The Seattle Symphony has announced its first season under the leadership of Ludovic Morlot, with world premieres by David Diamond, Michael Hersch, Nico Muhly, Daron Hagen, Cuong Vu, William Brittelle, and Vladimir Nikolaev. The featured composer is Henri Dutilleux, who, as it happens, turns ninety-five tomorrow. The Brooklyn Philharmonic, which has offered little in recent seasons, has made a bold move by hiring Alan Pierson, the leader of Alarm Will Sound, as its next artistic director. Pierson is a furiously inventive programmer, and I expect that Brooklyn is in for some lively musical adventures. Carnegie Hall has announced its 2011-12 season, which celebrates the 125th anniversary of the hall; of greatest interest is a New York extension of Michael Tilson Thomas's latest American Mavericks festival, the full version of which will unfold at the San Francisco Symphony in March 2012. Next week, MTT presides over the unveiling of a high-tech music complex for the New World Symphony, in Miami. The architect is Frank Gehry, designing his first concert hall since Disney. The inaugural concert will bring the world premiere of Thomas Adès's Polaris: Voyage for Orchestra. I will have a report in a future issue of the New Yorker. Finally, the estimable Philharmonia Baroque is marking its thirtieth anniversary by establishing an in-house label, which will kick off with a disc of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson singing Berlioz and Handel.
