2022/23 Debut Series at Longy's Pickman Hall

The Debut Series at Longy's Pickman Hall

Hear artists you'll be talking about for years in our most intimate hall for classical music!

In the 2022-23 season, we celebrate ten years of hosting fascinating musicians from around the world as new-to-the-Series artists take the stage at Longy School of Music of Bard College's intimate Pickman Hall. Some are making their Boston recital debuts, some are appearing in the city for the first time, and others are making their first-ever tours to the United States!

The 2022/23 Debut Series

Get ready to enjoy thoughtfully curated recitals that will give you a new perspective on composers you thought you knew by heart, take you on a journey from darkness to dawn, and explore the beauty and common language of music from diverse regions and eras.

Víkingur Ólafsson, piano
November 29

An original musical mind—called “Iceland’s Glenn Gould” by the New York Times—acclaimed pianist Víkingur Ólafsson makes his Boston debut, fresh off the heels of his latest album, Mozart & Contemporaries. On the album, as in this program, Ólafsson sets works of Mozart alongside selections by Franz Joseph Haydn, C.P.E. Bach, Domenico Cimarosa, and Baldassare Galuppi. The carefully-curated program, which focuses on works from Mozart’s last decade, embraces Ólafsson’s deep awe and admiration for Mozart and his music, and places Mozart in fascinating dialogue with his contemporaries.

Martin Helmchen, piano
December 6

German pianist Martin Helmchen’s “creamy tone” and “crystalline beauty” (Boston Globe) have made him known as one of the greatest pianists of his generation. For his Celebrity Series debut, Helmchen brings a program of Bach, Brahms, and R. Schumann to Boston audiences.

Alexi Kenney, violin
Shifting Ground
February 22

Violinist Alexi Kenney—praised for his “beautiful, aching tone” (Strings)—makes his Celebrity Series debut this season with a program entitled Shifting Ground. In this recital for solo violin with and without electronics, which the New York Times called “breathless and often daring,” Kenney weaves selections from Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas with contemporary compositions, placing the past and the present in a compelling dialogue.

Fatma Said, soprano
Rafael Aguirre, guitar
March 30

Egyptian soprano Fatma Said, making her United States recital debut, and Spanish guitarist Rafael Aguirre bring diverse, interconnected cultures together to create a sublime and illuminating experience that you won’t want to miss. Said’s partnership with Aguirre brings a cross-cultural flair to this recital, which features Spanish, Egyptian, and Lebanese songs, as well as selections from Brazil.

Davóne Tines, bass-baritone
Adam Nielsen, piano
Recital No. 1: MASS
April 26

Bass-baritone Davóne Tines, Musical America’s 2022 Vocalist of the Year, makes his Celebrity Series debut with an ambitious and brilliantly curated program entitled Recital No. 1: MASS. Tines invites listeners to recontextualize Bach arias, Caroline Shaw’s Mass, and religious ritual. Woven amongst these works are spiritual arrangements by Tyshawn Sorey, Moses Hogan, and Margaret Bonds, as well as Julius Eastman’s powerful a cappella work, Prelude to the Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc.

Aizuri Quartet
May 3

The Aizuri Quartet infuses all their music-making with infectious energy, joy, and warmth, and cultivates curiosity in listeners. Tracing a journey from darkness to dawn, and culminating in the warmth of Haydn’s “Sunrise” Quartet, this program explores the ways in which the atmosphere, psychological power, and political metaphor of the night have been an inspiration for composers from the classical era to the present.

Past Debut Series Artists

One of the most thrilling things about the Debut Series is knowing that you'll likely see or hear these artists again and again -- on the Series and around the world -- as their careers flourish.

It's a special experience for all when a Debut Series artist returns to perform at Jordan Hall or Symphony Hall. When you attend a Debut Series performance, you support a young or up-and-coming artist, and you get the bragging rights to say "I was there when..." as they return to Boston to take a bigger stage.

Which artists in the current season first appeared on the Series at Longy's Pickman Hall? Read on for the illustrious list!

Junction Trio
(Conrad Tao, piano, 2021)
December 10
NEC's Jordan Hall

Three game-changing musicians combine their talents into one sensational and eclectic group. Violinist Stefan Jackiw, cellist Jay Campbell, and pianist Conrad Tao have all dazzled Celebrity Series audiences in unexpected pairings, and the trio will deliver a fascinating and thrilling program that interweaves the old and the new.

Danish String Quartet (2013)
January 27
NEC's Jordan Hall

Danish String Quartet makes a long-awaited return to Celebrity Series to present works representing its wide range of performance interests, spanning the classical quartet literature and beyond. Quartets by Haydn and Shostakovich sit alongside a set of Nordic folk tunes, beautifully arranged by members of the ensemble.

Igor Levit, piano (2017)
March 4
NEC's Jordan Hall

Virtuosic pianist Igor Levit—who became a social media sensation during the COVID-19 lockdown for his series of 52 consecutive home performances spanning the piano repertory from Bach to Billy Joel—returns in the new season to a more habitual setting to take on three pinnacles of the piano literature. Don’t miss these masterworks performed by one of the “most important artists of his generation” (New York Times) when Igor Levit plays Beethoven’s last sonatas.

Joshua Bell, violin
Daniil Trifonov, piano (2012)
April 4
Symphony Hall

Joshua Bell and Daniil Trifonov, two of the most brilliant and awarded artists in classical music, each command the stage, yet complement each other as a duo. Undeniable star power and sublime music-making abound when “an astonishing pianist” (Los Angeles Times) and “one of the world’s greatest violinists” (Washington Post) join forces for this extraordinary recital!

Beatrice Rana, piano (2019)
April 14
NEC's Jordan Hall

Italian pianist Beatrice Rana has become a force in the international classical music world, receiving admiration from critics and audiences alike. As renowned for her sensitivity and musical intelligence as she is for her vivid colorations and pyrotechnics, she is a pianist who truly has it all. She takes on one of the highlights of the piano repertoire, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, in her return to the Series.

Doric String Quartet (2018)
with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor (2013)
April 22
NEC's Jordan Hall

The Doric String Quartet is a leading quartet of its generation, receiving enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics across the globe. Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor joins the Quartet for British composer Frank Bridge’s Quintet in D minor. Grosvenor “commands the stage with aristocratic ease” and “makes you sigh with joy,” wrote the New York Times.