Symphony's 2009-2010 season: Schwarz's silver anniversary, stars from to Perlman to Fleming

Conductor Gerard Schwarz will soon celebrate his 25th year as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony. Festivities marking the occasion are part of the Symphony's Sept. 12 Opening Night Concert and Gala, featuring pianist John Lill performing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3.

Other highlights of the 2009-2010 season include a Leonard Bernstein celebration, a centennial tribute to Samuel Barber and "The Concerto Project," featuring violin concertos by Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Strauss and Barber, and piano concertos by Rachmaninov, Saint-Saëns, Schumann, Beethoven and Prokofiev.

Big performance names returning to Seattle include tenor Vinson Cole; violinists James Ehnes and Dmitry Sitkovetsky; and pianists Lang Lang, Arnaldo Cohen, Simon Trpceski and Peter Serkin. The first subscription series concert will feature pianists Marielle and Katia Labèque presenting the world premiere of Osvaldo Golijov's "Fantasia sobre La Pasión según San Marcos." Other contemporary works enjoying Seattle Symphony premieres are John Adams' "Harmonielehre" and Michael Tippett's sumptuous "Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli."

Guest conductors making their Seattle debut include Kurt Masur and Robert Spano, while returning guest conductors include Roberto Abbado and Vassily Sinaisky.

The Distinguished Artists series will feature recitals by soprano Renée Fleming, violinist Joshua Bell (with Seattle Chamber Music Society favorite Jeremy Denk on piano), violinist Julia Fischer in an all-Bach program and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet in a program of Liszt originals and transcriptions.

The "Mainly Mozart" and "Basically Baroque" series continue as mainstays of the Symphony season. Baroque highlights include Handel's oratorio "Alexander's Feast" and a collaboration with Mark Morris Dance Group in which the Seattle-born choreographer will conduct the music of Vivaldi for a revival of his 1981 work, "Gloria." Other early Morris works will also be on the program. On the Mozart front, listeners can look forward to violin works performed by Itzhak Perlman and Symphony second violinist Elisa Barston.

The 2009-2010 Guitar series features soloists Xuefei Yang, David Starobin and David Tanenbaum, all making their Seattle debuts. The Fluke/Gabelein Organ Recital series finds Seattle Symphony Resident Organist Joseph Adam returning to the keyboards, while soloists Hans-Ola Ericsson and Lynne Davis make their first Symphony appearances.

Three visiting orchestras will grace Benaroya Hall: the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg (with cellist Johannes Moser) and the Russian National Orchestra.

On the Pops Series front, conductor Marvin Hamlisch has lined up a "Fabulous '50s" night, a Stephen Sondheim tribute, highlights from Meredith Willson's "The Music Man" and a "Holiday Pops Spectacular" starring the bigtop talents of Cirque de la Symphonie.

Subscription renewals and purchases are available online at www.seattlesymphony.org, by phone at 206-215-4747 or in person at the Benaroya box office (Third Avenue at Union Street).

Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com