Classical Music for Everyone

Ben Folds, dinosaurs, R.E.M. founder star with Fort Worth Symphony in 2018-19

UPDATE: Single tickets for Ben Folds and the other special concerts go on sale July 30, the Fort Worth Symphony says.

---

The Fort Worth Symphony's 2018-19 concert season offers something for fans of high culture, pop culture, and — for the first time — kid culture, too.

In addition to the symphonic and pops seasons, FWSO is introducing a Family Series composed of three kid-friendly concerts: "Superhero Soundtrack Junior," "The Music of Harry Potter," and "Jurassic Parts," described as "as new concert that tells the story of when instruments ruled the world."

A second nod to dinosaurs comes on the pops season with "Jurassic Park in Concert." The orchestra will play John Williams' score along with a 25th anniversary screening of the film. (Yes, 25th anniversary. Where has the time gone?)

But the hot pops ticket will be multi-platinum singer-songwriter Ben Folds, who will rock Bass Hall for the first time since his sold-out concert with FWSO in 2015.

The symphony's annual gala fundraising concert will welcome another musician who, like Folds, toggles deftly between pop and classical music. R.E.M. founding member Mike Mills joins the FWSO and music director Miguel Harth-Bedoya, along with violinist Robert McDuffie, to play Mills' Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and String Orchestra.

The symphony's bread and butter, of course, is its symphonic series. Next season is packed with audience favorites, including Copland's Appalachian Spring, Mahler's Symphony No. 5, Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2, and more.

"The season will also bring exciting new works by three visiting composers: Jimmy Lopez, Andrew Norman, and Antonio Juan-Marcos," Harth-Bedoya says in a release. "Finally, this August the orchestra will celebrate the Bernstein Centennial with three programs of music by this charismatic musical giant of the 20th century."

Subscriptions will go on sale Friday, January 26 and can be ordered at www.fwsymphony.org or by calling 817-665-6000. Symphony series subscriptions range in price from $160-$678. Pops subscriptions range from $182-$560. Bernstein Centennial Festival subscriptions range from $51-$216. Family series subscriptions are $24 for children up to age 12 and $51 for adults. Single tickets will go on sale Monday, July 30, 2018, and student discounts are available. Most concerts take place at Bass Hall.

Here is a closer look at the 2018-19 season, with concert descriptions from FWSO:

The Family Concerts:

September 8, 2018: “Superhero Soundtrack Junior” – a pint-sized version of our Pops concert celebrating the musical movie themes of Superheroes
November 3, 2018: “The Music of Harry Potter” – this wildly popular program is coming back to bring you music from the Harry Potter film franchise
February 2, 2019: “Jurassic Parts” – a new concert that tells the story of when instruments ruled the world

The Pops Concerts

September 7-9, 2018: “Superhero Soundtrack” – Stuart Chafetz, conductor (featuring some of the most memorable movie themes of all time from blockbusters like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Supergirl, X-Men: The Last Stand, and more)
October 12-14, 2018: “Super Diamond: A Tribute to Neil Diamond” – Ron Spigelman, conductor (the tribute band Super Diamond joins the FWSO to perform a glittering performance of Neil Diamond’s top hits)
November 2-4, 2018: “Time for Three” – Nicholas Kendall, violin; Charles Yang, violin; Ranaan Meyer, double-bass (the genre-defying American trio performs music from Bach to Brahms and beyond, playing originals and their own arrangements of everything from bluegrass and folk tunes to ingenious mash-ups of hits by the Beatles, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake and more)
November 23-25, 2018: “Home for the Holidays” – Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; (featuring all of your favorite seasonal songs and a special visit by a man in a red and white suit)
January 18-20, 2019: “Ragtime, Blues & All That Jazz” – Byron Stripling, trumpet, vocals, and conductor (featuring music by ragtime masters Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton plus blues legends B.B. King, Muddy Waters and much more)
March 8-10, 2019: “Mariachi Los Camperos: Viva Mexico, Viva America!” – Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor (the GRAMMY Award-winning group explores the works of Mexico’s many internationally renowned songwriters, highlighting the exquisite voices within Mariachi Los Camperos)
March 22-24, 2019: “Jurassic Park in Concert” – Damon Gupton, conductor (featuring a screening of the 1993 film with John Williams’ magnificent score performed live to picture by the FWSO)

Special Concerts and Gala

September 24, 2018: Multi-platinum singer-songwriter Ben Folds returns to the FWSO for the first time since 2015 for an evening of fan favorites and more, backed by the FWSO.
December 3, 2018: A holiday tradition, the FWSO, conducted by Associate Conductor Alejandro Gómez Guillén, will perform Handel’s Messiah.
December 15, 2018: The FWSO will screen the holiday favorite Home Alone at Will Rogers Auditorium, featuring John Williams’ charming and delightful score performed live to picture by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and the Lone Star Youth Chorus.
December 31, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts a New Year’s Eve tribute to Frank Sinatra featuring vocalist Cary Hoffman.
February 9, 2019: Violinist Robert McDuffie and R.E.M. drummer Mike Mills join Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the FWSO for a gala concert featuring performances of Mills’ Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and String Orchestra and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Symphonic Series

September 14-16, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; James Ehnes, violin (TCHAIKOVSKY Capriccio Italien, Violin Concerto, and Symphony No. 6, “Pathetique”)
October 5-7, 2018: Eugene Tzigane, conductor; Maja Bodganović, cello (BRITTEN Four Sea Interludes, SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No. 1, SMETANA The Moldau from Má Vlast, and DEBUSSY La mer)
October 26-28, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Alessio Bax, piano; Antonio Juan-Marcos, visiting composer (BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2, ANTONIO JUAN-MARCOS Canto de Semillas [World Premiere], and RAVEL Selections from Daphnis et Chloé)
November 9-11, 2018: Jacomo Bairos, conductor; Jennifer Corning Lucio, oboe (LISZT Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, STRAUSS Concerto for Oboe, COPLAND Appalachian Spring, MÁRQUEZ Danzón No. 2)
January 11-13, 2019: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Jimmy López, visiting composer (JIMMY LÓPEZ Symphony No. 1, STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra)
February 1-3, 2019: Andrew Grams, conductor; Simone Porter, violin (SCHUMANN Overture to Hermann und Dorothea, BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1, BRAHMS Symphony No. 2)
February 22-24, 2019: Ruth Reinhardt, conductor; Stephen Hough, piano (STRAVINSKY Danses Concertantes, MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No. 1, SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5)
March 15-17, 2019: Robert Spano, conductor; Jessica Rivera, soprano (STRAUSS Four Last Songs, MAHLER Symphony No. 5)
April 5-7, 2019: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Colin Currie, percussion; Andrew Norman, visiting composer (DVOŘÁK Carnival Overture, ANDREW NORMAN Switch [Concerto for Percussion], MARTINŮ Symphony No. 1)
May 17-19, 2019: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar (KODÁLY Dances of Galánta, RODRIGO Fantasia para un gentilhombre, SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5)

Lenny at 100: A Bernstein Centennial Festival

August 24, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Kelley O’Connor, mezzo-soprano (Slava! A Political Overture, West Side Story Symphonic Dances, and Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah”)
August 25, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; David Shifrin, clarinet (Three Dance Episodes from On the Town; Sonata for Clarinet; Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, and On The Waterfront)
August 26, 2018: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor; Kelley O’Connor, mezzo-soprano; Michael Adams, baritone (Overture to Candide, Three Dances from Fancy Free, Chichester Psalms, and Selections from Candide, Trouble in Tahiti, Arias and Barcarolles, and more)

Pianist Alessio Bax joins FWSO for the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2.

Alessio Bax/Facebook

Pianist Alessio Bax joins FWSO for the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2.

music concerts

Ancient Sculpture News

Fort Worth museum one of only 3 in U.S. to get rare sculpture exhibit

Lorenzo di Masi/Torlonia Collection

The Torlonia Nile

A major exhibition of ancient Roman masterworks is coming to the U.S. for the first time to be viewed at only three museums — including the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

Called Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, it's an assemblage of works stewarded by the Torlonia Family beginning in the early-19th century, and will be installed at the Kimbell from September 14, 2025 – January 25, 2026.

As part of the Foundation’s mission to showcase these historical works to the public, the exhibition will premiere at the Art Institute of Chicago on March 15 through June 29, before traveling to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Its third stop will be at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, from March 14 - July 19, 2026.

The Torlonia Collection was established during the course of the 19th century by the Franco-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia and his son Alessandro, then handed down over generations, eventually growing into the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures.

Today, the Torlonia Foundation represents the culmination of the Family’s continued passion for art. Created at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925–2017), the Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia.

In 1876, Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1800-1886) created a museum to house and exhibit the Family’s holdings, which was open to small groups until its closure at the onset of World War II. The sculptures remained unseen by the public from that time until the Foundation’s first exhibition at the Musei Capitolini in Rome in 2020. That was followed by a stint at the Louvre, the first presentation of the collection outside of Rome, where it has drawn more than 600,000 visitors to date, an unprecedented feat.

The exhibit
The curators of Myth & Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection are Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum Box. All of the sculptures in the exhibition have been restored by the Foundation with the support of Bvlgari.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, edited by Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff, with essays by Silvia Beltrametti and Salvatore Settis.

The North American presentation will feature 58 highlights from the Torlonia Collection, including 24 newly restored works that have not been on view in nearly a century. The sculptures date from approximately the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, with the majority of the works dating to the High Imperial period (1st–2nd centuries CE). Highlights include examples of the most emblematic genres of ancient marble sculpture, acquired by the Torlonia Family from the most prominent collections of Rome’s patrician families, as well as from excavations made on the Family’s own estates throughout Italy.

“The Foundation is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in North America for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia Family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of the Torlonia Foundation.

The presentation is organized thematically in six sections, featuring sculptures found on the Torlonia Family’s properties in Rome and the surrounding suburbs and their estate in Porto, Portugal, as well as a number of exceptional sarcophagi (stone coffins), among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome.

The tour reinforces the work of the Foundation to advance the appreciation and understanding of this unparalleled collection and the rich cultural heritage it represents. The Foundation’s mission is carried out through a continuous joint effort between the public and private sectors, including with the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Culture. The Foundation is supported by a longstanding collaboration with Bvlgari as the principal sponsor of the restoration project since its inception in Rome and throughout the global tour, and Chiomenti, who has lent invaluable support to the Foundation’s core activities.

galleries