The 2020/2021 Seattle Symphony subscription season at a glance

For many years, I’ve put together a little pocket guide to the Seattle Symphony subscription season for my symphony friends to help them decide which ticket package they want. At some point, we may start subscribing again, but for now, we pick-and-choose individual concerts.

Here’s the at-a-glance season guide for the 2020/2021 season, still with no comments from me because it’s not worth trying to rate every piece to help my friends pick one concert. If you’re my friend and want recommendations, just call. Besides, you can probably preview nearly all of the pieces nowadays (minus the premieres) by searching on YouTube.

• Official brochure. It’s called the “2021 season” because it’s short for “2020/2021”, not because it covers only the year 2021.
• Press release
• Official video
• Season highlights

This is Thomas Dausgaard’s second season as the Seattle Symphony’s music director.

Week	Program		22	13	7A 7B	8C 8D	7E 7F		8G	5A		SU	BW
09/24 2020	Reena Esmail: New Work¹ Mozart: Piano Concerto #24 Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
10/08 2020	Charlotte Bray: At the Speed of Stillness Mozart: Violin Concerto #3 Dvořák: Symphony #6
10/15 2020	Haydn: Symphony #104, “London” Shostakovich: Piano Concerto #1 Ravel: Mother Goose
10/25 2020	Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (mandolin) Traditional Venetian Gondolier Songs
10/29 2020	Mendelssohn: The Hebrides (“Fingal’s Cave”) Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto Suk: Meditation on the old Czech Chorale “Saint Wenceslas” Miloslav Kabeláč: Symphony #4 “Camerata”²
11/05 2020	Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Bartók: Violin Concerto #2 Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem Debussy: La mer
11/12 2020	Ligeti: San Francisco Polyphony Elgar: Cello Concerto Amy Beach: Symphony #2, “Gaelic”
11/19	Beethoven: Missa solemnis
01/14 2021	Sarah Gibson: warp & weft Mozart: Piano Concerto #26 “Coronation” Schumann: Symphony #3 “Rhenish”
01/21 2021	Jörg Widmann: Con brio Mozart: Sinfonia concertante for Winds Tchaikovsky: Symphony #6, “Pathétique“
01/29 2021	Handel: Concerto grosso, Op. 6, #5 Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in G minor, RV 416 Rameau: Selections from Les Boréades Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in A minor, RV 419 CPE Bach: Cello Concerto in A major Haydn: Symphony #13
02/04 2021	Kodály: Dances of Galánta Brahms: Hungarian Dances #1, 3, 10 Brahms: Symphony #4
02/11 2021	Nielsen: Symphony #6 “Sinfonia semplice“ Enrico Chapela: Violin Concerto² Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite
02/18 2021	Lutosławski: Symphonic Variations Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Tchaikovsky: Suite #3
02/25 2021	Hannah Kendall: Kanashibari² Beethoven: Piano Concerto #4 R. Strauss: Le bourgeois gentilhomme Suite
03/18 2021	Christopher Rouse: Rapture Nico Muhly, Sven Helbig & Zhou Long: Three Continents Concerto² Wagner: Selections from The Ring
03/25 2021	John Adams: I Still Dance Prokofiev: Piano Concerto #2 Dvořák: Symphony #9, “From the New World”
04/08 2021	Mozart: Piano Concerto #20 Mahler: Symphony #5
04/29 2021	Beethoven: Coriolan Overture Bartók: Piano Concerto #3 Erkki-Sven Tüür: Phantasma² Stravinsky: Pétrouchka
05/06 2021	Bach: Concerto for Two Violins Handel: Organ Concerto Op. 7, #1 Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Cellos Dvořák: Serenade for Strings
05/14	Bach: Cantatas (selections)
05/20 2021	Haydn: Piano Concerto in F Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Mozart: Piano Concerto #9, “Jeunehomme“
06/10 2021	Betsy Jolas: A Little Summer Suite Prokofiev: Violin Concerto #2 Franck: Symphony in D minor
06/17 2021	Hans Abrahamsen: Horn Concerto² Schumann: Konzertstück for Four Horns Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
06/24	Tan Dun: Buddha Passion
Week	Program		22	13	7A 7B	8C 8D	7E 7F		8G	5A		SU	BW

¹ World Premiere
² U.S. Premiere

Insider tip: Click a column header to focus on a specific series. (This feature has been around for several years, actually.)

Legend:

22	Masterworks 22-concert series (Choice of Thursdays or Saturdays)
13	Masterworks 13-concert series (Choice of Thursdays or Saturdays)
7A	Masterworks 7-concert series A (Thursdays)
7B	Masterworks 7-concert series B (Saturdays)
8C	Masterworks 8-concert series C (Thursdays)
8D	Masterworks 8-concert series D (Saturdays)
7E	Masterworks 7-concert series E (Thursdays)
7F	Masterworks 7-concert series F (Saturdays)
8G	Masterworks 8-concert series G (Sunday afternoons)
5A	Masterworks 5-concert series A (Friday afternoons)
SU	Untuxed (Fridays, reduced program)
BW	Baroque and Wine (Choice of Fridays or Saturdays)

For those not familiar with the Seattle Symphony ticket package line-ups: Most of the ticket packages are named Masterworks nX where n is the number of concerts in the package, and the letter indicates the variation. Ticket packages have been combined if they are identical save for the day of the week. For example, 8C and 8D are the same concerts; the only difference is that 8C is for Thursday nights, while 8D is for Saturday nights.

Notes and changes:

• The 7[AB], 8[CD], and 7[EF] concert series do not overlap, so you can create your own pseudo-series by taking any two of them, or recreate the 22-concert series by taking all three.
• The 13-concert series is the same as the 8[CD] and 7[EF] series combined, minus the November 19 and February 18 concerts.
• Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot returns to the podium for the concerts on the weekend of June 10.
• Not included above are other regular series that do not overlap with the Masterworks series: Pops, Recitals, [untitled] (contemporary music), Chamber music, Family Concerts, and Tiny Tots.
• Last season, the Baroque and Wine series struck out on its own and had no overlap with the Masterworks series, but this season it connects back to the Masterworks series via the Four Seasons concert on October 25.
• The Seattle Symphony Family Connections program is still going. It provides free symphony tickets for up to two children with the purchase of an adult ticket.
• Khatia Buniatishvili is this year’s artist in residence, which I think will be very exciting. She performs on opening night and in recital.
• Violinist Ray Chen performs in recital. No relation.
• Once again, there is a June Beethoven Festival, commemorating the composer’s 250th birthday. It performs the complete symphonies alongside contemporary works. 1 and 3, 2 and 7, 6 and 8, 4 and 5, 9.
• There are always one-off concerts scattered through the year.
• Over the years, the format of the Seattle Symphony official brochure has gradually gotten closer and closer to the format of this pocket guide. This makes my job both easier and arguably superfluous.

Update: The entire 2020–2021 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Replacement concerts were held with no audience physically present, and the live stream was made available to all subscribers regardless of ticket package. Selections marked with a § symbol were from cancelled concerts in the original 2019–2020 or 2020–2021 schedule.

Week	Program
09/19 2020	Season Opening Reimagined Mozart: Overture to Don Giovanni Whitney Mongé: “Tomorrow”, “Crash”, “Day N Nite”, “Gracefully” Mary D. Watkins: Five Movements in Color: Soul of Remembrance Beethoven: Symphony #7
09/24 2020	Mozart: Piano Concerto #21 Beethoven: Symphony #5
10/02 2020	Essentials Series Whitney Mongé with the Seattle Symphony
10/08 2020	Korngold: Dance in the Old Style Barber: Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings
10/15 2020	Carlos Simon: An Elegy: A Cry from the Grave § Shostakovich: Piano Concerto #1 § Haydn: Symphony #104, “London”
10/22	§ Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
10/29 2020	Jessie Montgomery: Starburst § Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto Mozart: Symphony #29
11/05 2020	Thomas Adès: Three Studies from Couperin Debussy: Danses sacrée et profane Martin: Ballade for Flute and Orchestra Honegger: Symphony # 2
11/12 2020	Caroline Shaw: Entr’acte Shostakovich: Cello Concerto #2 Beethoven: Symphony #8
11/19 2020	Brett Dean: Testament § Tyshawn Sorey: For Roscoe Mitchell for Cello & Orchestra¹ Beethoven: Symphony #4
12/04 2020	(cancelled) Essentials Series Ivan & Alyosha with the Seattle Symphony
12/11 2020	(cancelled) Holiday Pops with the Seattle Symphony N’Kenge with the Seattle Symphony
12/17 2020	(cancelled) Handel: Selections from Rodrigo Rameau: Selections from Hippolyte et Aicie W.F. Bach: Harpsichord Concerto, F. 41 Bach: Brandenburg Concerto #5
01/08 2021	(cancelled) Essential Series Grieves with the Seattle Symphony
01/21 2021	Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Trumpets Bach: Oboe Concerto in F major Grieg: Holberg Suite
01/28 2021	Haydn: Cello Concerto in C major Prokofiev: Symphony #1
02/04 2021	“Hope & Harmony” (program announced from the podium) Mendelssohn: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending Juan David Osorio López: El Paraíso según Maria Carlos Simon: Fate Now Conquers
02/11	(no replacement concert)
02/18 2021	Chamber music series Juri Seo: Lost Songs Schumann: String Quartet #2 Mozart: Serenade #12 “Nachtmusik”
02/25 2021	§ Hannah Kendall: Kanashibari² § Beethoven: Piano Concerto #4 § Ravel: Mother Goose Suite
03/04 2021	Pops Series Sinatra and Beyond with the Tony DeSare Quartet
03/18 2021	“Celebrate Asia” annual concert Takashi Yoshimatsu: Atom Hearts Club Suite #1 Dai Fujikura: Umi (“Sea”) for Orchestra² Akira Senju: A Ba La Ka Kya IV¹ Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme
03/26 2021	Essentials Series Ivan & Alyosha with the Seattle Symphony
04/02 2021	A Tribute to Louis Armstrong Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra
04/08 2021	§ Mozart: Piano Concerto #20 Schubert: Symphony #8 “Unfinished”
04/15 2021	Shostakovich: Chamber Symphony, Op. 110A Respighi: The Birds
04/23 2021	§ Schumann: Konzertstück for Four Horns Elgar: Serenade for Strings Jessie Montgomery: Strum
04/29 2021	Chamber Series Anthony Barfield: Gravity Allison Loggins-Hull: Hammers Takemitsu: Rain Tree Tan Dun: Elegy: Snow in June
05/06 2021	Handel: Organ Concerto in F “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale” Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Cellos Dvořák: Serenade for Strings
05/13 2021	Bach: Orchestral Suite #1 Schubert: Symphony #5
05/20 2021	Beethoven: Piano Concerto #2 § Mozart: Piano Concerto #9, “Jeunehomme“
05/27 2021	(Chamber works for brass and organ) Dukas: Fanfare to La Péri Pierre Dumage: Grand Jeu from Premier livre d’orgue Eugène Gigout (organ arr. Michel Rondeau): Grand chœur dialogué Marques Young: Synthetic Voices Anthony DiLorenzo: Tango #1 Emma Gregan: Popcorn Duruflé: Scherzo, Op. 2 Anthony Barfield: Invictus Wagner (organ arr. Jay Friedman):   Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral from Lohengrin
06/04 2021	Pops Series Wish Upon the Stars: Music from movies Mickey Mouse March Selections from The Jungle Book Ponchielli: Dance of the Hours (Fantasia) Selections from How to Train Your Dragon Hallelujah from Shrek Selections from Alice in Wonderland (1951) When You Wish Upon a Star from Pinocchio Rhapsody in Blue (arr. orch.) (Fantasia 2000) Selections from Beauty and the Beast
06/10 2021	Augusta Read Thomas: Magic Box § Prokofiev: Violin Concerto #2 Haydn: Symphony #86
06/17 2021	Miguel De Águila: Malambo Beethoven: Symphony #6 “Pastoral”
06/24 2021	Arild Plau: Tuba Concerto Beethoven: Symphony #3 “Eroica”