Download 1 Madison Symphony Orchestra`s “Scottish Fantasy” featuring

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sept. 28, 2015
Contact: Teri Venker
Phone: (608) 260-8680 x226
Email: [email protected]
Madison Symphony Orchestra’s “Scottish Fantasy”
featuring Violinist James Ehnes
Oct. 16, 17, 18
Canadian-born violinist James Ehnes returns to Overture Hall to perform with the Madison
Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in an eclectic program Oct. 16, 17, and 18 featuring the supreme talents
of Mr. Ehnes along with three highly-regarded staples of the classical repertoire by the composers
Haydn, Bruch, and Rachmaninoff.
Mr. Ehnes impressed audiences when he performed the Bartok Violin Concerto No. 2 with the MSO
in Oct. 2012. In Oct. 2015 he will return with Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy for violin and
orchestra, a piece which blends rustic folk tunes and tender themes to convey the stark Scottish
landscape. Opening the program will be Joseph Haydn’s spirited Symphony No. 85, nicknamed La
Reine because it was the favorite of French Queen Marie Antoinette! Sergei Rachmaninoff’s feisty
Symphonic Dances will close out the concert with energetic flair.
The concerts are Fri., Oct. 16, at 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 17, at 8 p.m.; and Sun., Oct. 18, at 2:30 p.m. in
Overture Hall, 201 State Street.
James Ehnes is a captivating presence on the concert stage, where the warmth of his tone is matched
by his superb technical faculty. Mr. Ehnes made his major orchestral solo debut with the Orchestre
Symphonique de Montréal at age 13 and was awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2005. Today
Mr. Ehnes is a sought-after chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist with the world’s finest
orchestras.
Symphony No. 85 is one of six Haydn symphonies commissioned by the private concert society Les
Concerts de la Loge Olympique in Paris. At the premiere, the musicians in the large Parisian
orchestra wore elaborate blue dress coats with lace ruffles and carried swords. The symphony’s
charming second movement contains a set of variations on a French folk tune, “Dear Little Lisette.”
Bruch wrote his Scottish Fantasy for violin and orchestra at the request of Spanish violinist Pablo de
Sarasate, who premiered the work in a memorial concert for Wagner. Each of the work’s four
movements is based off of a Scottish folk tune. Droning tones imitate bagpipes, while the violins
mimic the sound of a country fiddle.
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Written during World War II, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances was the composer’s final work.
Though the music is lively and energetic, the score’s weighty undertones are revealed through quotes
of Russian Orthodox chant, as well as the Dies Irae (“Day of Wrath”) motif from the Latin Mass of
the Dead. Rachmaninoff dedicated this piece to Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra, the
composer’s favorite ensemble while living out World War II in the United States.
One hour before each performance, Tyrone Greive, retired MSO Concertmaster and Professor of
Violin at UW-Madison, will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance
concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. More background on the music can also be
found in the Program Notes at: http://www.madisonsymphony.org/ehnes
Single Tickets are $16 to $85 each, available at www.madisonsymphony.org/singletickets and
through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street or call the Box Office at (608) 258-4141.
Groups of 15 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734.
For more information visit, www.madisonsymphony.org/groups
Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Box Office
at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $12 or $15
tickets. More information is at: www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush. Students can receive 20%
savings on seats in select areas of the hall on advance ticket purchases.
Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select
areas of the hall.
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
The Madison Symphony Orchestra starts its 90th season with the 2015-16 concerts. The MSO engages
audiences of all ages and backgrounds in live classical music through a full season of concerts with
established and emerging soloists of international renown, an organ series that includes free concerts,
and widely respected education and community engagement programs. Find more information at
www.madisonsymphony.org.
Major funding for the October concerts is provided by Margaret C. Winston, Kenneth A. Lattman
Foundation, Inc., Capitol Lakes, the Madison Symphony Orchestra League, and Peggy and Tom Pyle.
Additional funding is provided by Dr. Stanley and Shirley Inhorn and the Wisconsin Arts Board with
funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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