Nadia Sirota, Tabea Zimmermann, Michael Tilson Thomas and others perform Muhly, Benjamin, Berio, and Olivero

Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is joined by renowned guest artists for a truly unique event: Viola Visions! Together they perform 20th-and 21st-century chamber works showcasing the viola. They begin with Nico Muhly’s Keep in Touch for solo viola and chamber orchestra, performed by the violist for whom it was composed, Nadia Sirota. Tabea Zimmerman and Matthew Lipman then take the stage for George Benjamin’s mesmerizing Viola, Viola. Luciano Berio’s explosive Chemins II reimagines his acclaimed Sequenzas, and is performed here by violist Jonathan Vinocour. The program closes with Israeli composer Betty Olivero’s Neharót Neharót, written for and performed by violist Kim Kashkashian: string ensembles face off in this piece that evokes wartime pain and grief using a Middle Eastern musical idioms.

Photo: Michael Tilson Thomas © Art Streiber