Violinist and conductor Jaime Laredo will lead Seattle Symphony on Thursday, January 17, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, January 19, at 8 p.m. in a program including Mozart's Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major, Concertone for Two Violins and Orchestra in C major and Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major.
Haydn's Symphony No. 102 in B-flat major will also be performed. Seattle Symphony Principal Second Violin Elisa Barston will join Laredo as a featured soloist for Mozart's Concertone for Two Violins.
The San Francisco Examiner praised Jaime Laredo's debut with the San Francisco Symphony at age 11 with the statement, "In the 1920s it was Yehudi Menuhin; in the 1930s it was Isaac Stern; and last night it was Jaime Laredo." Laredo has served as the Music Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra since 1999; Artistic Director of the Brandenberg Ensemble; Artistic Director of New York's Chamber Music at the Y series; and participates in the annual New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall and International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.
He has appeared with the BBC, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, London, St. Louis, Vancouver and Virginia symphonies; the English Chamber, New York String, Philadelphia and Scottish Chamber orchestras; the Los Angeles, New York and Royal philharmonics; and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Laredo is a member of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, winner of Musical America's Ensemble of the Year in 2002; and has performed with Emanuel Ax, Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma and others. He has recorded nearly 100 discs and received the Deutsche Schallplatten Prize, seven Grammy nominations and one Grammy Award. At the age of 17, he won the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium.
Praised for her "glowing sound" and "technical aplomb" (The Strad), violinist Elisa Barston is currently the Principal Second Violinist of Seattle Symphony. Other professional appointments include Associate Concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for eight seasons and first violin section member of The Cleveland Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist and chamber musician, Barston has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, appearing with the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Taipei Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Since 1996, Barston has made yearly appearances as featured soloist with St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Among her awards are the Jascha Heifetz Scholarship and the Starling Foundation Grant; top prizes at the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition (including the Audience Prize); First Prize at the Julius Stulberg Auditions, Grand Prize at the International Kingsville Young Performers' Competition; First Prize in the Seventeen-General Motors National Music Competition; as well as first prizes in the Fischoff National Chamber Music, Kuttner Quartet and Indiana University concerto competitions.
A vivid reminder of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "child prodigy" status is his Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major, composed by the then-8-year-old in 1764. The Symphony shows how well he had already assimilated J.C. Bach's experience writing for massed instruments, making effective use of bold gestures, heightened dynamic contrasts and well-differentiated thematic materials.
Mozart's Concertone for Two Violins and Orchestra in C major is multi-national in its stylistic niceties. The overall shape and instrumentation reflects French taste; the smooth galant lyricism recalls Mozart's Italian visits; and the phrasing and harmonies suggest Mannheim and Vienna—the two major German-speaking centers of symphonic evolution.
Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major was the first of five such authentic works, all written while the composer was still in his teens. Vivacious and beguiling in their lyricism, the concerto's buoyant outer movements frame an especially endearing slow movement.
Franz Joseph Haydn composed his Symphony No. 102 during his second visit to London. From its expressive slow introduction to its scintillating finale, this is Haydn at the peak of his symphonic powers. Filled with irrepressible energy, enhanced by his unequalled ability to infuse humor into music, this ingratiating work hints at Beethoven while remaining true to his own high Classical style. -- www.seattlesymphony.org
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