The program will open with Sibelius' Finlandia and conclude with Modest Mussorgsky's popular Pictures at an Exhibition, orchestrated by Maurice Ravel.
The New York Times has praised Hilary Hahn's "pure but full and lustrous tone, her agile technique and her incisive and intelligent interpretations."Â At the age of 24, the Washington Post called her "a master."Â "Extraordinarily gifted,"Â "inspired"Â and "brilliant"Â are the other words most frequently used by critics to describe Ms. Hahn's performances.
At the age of 26, Hilary Hahn is one of the most compelling artists on the international concert circuit. Renowned for her intellectual and emotional maturity, she was named "America's Best"Â young classical musician by Time Magazine in 2001, and appears on a regular basis with the world's great orchestras in Europe, Asia, and North America. Her most recent album, released in October, 2006, is an unusual pairing of Paganini's Concerto No. 1 and Spohr's Concerto No. 8, with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eiji Oue.
Sibelius's Violin Concerto is among the most-recorded violin concertos of the 20th century. Exceedingly virtuosic, since Jascha Haifetz popularized it in the 1930s, it has attained an equivalent stature to other great Romantic-era violin concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky. Primarily renowned for his seven symphonies and myriad tone poems, the Violin Concerto is Sibelius's only concerto. It was completed in 1904 and premiered in a concert conducted by Richard Strauss. Sibelius's signature sound depicts the exotic weather of his native land. The clash of polar and tropical air masses causes rapidly changing weather conditions. Due to its latitude, Finland experiences extended periods of "midnight sun"Â and "polar night."Â In the country's northernmost region, the summer sun is visible around the clock for a period of seventy-three days; in winter, the sun fails to rise above the horizon for fifty-one days.
Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is a musical virtual tour and tour de force through a collection of works by Viktor Hartmann, an artist who died at the age of 39. Originally a virtuosic suite for solo piano, the music's imaginative imagery has prompted several arrangements for various kinds of ensembles. Maurice Ravel was commissioned by Serge Koussevitsky to rework the piece for orchestra. The result, premiered in Paris, has become a favorite in the concert hall. The score includes several exotic percussion instruments, like ratchet, slapstick and celesta, plus the full complement expected of a modern percussion section: tam-tam, xylophone, glockenspiel and chimes.
This concert is presented in loving memory of Margaret Ann Steele.
Single ticket prices to this Classic Special concert start as low as $27. -- www.tucsonsymphony.org
Posted February 28th, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik
