Carnegie Hall Opening Night-Boston Symphony Orchestra and James Levine

Carnegie Hall opens its 2009–2010 season with a gala benefit concert featuring the Boston Symphony Orchestra and music director James Levine on Thursday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. The program includes the New York premiere of John Williams’ On Willows and Birches, for harp and orchestra, with BSO principal harpist Ann Hobson Pilot as featured soloist. Mr. Williams has written this piece to honor Ms. Pilot who is retiring after a 40-year career with the orchestra. Also on the program is Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor with pianist Evgeny Kissin—as a prelude to the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth in 2010—as well as Berlioz’s Le Carnaval romain Overture and Debussy’s La mer. The Opening Night Gala of Carnegie Hall’s 119th season is co-chaired by Susan and Ed Forst and Myra and Robert Kraft. The Opening Night Gala Sponsor is PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The benefit for Carnegie Hall’s artistic and education programs includes a Gala Dinner at The Waldorf=Astoria’s Grand Ballroom following the concert. Gala benefit tickets—priced at $5000, $2500, and $1250—include premiere concert seating and the post-concert dinner at The Waldorf=Astoria. Benefit tickets, priced at $800, include the concert and a pre-concert cocktail reception, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in Carnegie Hall’s Rohatyn Room. All gala benefit tickets are available by calling 212-903-9679. A limited number of concert-only tickets, priced at $59 and $94 are now available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, www.carnegiehall.org.