Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
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. 1 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. -###- 2