St. Louis Symphony Announces 2013-2014 Season

Today, the St. Louis Symphony announced its 2013-2014 season, the orchestra's 134th since its founding in 1880 and the ninth led by Music Director David Robertson. The 2013-2014 classical subscription series is sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors and runs from September 20, 2013 through May 11, 2014.

The classical subscription series schedule is a dynamic and varied study of contrasts: new and old, sacred and secular, popular and classical, eastern and western. David Robertson, his tenure as Music Director now extended with the St. Louis Symphony through 2016, leads the orchestra in a season that includes orchestral favorites, music of living composers, and other masterpieces that are sure to delight new and returning St. Louis Symphony audiences. Exciting soloists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Karita Mattila and Christian Tetzlaff, return to Powell Hall in 2013-2014 to perform with the St. Louis Symphony.

Another highlight of the new season: the orchestra, under the baton of David Robertson, makes a triumphant return to Carnegie Hall November 22, 2013, performing Britten's opera Peter Grimes with a cast that includes tenor Anthony Dean Griffey and soprano Susanna Phillips on the composer's 100th birthday.

The St. Louis Symphony also makes a return to recording in 2013-2014. The October 5-6, 2013 performances of a new John Adams' concerto written for saxophone, a St. Louis Symphony co-commission and premiere, will be recorded by Nonesuch Records for release in 2014. (Nonesuch also records the St. Louis Symphony's February 16, 2013 performance of Adams' City Noir for this CD.) The St. Louis Symphony's last release with Nonesuch in 2009 included John Adams' Dr. Atomic Symphony, and was named "Classical Album of the Decade" by The Times of London.

"Our new season explores the amazing range of emotions and feelings that music evokes," said Music Director David Robertson. "We can be carried away by incredible passion and energy or transported to a realm of indescribable peace and calm, often while listening to the same composition. We imagined a season of these contrasts by linking works, time periods and themes in unusual ways that will show the amazing range and expressive power of the St. Louis Symphony."

St. Louis Symphony President & CEO Fred Bronstein said: "Nearly five years ago the St. Louis Symphony launched a vision to build new audiences through the breadth and depth of its offerings and to create the most dynamic and varied programming possible. Since then, we have seen a direct response from our audiences with steady increases in our ticket sales and attendance. The 2013-2014 season, with its broad range of musical styles and artists throughout all of our series, defines what the St. Louis Symphony means today: a pinnacle of musical excellence where there is something for everyone to relate to, to be thrilled by, and to love."

The St. Louis Symphony is proud of its success story in recent years, which includes:

A 39% increase in ticket revenues, 16% increase in seats sold and 14% increase in per-concert average attendance since the launch of major audience development initiatives four years ago
Early negotiation of a long-term collective bargaining agreement that provides labor stability with the orchestra through 2017
Extension of Music Director David Robertson's contract through 2016
Nonesuch recordings of John Adams' Doctor Atomic Symphony and City Noir
Successful tours to Europe and California
Regular engagements at Carnegie Hall

Moreover, the St. Louis Symphony continues to be recognized as one of the world's great orchestras, whether at home in Powell Hall, on a run-out program in rural Missouri, at Carnegie Hall, or in the concert halls of Europe. Its reputation as a dedicated ensemble known for its musical sophistication, talent and spirit was confirmed on its fall 2012 tour of Europe, where it was met with enthusiastic audiences and critical praise, The Times of London calling its performance "like a victory parade."

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