Guest conductor Nicholas McGegan will lead the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in Deep & Playful January 25 and 26, 2008. The program features MSO Principal Clarinet Todd Levy in Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, and also includes John Adams' Chamber Symphony and Beethoven's Symphony No. 1. The MSO's 2007/08 season boasts performances of all nine Beethoven symphonies, paired with significant works by major American composers.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major was completed in 1791, with Mozart applying the finishing touches just two months before his death. This concerto is the composer's last fully completed major work and was written for Mozart's friend, clarinetist Anton Stadler.
Two-time Grammy Award-winner Todd Levy is Principal Clarinet of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and of the Santa Fe Opera, as well as a participant in the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Todd Levy is on the clarinet faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He made his debut at the age of 17 performing the Hindemith Clarinet Concerto at Lincoln Center. Since then, some highlights of his solo career have included concerto appearances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, the Israel Philharmonic in Tel-Aviv, performances of the Brahms F minor Sonata arranged for clarinet and orchestra by Luciano Berio with Maestro Berio conducting, the World Premiere of Peter Schickele's Concerto for Clarinet and Flute with the composer conducting, and the European premiere of John Harbison's Concerto for Clarinet and Oboe. In addition, Levy was a featured soloist in the Mozart Bicentennial at Lincoln Center where he performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto at the Mostly Mozart Festival. In November 1998, Levy performed Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" at the White House for President and Mrs. Bill Clinton. In February 2001, he won a Grammy Award for his participation in the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra CD entitled Shadow Dances - Stravinsky Miniatures on the Deutsche Grammophon label, and in February 2003 he won another Grammy Award for his participation on the Renee Fleming CD entitled Bel Canto on the Decca label. In 1999, Mr. Levy also received the Penguin Guide's Rosette Award for his recording of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with the EOS Orchestra for BMG.
Nicholas McGegan is based in the San Francisco Bay area where he is Music Director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO). He is called upon by orchestras across the globe to conduct not only classical, baroque, and early romantic repertoire, but also works by various special favorites including Elgar and Britten. Born in England and educated at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, Mr. McGegan has an honorary degree from London's Royal College of Music and was elected an Honorary Professor of Philosophy at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in 2006.
John Adams' Chamber Symphony is makings its first appearance on the MSO's Classic Series. This work was written between September and December 1992. It was premiered the following year by the Schoenberg Ensemble. The Chamber Symphony arose from a work of Arnold Schoenberg's by the same title. This symphony is dedicated to Adams' son, Sam.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major, Opus 21 was written between 1799 and 1800, and was premiered in Vienna the year of its completion. This work is dedicated to Beethoven's occasional teacher, Joseph Haydn. Beethoven employs some classical techniques while still exploring the revolutionary ideas that made Beethoven unique. Sketches of the finale were found among the exercises he wrote while studying counterpoint in 1795. -- www.milwaukeesymphony.org
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