FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Katie Bonner, Marketing and Public Relations Associate
Office: (860) 246-8742 ext. 317 ∙ Email: kbonner@hartfordsymphony.org
Fundraising Concert to Feature Piano Concerti of Beethoven & Mozart
HARTFORD, August 17, 2010 –The Hartford Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the opening of its 67th season with a celebrated performance by the legendary pianist Emanuel Ax at An Evening with Emanuel Ax on Saturday, September 25, 2010 in the Belding Theater at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. Led by Music Director Edward Cumming, this one-night-only concert will feature Beethoven’s passionate Piano Concerto No. 4, as well as Mozart’s Symphony No. 23 and Beethoven’s Leonora Overture No. 1. As an added delight, Mr. Ax’s wife, Yoko Nozaki, will join him to play the rarely performed Mozart “Double” Piano Concerto No. 10 in E-flat Major.
As the major annual fundraising event for the HSO, this festive evening will provide critical support for the Symphony’s school-based music education and community engagement programs, along with the HSO’s core music programs. Ticket holders to the full evening of events will enjoy a cocktail reception and dinner catered by the Max Group, as well as an exclusive dessert reception with guest artists Emanuel Ax and Yoko Nozaki after the concert. New this week, the HSO has announced the availability of a limited number of “concert-only” tickets which can be purchased by calling HSO ticket services at (860)244-2999 or online at www.hartfordsymphony.org.
Born in Lvov, Poland, Emanuel Ax captured public attention in 1974 when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition. In 1975, he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists followed four years later by the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. Today, he is one of the most sought-after pianists in the world. In the 2008-09 season, Mr. Ax’s special projects included a duo recital tour with Yefim Bronfman with performances at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Carnegie Hall; a performance with Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma at Carnegie Hall; and solo recital tours in both North America and Europe. Mr. Ax’s collaboration with Mark Morris Dance Group continues during summer 2009 partnered with Yo-Yo Ma in a dance work jointly commissioned by the Tanglewood and Mostly Mozart festivals. This season, he will tour Asia with the New York Philharmonic on their first tour with incoming Music Director Alan Gilbert and tour in Europe with both the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Pittsburgh Symphony. Mr. Ax resides in New York City with his wife, pianist Yoko Nozaki, with whom he will perform Mozart’s Double Piano Concerto No. 10.
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CALENDAR LISTING:
HARTFORD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: An Evening with Emanuel Ax
Hartford Symphony Orchestra with Edward Cumming, conductor; Emanuel Ax & Yoko Nozaki, piano
Saturday, September 25, 2010 │8:00 pm (Concert-Only) │ 5:30 p.m. (Full Event)
The Belding Theater │ The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Program: Ludwig Van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4; and Leonora Overture No. 1; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto No. 10 in E-flat Major for Two Pianos; and Symphony No. 23.
Ticket Prices: Concert-only tickets range in price from $90-$125. The full event is $350 per person, including cocktails and dinner before the performance, as well as dessert with the artists afterwards. A portion of each ticket is tax-deductible. Proceeds from the evening will benefit the programs of the HSO.
Concert tickets are available in person Monday through Friday between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Hartford Symphony Orchestra Ticket Services, 99 Pratt St, Suite 500 in Hartford, by calling (860) 244-2999, or online 24/7 at www.hartfordsymphony.org.
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 2010-2011 season is sponsored by St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. An Evening with Emanuel Ax is made possible with support from Founding Sponsors: Federman, Lally & Remis, LLC and TD Bank, with additional support from Bank of America; CL&P and Yankee Gas; KPMG; Lincoln Financial; Seabury; and United Technologies Corporation. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra receives major support from the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Emanuel Ax holds an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical. “Opus 3 Artists” is the exclusive representative of Mr. Ax.
PHOTO attached of Emanuel Ax.
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