyright © 2016 by Lincoln Center for the
Performing Arts, Inc.
1716
“Agitata infido flatu”
Flemish painter Jan Van Cleef
dies.
1717
L’incoronazione di Dario
Handel’s Water Music
premieres in a concert on the
Thames River.
1726
Dorilla in Tempe and
Andromeda liberata
Publication of Gulliver’s
Travels by Jonathan Swift
SCIENCE
1716
Johann Kunckel publishes a
handbook of experimental
chemistry.
1717
First book devoted to British
butterflies is published.
1726
Scotland’s University of
Edinburg establishes a faculty
of medicine.
IN NEW YORK
1716
The right of free blacks to
own land ends.
1717
Roosevelt Island is known as
Blackwell’s Island.
1726
City mayors are appointed by
provincial governors.
Notes on the Program
Great Performers I Notes on the Program
By Rebecca Cypess
Concerto for strings in G major, RV 146
Cello Concerto in D minor, RV 407
Bassoon Concerto in G minor, RV 495
Bassoon Concerto in F major, RV 491
Cello Concerto in B minor, RV 424
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Born March 4, 1678, in Venice
Died July 27/28, 1741, in Vienna
Approximate length: 45 minutes total
The instrumental concerto in the form Vivaldi first knew it developed in
Italy in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Vivaldi built on this tradition,
composing over 500 concertos. His Concerto for Strings, RV 146, proclaims the instrumental style, exploring the full range of the violin through
sweeping octave leaps in the opening motive. The sweet, lyrical second
movement contrasts a singing melody in the violins with a simple accompaniment in the basso continuo section (cellos and basses with the
accompaniment of chordal instruments). The short binary-form third
movement in a quick triple meter assumes the character and form of a
fast dance—perhaps a folk dance.
The most important structural hallmark of the first movement of concertos
in the early 18th century was the so-called “ritornello form,” in which
orchestral passages alternate with passages featuring the soloist. The
opening ritornello presents multiple ideas that are fragmented and shuffled in subsequent orchestral sections. The solo episodes, meanwhile,
push at the limits of virtuosic performance, with flashy passagework that
propels the piece forward. The orchestra, swept up in this forward motion,
inserts its ritornellos as if to comment upon the progress of the soloist.
The opening movements of the four solo concertos on this program all
adhere to the scheme of ritornello form, yet each navigates through that
scheme in a particular way. In some of the solo passages in the Cello
Concerto in B minor, RV 424, for example, Vivaldi omits the bass line,
thus highlighting the intensity of the solo cello part, which seems to rise
to an impossibly high range. The beginning of the Cello Concerto in D
minor, RV 407, has the soloist playing double stops (two strings simultaneously), thus showing facility with the instrument while seeming to float
above the rest of the orchestra.
The virtuosity in the first movement of the Bassoon Concerto in G
minor, RV 495, lies in its negotiation of the extremes of the instrumental
compass: Vivaldi sometimes calls upon the soloist to jump two and a half
octaves within a single measure, an extremely difficult task. Similarly, in
the Bassoon Concerto in F major, RV 491, the opening theme of the
Great Performers I Notes on the Program
ritornello involves remarkably wide leaps, thus setting up such leaps as the
principal challenge for the soloist, who must overcome the difficulties of the
instrument like a gymnast on a balance beam. The ritornello form prompts the
soloist on to these dazzling heights, and the audience cannot help but be
swept up in this adventurous, risky music.
Numerous writers of this period remarked on the sensitivity required to play
slow movements well: The flutist Johann Joachim Quantz wrote that “a true
musician may distinguish himself by the manner in which he plays the adagio.” Vivaldi’s slow movements, indeed, call for the most delicate and impassioned manner of performance. Three of the four solo concertos on this
evening’s program (all but RV 491) omit the high strings entirely, leaving the
soloist to play alone against the basso continuo line. This technique gives the
soloist the most rhetorical flexibility possible. Following these impassioned
slow movements, the dance-like characters of the final movements of the
concertos seem celebratory in nature. Again the soloist becomes a virtuoso
protagonist.
Sovvente il sole, from Andromeda liberata (1726)
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Approximate length: 8 minutes
Most scholars agree that the serenata Andromeda liberata, set to a libretto by
Vincenzo Cassani, was in fact a pastiche of music by numerous composers.
However, the authorship of the aria “Sovvente il sole” is in little doubt, since
it appears in a separate manuscript in Vivaldi’s hand. This aria is sung by the
character Perseus, son of Zeus, who falls in love with Andromeda and rescues
her from a sea monster. The great beauty of this aria is attributable in part to
Vivaldi’s use of an obbligato violin line that complements the vocal part, weaving around it and harmonizing with it.
Sovvente il sole
Sovvente il sole
Risplende in cielo
Più bello e vago
Se oscura nube
Già l’offusco.
E il mar tranquillo
Quasi senza onda
Talor si scorge,
Se ria procella
Pria lo turbo.
Often the sun
Often the sun
beams in the sky
with greater beauty and allure
after the dark clouds, which had
dimmed it before,
have cleared.
And the calm peaceful sea
is seen with almost no waves
after the passing of a terrible storm
which had agitated it before.
Great Performers I Notes on the Program
D’un bel viso, from L’incoronazione di Dario, RV 719 (1717)
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Approximate length: 3 minutes
Vivaldi’s opera L’incoronazione di Dario, RV 719, is set in ancient Persia following the death of Cyrus. Dario, the would-be king, falls in love with Cyrus’s
daughter Statira. In the aria “D’un bel viso,” Statira’s sister, Argene, pledges
to win Dario’s heart and ascend to the throne herself—a plan that ultimately
fails. The singer who created the role of Argene, the celebrated contralto Anna
Maria Fabbri, was widely admired for her dramatic execution. The repetition of
the opening section in the da capo form typical of arias in 18th-century opera
seria offered audiences an opportunity to hear singers like Fabbri display their
virtuosity through the addition of their own ornaments.
D’un bel viso in un momento
D’un bel viso in un momento
Si fé il core prigionier.
So che il laccio da tormento
Ma non è senza piacer!
In a moment, my heart
In a moment, my heart
was made captive by a handsome
face.
I know that the snares of love bring
torments
but they are not without pleasures!
Sinfonia from Dorilla in Tempe, RV 709 (1726)
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Approximate length: 4 minutes
The sinfonia from Vivaldi’s opera Dorilla in Tempe, RV 709, provides a link
between the instrumental and vocal works on this evening’s program. Many
of Vivaldi’s concertos were written for his students at the Ospedale della Pietà,
a girls orphanage in Venice, but the composer was also a successful opera
impresario, and some of his music was suitable for both contexts. The threepart structure of this sinfonia is not unusual, but this piece is noteworthy
because some of its music appears again in the opening scene of the opera.
The music may sound familiar: It includes a theme that Vivaldi borrowed from
the “Spring” concerto in The Four Seasons.
Sorge l’irato nembo, from Orlando furioso, RV 728
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Approximate length: 4 minutes
The widely read epic Orlando furioso, by the Renaissance poet Ludovico
Ariosto, saw numerous operatic adaptations in the early 18th century. Vivaldi’s
Orlando furioso, RV 728, with libretto by Grazio Braccioli, received its premiere
in 1727. Orlando is a knight crusader who descends into a state of madness
Great Performers I Notes on the Program
upon losing the object of his affections, Angelica, to a rival lover. The dramatic
trope of madness allowed composers to explore extreme emotional states;
the tempestuous aria “Sorge l’irato nembo,” which Vivaldi first used in his
opera Farnace, is a case in point. Its fast scales, aggressive repeated notes,
and stormy passagework connect the image of a storm in nature with the
stormy reaction of the protagonist to his emotional situation.
Sorge l’irato nembo
Sorge l’irato nembo,
E la fatal tempesta,
Col sussurrar dell’onde,
Ed agita, e confonde,
E cielo, e mare.
The angry cloud arises
The angry cloud arises,
and the fatal tempest
with the hissing waves
agitates and throws
both sky and sea into confusion.
Ma fugge in un baleno
L’orrida nube infesta,
E l’placido sereno
In cielo appar.
But the terrifying, hostile cloud
suddenly disappears,
and the clear sky
appears above.
Agitata infido flatu, from Juditha triumphans devicta Holofernes
barbarie, RV 644 (1716)
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Approximate length: 3 minutes
Vivaldi’s oratorio Juditha triumphans devicta Holofernes barbarie, RV 644, set
to a Latin libretto by Iacopo Cassetti based on the biblical story of Judith, was
composed following the Venetian defeat of the Ottoman Turks after the siege
of Corfu in 1716 as an allegory for the battle. The Assyrian general Holofernes
falls in love with Israelite woman Judith. First pretending to be in love with
him, she consents to join him at his banquet, but she sings the aria “Agitata
infido flatu” to describe her feeling of helplessness; like the swallow, she is
blown from one circumstance to another, unable to control her fate. The tempestuous music seems to rush her along as the wind buffets the swallow, and
she struggles to keep up. Ultimately she takes control, however, killing
Holofernes in his sleep.
Great Performers I Notes on the Program
Agitata infido flatu
Agitata infido flatu
Diu volatu
Vagabundo
Maesta hirundo
It plorando boni ignara.
Sed impulsu aurae serene
Tantae cito abilita poenae
In dilecta
Dulcis tecta
Gaudii ridet haud avara.
Tossed about by the fitful wind
Tossed about by the fitful wind
during its long flight,
the vagrant
swallow grieves, weeping
as it flies for the good things it has
never known
but carried on a fair breeze
it soon forgets its sorrows.
In the comfort
of its soft nest
it laughs for joy, desiring nothing
more.
Rebecca Cypess is assistant professor of music at the Mason Gross School of
the Arts, Rutgers University. Her book, Curious and Modern Inventions:
Instrumental Music as Discovery in Galileo’s Italy, was recently published by
the University of Chicago Press.
—Copyright © 2016 by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.
GIULIA PAPEZTTI
Meet the Artists
Great Performers I Meet the Artists
Ottavio Dantone
After receiving a performance degree in both organ and harpsichord,
Ottavio Dantone immediately launched into a concert career, quickly
attracting the attention of critics as one of the finest players of his generation. In 1985 he was awarded the basso continuo prize at the International Competition in Paris, and he was the highest prize winner at the
1986 International Competition in Bruges.
Mr. Dantone’s collaboration with Accademia Bizantina began in 1989, and
his profound understanding of historical performance practices during the
Baroque period led to his nomination in 1996 as its music director. Under
his direction, Accademia Bizantina has affirmed itself as one of the most
outstanding Baroque orchestras today. In addition to his activities as a
soloist and director of chamber music and small orchestras, Mr. Dantone
has added those of a major conductor, extending his repertoire to the
Classical and Romantic periods. As an opera conductor he made his
debut in 1999 with the first modern execution of Sarti’s Giulio Sabino at
Ravenna’s Teatro Alighieri with Accademia Bizantina. He has conducted
both well-known operas and operas that are rarely heard or their first
modern performance in celebrated festivals and theaters, among them
the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Zurich Opera,
and the BBC Proms in London.
Mr. Dantone has recorded as both a soloist and a conductor with such
labels as Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Naïve, and Harmonia Mundi,
winning numerous international awards and critical acclaim.
Great Performers I Meet the Artists
Christophe Coin
NEMO PERIER STEFANOVITCH
Christophe Coin studied cello at the
Paris Conservatory with André
Navarra, and viola da gamba with
Jordi Savall at Schola Cantorum
Basiliensis in Basel. In 1984 he
founded the Mosaïques Ensemble
and a few years later established the
string quartet Quatuor Mosaïques
with Erich Höbarth, Andrea Bischof,
and Anita Mitterer. The quartet performs primarily Classical repertoire
on period instruments, with a focus
on lesser-known works.
Since 1991 Mr. Coin has been director of the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges
and a teacher of Baroque cello and viola da gamba at the Conservatoire
National Supérieur de Musique in Paris and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
He has organized workshops on the building and playing of historic instruments, and collaborated on the soundtrack to Tous les Matins du Monde. As
a soloist and ensemble member, Mr. Coin has recorded some 50 CDs, including Purcell’s trio sonatas and Haydn’s cello concertos with Christopher
Hogwood. He also conducted and played Bach’s ten cantatas with violoncello
piccolo at the church in Thüringia, Germany, that is famous for its Baroque
organ by Gottfried Silbermann.
JUDITH SCHLOSSER
Sergio Azzolini
Sergio Azzolini has worked intensively in the field of Baroque music
with period instruments in addition
to his solo career as a modern bassoonist. He is a member of the
Ensemble Baroque de Limoges, led
by Christophe Coin. As a soloist he
appears regularly with Sonatori de la
Gioiosa Marca, La Stravaganza Köln,
and his own orchestra, L’Onda
Armonica, and he is a permanent
member of the chamber music
ensemble Parnassi Musici. Mr. Azzolini has won many prestigious competitions, including the Carl Maria von
Weber Competition and ARD International Music Competition. He played
with the Ma’alot Quintet for ten years, and since 1998 has been professor of
bassoon and chamber music at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel.
Great Performers I Meet the Artists
Between 2002 and 2007, Mr. Azzolini was artistic director of the Kammerakademie Potsdam, where he partook in three highly successful opera productions: Vivaldi’s La fida Ninfa, Galuppi’s Le nozze di Dorina, and Graun’s
Montezuma. In 2011, Mr. Azzolini led the Kammerakademie in a staged version of Le nozze di Figaro in Potsdam. He is currently working on a complete
recording of the 39 bassoon concertos by Vivaldi for Naïve’s Vivaldi Edition.
A. BARDEL
Delphine Galou
Delphine Galou studied philosophy
at the Sorbonne, along with piano
and singing. In 2004 she was chosen
as the ADAMI Classical Discovery of
the Year, and decided to specialize in
Baroque repertoire, collaborating
with ensembles such as Balthasar
Neumann Ensemble, I Barocchisti,
Accademia Bizantina, Collegium
1704, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Il
Complesso Barocco, Le Concert des
Nations, Orchestre Les Siècles, Les
Arts Florissants, Le Concert
d’Astrée, and more. She has performed at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées,
Angers-Nantes Opéra, Opéra de Montpellier, Royal Opera House–Covent
Garden, Theater Basel, Berlin State Opera, and Florence’s Maggio Musicale,
among others. Ms. Galou collaborated on the CD recording of Porpora’s
Vespro per la Festività dell’Assunta (Ambronay) and Vivaldi’s Teuzzone and
Orlando 1714 (Naïve).
Accademia Bizantina
Accademia Bizantina was founded in Ravenna, Italy, in 1983 with the intention
of “making music like a large quartet.” The ensemble is managed by its members, guaranteeing the chamber music approach to its performances. Among
the prominent personalities who have supported the orchestra’s development
and growth are Jörg Demus, Carlo Chiarappa, Riccardo Muti, and Luciano
Berio. Accademia Bizantina has also enjoyed the collaboration of many fine
musicians, among them Stefano Montanari, who was an integral part of the
orchestra for over 20 years.
The ensemble plays on period instruments and specializes in 17th-, 18th-, and
19th-century repertoire. In 1989 Ottavio Dantone joined the group as harpsichordist and in 1996 he was appointed musical and artistic director. Under
his guidance, Accademia Bizantina has merged philological research and an
aesthetic approach to the interpretation of music from the Baroque period.
The orchestra has gone on to specialize in the rediscovery and performance
Great Performers I Meet the Artists
of Baroque operas, ranging from major works to operas that have never been
performed in modern times. New productions scheduled for 2016 include Vivaldi’s
L’incoronazione di Dario, Handel’s Alcina and Belshazzar, and Bach’s The Art
of Fugue.
Accademia Bizantina performs in concerts halls and festivals worldwide. Its many
recordings, most notably for Decca, Harmonia Mundi, and Naïve, have won
numerous awards, including the Diapason d’Or, Midem, and a Grammy Award
nomination for Purcell’s “O Solitude” with countertenor Andreas Scholl. The
ensemble’s collaborations with Scholl and violinists Viktoria Mullova and Giuliano
Carmignola are of particular note.
Accademia Bizantina
Violin I
Alessandro Tampieri,
Concertmaster
Andrea Rognoni
Lisa Ferguson
Boris Begelman
Violin II
Ana Liz Ojeda, Principal
Ulrike Fischer
Mauro Massa
Elisa Bestetti
Alto
Diego Mecca, Principal
Paolo Zinzani
Cello
Alessandro Palmeri
Paolo Ballanti
Bass
Nicola Dal Maso
Theorbo
Tiziano Bagnati
Great Performers
Lincoln Center’s Great Performers
Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Lincoln Center’s Great Performers offers classical and contemporary music performances from the world’s outstanding
symphony orchestras, vocalists, chamber ensembles, and recitalists. Since its
initiation in 1965, the series has expanded to include significant emerging
artists and premieres of groundbreaking productions, with offerings from
October through June in Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall,
and other performance spaces around New York City. Along with lieder
recitals, Sunday morning coffee concerts, and films, Great Performers offers
a rich spectrum of programming throughout the season.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of
more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 15 programs, series, and festivals including American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln
Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival,
and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award–winning Live From
Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the Lincoln
Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center
complex and the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2 billion
campus renovation, completed in October 2012.
Lincoln Center Programming Department
Jane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director
Hanako Yamaguchi, Director, Music Programming
Jon Nakagawa, Director, Contemporary Programming
Jill Sternheimer, Director, Public Programming
Lisa Takemoto, Production Manager
Andrew Elsesser, Temporary Associate Director, Programming
Charles Cermele, Producer, Contemporary Programming
Mauricio Lomelin, Producer, Contemporary Programming
Regina Grande, Associate Producer
Amber Shavers, Associate Producer, Public Programming
Nana Asase, Assistant to the Artistic Director
Luna Shyr, Senior Editor
Olivia Fortunato, House Seat Coordinator
Accademia Bizantina’s representation:
Seth Cooper Arts Inc.
www.sethcooperarts.com
Christopher St. Clair
4 decades of thinking like an artist
NYC Department of Education teacher Dan Burwasser training music students for auditions
n the summer of 2014, more than 90
middle school arts students arrived on
Lincoln Center’s campus as part of a newly
created initiative called Middle School Arts
Audition Boot Camp. This free two-week
program, created in partnership with the
New York City Department of Education,
was designed to level the playing field
for students as they audition for some
of the city’s most competitive arts-based
high schools. As part of the intensive,
ten-session, two-week program, students
from schools with limited resources
received coaching in dance, theater, music,
and the visual arts from professionals
and teaching artists within Lincoln Center’s
resident organizations, and Department
of Education teachers. After receiving this
preparation, which included masterclasses
and mock auditions, an astounding 90%
of the students received an offer to the
high school of their choice, and 64%
were offered placement in arts-based
high schools. Audition Boot Camp was
so successful that it was repeated in the
I
summer of 2015 with an even larger group
of students. Within the next few weeks,
the 149 students from the 2015 class will
find out about their high school placements.
In the meantime, the program will continue
again this summer with a third class of up
to 160 eighth graders.
Preparing for the high school audition
is important, but what happens next?
Lincoln Center is expanding its
commitment to the graduates of the
Middle School Arts Audition Boot Camp
program through a new initiative called
Mentor-Linc. In this program, Boot Camp
alumni will have access to their peer
network all year long and can opt to be
paired with a mentor, who will continue
to offer advice and support through
four years of high school. By providing
continued access to a mentor, Lincoln
Center Education will help guide these
eighth graders toward success beyond
the audition, opening doors to a future
of opportunities.
Learn more about Lincoln Center Education: LincolnCenterEducation.org
Accessibility at
Lincoln Center
R
eflecting a quote by Lincoln
Center’s first president John D.
Rockefeller III that “the arts are not for
the privileged few, but for the many,”
Lincoln Center has had as a central
mission from its start making the
arts available to the widest possible
audiences. In 1985, that led to the
establishment of the Department of
Programs and Services for People with
Disabilities to ensure full participation
in the thousands of events presented
annually across the Lincoln Center
campus. It was the first such program
at any major performing arts center
in the U.S. and has longserved as a model for
other arts institutions
around the country.
Celebrating its 30th
anniversary with a new
name, Accessibility
at Lincoln Center,
the program
continues to provide
exceptional guest
care to all visitors,
as well as training
in accessibility to
colleagues at Lincoln
Center’s resident
organizations, including
the Film Society of
Lincoln Center, the
New York Philharmonic, and Jazz
at Lincoln Center.
Accessibility oversees the production
of large-print and Braille programs
for hundreds of performances taking
place each year at various Lincoln
Center venues. Another major
component of Accessibility is its
longstanding “Passport to the Arts.”
The program annually distributes to
children with disabilities thousands
of free tickets to a variety of Lincoln
Center performances, including
New York City Ballet and the New
York Philharmonic—a welcoming
introduction to the arts. A parent who
participated in a recent “Passport”
event commented “It allowed my
family and I to enjoy and learn along
with everyone else. The accessibility…
made it easier for our family to “relax”
and truly enjoy the
experience.”
Accessibility is
expanding the
ways it serves
adults with
disabilities. It
introduced and
oversees American
Sign Languageled official tours
of Lincoln Center,
and offers live
audio description
for select Lincoln
Center Festival
performances.
Accessibility
looks forward to growing its inclusive
programs in the years to come.
To learn more about Accessibility
at Lincoln Center, please contact
access@lincolncenter.org or call
212.875.5375.