Opening Masterworks Series Concert to Feature Brahms, Beethoven & Shostakovich
HARTFORD, September 7, 2010 –The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s search for a new music director continues as guest conductor and music director candidate Kevin Rhodes leads the HSO in a concert of Brahms, Beethoven & Shostakovich on Thursday, October 14- Sunday, October 17, 2010 in the Belding Theater at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. This celebratory opening concert of the 2010-2011 Masterworks series will feature Brahms’ Academic Festive Overture, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, and Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano concerto, as performed by guest pianist Jeffrey Biegel.
This concert will begin with what Brahms described as a “boisterous potpourri of student drinking songs”- a.k.a. Brahms’ Academic Festive Overture. Commissioned by the University of Breslau for its 1881 commencement ceremony, this overture is Brahms’ tongue in cheek ode to academic decorum. After this animated opening, pianist Jeffrey Biegel will join the HSO to play the rich melodies and energetic passages of Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto, allegedly nicknamed “Emperor” for its grandiose character. Mr. Biegel shares a unique connection to Beethoven, having been unable to hear until he was three years old. Mr. Biegel explains this ‘reverse Beethoven’ phenomenon as the inspiration for his musical career, having heard only vibrations in his formative years.
After intermission, Music Director Candidate Kevin Rhodes will lead the HSO in Shostakovich’s politically charged Symphony No. 5. This symphony was written at the height of the Stalin regime; Shostakovich’s use of patriotic hymns and folk tunes led Stalin to believe the symphony was a masterpiece of Soviet propaganda. However, this epic work carried a subtext which was invisible to Stalin and his devotees: a musical representation of Stalin’s oppression of the Soviet people. Since its 1937 debut, this symphony has brought audiences to tears with its complex expression of the human condition.
The HSO began its search for a new music director in the 2009-2010 season, introducing four of seven candidates to the Hartford community. The search continues this season with the three final candidates’ guest conducting the HSO this fall. HSO Music Director Edward Cumming will continue to lead the orchestra through the conclusion of the 2010-11 season in June of 2011. His successor is expected to be announced by January 2011, and will lead an inaugural HSO performance March 17-20, 2011. For more information on the music director search, including video interviews, full biographies, and audience feedback for each candidate, please visit hsomusicdirectorsearch.wordpress.com.
Conductor Kevin Rhodes’ work extends from the major opera houses of Europe to the concert stages of the U.S. Maestro Rhodes is the Music Director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts, the Traverse Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, and the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra in Boston. He has collaborated with such diverse artists as Andre Watts, Nadja Solerno-Sonnenberg, Peter Serkin, Glenn Dicterow and Lorin Hollander on the concert stage as well as being a regular guest at the top European opera houses such as the Paris Opera, La Scala and the Vienna State Opera. Highlights of the 2010-2011 season will include his debut with the Dutch National Ballet, three productions (nearly 50 performances) conducting the Paris Ballet, and a return performance at La Scala Opera House.
Having created a multi-faceted career as a pianist, recording artist, composer and arranger, Jeffrey Biegel’s electrifying technique and mesmerizing touch has received international critical acclaim. He has played premieres of new works and arrangements with the Boston Pops, New York Pops, the American Symphony Orchestra, and the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, among others. Mr. Biegel’s recent recordings include solo performances with the BBC Concert Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin (Naxos) and the Florida State University Orchestra (Naxos).
CALENDAR LISTING:
HSO MASTERWORKS SERIES: BEETHOVEN’S EMPEROR!
with Kevin Rhodes, guest conductor and music director candidate; Jeffrey Biegel, piano
Thursday, October 14, 2010 │ 7:30 p.m. (New Thursday Time!)
Friday, October 15, 2010 │ 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 16, 2010 │ 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 17, 2010 │ 3:00 p.m.
Belding Theater │ The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts
Kevin Rhodes will lead a pre-concert chat one hour before each performance.
Program: Ludwig Van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor;” Johannes Brahms: Academic Festival Overture; Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
Ticket Information: Subscriptions to the 2010-2011 Masterworks Series range in price from $243-$520. Single tickets range in price from $30-$65. Student tickets are $10. To purchase tickets or for more information, please contact HSO ticket services at (860) 244-2999 or visit www.hartfordsymphony.org.
The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s 2010-2011 season is sponsored by St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. The 2010-2011 Masterworks Series is presented by MetLife Foundation and The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation. 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.