National Philharmonic 2010-2011 Season Presents the Grand Works of Classical Music

[Howard Hartman]

National Philharmonic 2010-2011 Season
Presents the Grand Works of Classical Music

North Bethesda, MD, August 3, 2010 - The National Phiilharmonic’s 2010-2011 concert season will highlight the grand works of classical music, along with a few lesser-known works. Led by Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski, the National Philharmonic is in its eighth year of residency at the Music Center at Strathmore and is performing for nearly 50,000 people each year. The Philharmonic will continue its commitment to education and outreach by offering free concerts to every second and fifth grade student in Montgomery County Public Schools, master classes with renowned guest soloists and high quality summer string and choral programs.

The success of the National Philharmonic over the past 28 years is largely credited to its critically acclaimed performances that are filled with great, time-tested music and its family friendly approach. All young people age 7 to 17 attend National Philharmonic concerts free of charge through the unique ALL KIDS, ALL FREE, ALL THE TIME program.

Repeat Sunday matinee performances of the Philharmonic’s most popular programs (five concerts in total) will also be offered again this year. In addition, concertgoers can attend National Philharmonic’s pre-concert lectures on featured composers and music one hour before performances.

The 2010-11 season will offer concerts with such great artists as pianists Seymour Lipkin, Christopher Taylor and Brian Ganz; violinists Elena Urioste, Chee-Yun and

Soovin Kim; cellist Zuill Bailey; oboist Mark Hill; sopranos Iwona Sobotka, Arianna Zukerman and Audrey Elizabeth Luna; and mezzo-soprano Magdalena Wór and Danielle Talamantes, among others. It will include music by Bach, Handel, Verdi, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Berlioz, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Mahler and more.

Highlights include:

• Season kickoff concert showcasing Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with soprano Iwona Sobotka and mezzo-soprano Magdalena Wor.
• Performances of Dvořák’s most beloved works�his Cello Concerto in B minoor with pre-eminent cellist Zuill Bailey and his ever popular New World Symphony.
• Performance of Berlioz’s magnificent Requiem (Grande Messe des Morts), written in 1837 to remember the soldiers who died in the July 1830 Revolution. The work involves a massive orchestra and chorus as well as four antiphonal brass ensembles.
• National Philharmonic’s annual “impressive” and “splendidly rich-toned” (The Washington Post) holiday performances of Handel’s Messiah.
• The elegant violinist Chee-Yun performing Vivaldi’s most famous work, The Four Seasons--a set of four violin concertos, each depicting one of the seasons.
• Acclaimed pianist Brian Ganz playing Grieg’s passionate piano concerto. In addition, Mr. Ganz will present an evening of the music of Chopin.
• Pianist Seymour Lipkin playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in an all Beethoven program.
• Violinist Soovin Kim performing Tchaikovsky’s virtuosic and melodious Violin Concerto

For the second year, National Philharmonic is offering its subscribers a completely flexible custom series. This allows subscribers to create their own packages and receive discounts of 15-25 % on single tickets, depending on the number of concerts that are ordered. Season and subscription information is available at nationalphilharmonic.org or by calling 301-581-5100. Single tickets, $32-$79, went on sale on August 2, 2010. The attached photo of Maestro Piotr Gajewski was taken by Michael Ventura.

The complete National Philharmonic 2010-2011 season schedule appears below.

National Philharmonic 2010-2011
Season at the Music Center at Strathmore

MAHLER’S RESURRECTION

Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 8 pm

Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Iwona Sobotka, soprano
Magdalena Wor, mezzo-soprano

The late Washington composer Andreas Makris reflects on his Greek origins in the Aegean Festival Overture, which blends classic form and folklore elements. The rarely performed A Sorrowful Tale by Polish composer Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876-1909) is a somber symphonic tone poem offset by recollections of happier times. Finally, one of Mahler’s most popular symphonies, Symphony No. 2, presents the composer’s meditations on afterlife and resurrection.

MAKRIS Aegean Festival Overture
KARŁOWICZ A Sorrowful Tale
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C minor (“Resurrection”)

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered in the Education Center at 7pm on Saturday, October 9.


DVOŘÁK’S NEW WORLD SYMPHONY

Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 8 pm
Sunday, October 24, 2010 at 3 pm

Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Zuill Bailey, cello

Among Dvořák’s most beloved works are two he wrote while in America: the Cello Concerto and Symphony No. 9, popularly known as the New World Symphony. The concerto allows Zuill Bailey, one of the pre-eminent cellists of his generation, to display his compelling artistry and technical expertise. Dvořák maintained that he wrote Symphony No. 9 “in the spirit” of Native American music, but it also combines many multinational sources, including the folk music of the composer’s native Bohemia.

DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto in B minor
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9 in E minor (“From the New World”)

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered one hour before each performance.


BERLIOZ’S REQUIEM

Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 8 pm

Stan Engebretson, conductor
Robert Breault, tenor

Berlioz’s magnificent Requiem (Grande Messe des Morts), written in 1837 to remember the soldiers who died in the July 1830 Revolution that overthrew King Charles X of France, involves a massive orchestra and chorus as well as four antiphonal brass ensembles. The Requiem was Berlioz’s favorite work. He wrote to a friend, “If I were threatened with the destruction of the whole of my works save one, I should crave mercy for the Messe des Morts.”

BERLIOZ Requiem

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered at 7 pm on November 6.


HANDEL’S MESSIAH

Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 8 pm
Sunday, December 12, 2010 at 3 pm

Stan Engebretson, conductor
Audrey Elizabeth Luna, soprano
Yvette Smith, mezzo-soprano
Don Bernardini, tenor
Christòpheren Nomura, baritone

Handel’s monumental Messiah has become synonymous with Christmas celebrations, yet has long been revered by people of all faiths. Since its premiere in 1742, it has held an unparalleled position in the classical music repertory as one of the most popular pieces ever composed. Join the National Philharmonic Chorale and a superb cast of soloists to experience this epic musical depiction of the human experience during the holiday season.

HANDEL Messiah

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered one hour before each performance.


CHEE-YUN PLAYS VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS

Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 8 pm
Sunday, January 9. 2010 at 3 pm

Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Chee-Yun, violin

This concert features the engaging and elegant violinist Chee-Yun and pairs two remarkable works for string orchestra. Composed in 1723, Vivaldi’s most famous work, The Four Seasons, is a set of four violin concertos, each depicting one of the seasons.

Tchaikovsky’s perennially beloved Serenade for Strings, composed in 1880, stands as one of the Romantic era’s most admired works.

VIVALDI The Four Seasons
TCHAIKOVSKY Serenade for Strings in C Major

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered one hour before each performance.


Special Presentation

Brian Ganz Chopin Piano Recital
Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 8 pm

Pianist Brian Ganz, prizewinner in the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and the Marguerite Long Jacques Thibaud (Paris) International Piano Competitions, will perform the lush music of the Polish Romantic composer Fryderyk Chopin in this inaugural recital of a multi-year project in which he will play the composer’s complete works. The recital will include the first works Chopin ever composed (a pair of polonaises, at age 7), an early waltz and mazurka, and the rarely heard Rondo in C minor, Op. 1, written when he was 15. Mr. Ganz will also play such beloved favorites as the second scherzo, the Polonaise in A flat (“Heroic”) and the great “Funeral March” sonata.

The Washington Post has written: “There isn’t much about Chopin that Brian Ganz doesn’t know. The pianist has explored the nocturnes, the etudes, the sonatas and concertos and the rest in concerts, master classes and recordings for years now. His delight and wonder in this music seems to grow, apparently without bounds, as time goes on.” Come share the wonder!

ALL CHOPIN
Waltz in E flat, Op. 18
Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 (“Funeral March”)
Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31
Rondo in C minor, Op. 1
Early Polonaises, Waltz, Mazurka
Mazurka in A minor (without opus)
2 Nocturnes, Op. 55
Polonaise in A flat (“Heroic”), Op. 53

ALL MOZART

Saturday, February 12, 2010 at 8 pm
Sunday, February 13, 2010 at 3 pm

Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Christopher Taylor, piano
Danielle Talamantes, soprano
Linda Maguire, mezzo-soprano
Robert Baker, tenor
Christòpheren Nomura, baritone

Featuring trumpets and horns with fine melodies and fanfares, Mozart’s Symphony No. 20 reflects the young composer’s immersion with the world of opera. Mozart’s brilliant and festive Piano Concerto No. 26 was performed at the coronation of Leopold II as Holy Roman Emperor. The Coronation Mass is a short celebratory work, featuring music of pageantry.

MOZART Symphony No. 20 in D Major
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 26 in
D Major (“Coronation”)
MOZART Mass in C Major (“Coronation”)

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered one hour before each performance.


GRIEG PIANO CONCERTO WITH BRIAN GANZ

Saturday, March 12, 2011 at 8 pm

Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Brian Ganz, piano

The Norwegian composer Grieg was the last representative of 19th century nationalistic Romanticism. His vivacious Wedding Day at Troldhaugen is a recollection of his 25th wedding anniversary. Filled with passionate melodies and harmonic vitality, Grieg’s only piano concerto is among the most popular in the repertory. The early 20th century Finnish composer, Sibelius, forged an independent path for himself with his strong, heroic Symphony No. 2. This work demonstrates great boldness and individuality, yet is also infused with a dark, brooding and characteristically Nordic quality.

GRIEG Wedding Day at Troldhaugen
GRIEG Piano Concerto in A minor
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2 in D Major

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered at 7 pm on March 12.


ALL BEETHOVEN

Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 8 pm
Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 3 pm

Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Seymour Lipkin, piano

This all-Beethoven program begins with the powerful Coriolan Overture, written to accompany Viennese playwright Heinrich Joseph von Collin’s tragedy Coriolan. The enormously difficult Piano Concerto No. 4 is performed by the great pianist Seymour Lipkin, currently on the faculties of both the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music. Wagner described Beethoven’s celebratory Symphony No. 7 as “all tumult, all yearning and storming of the heart.”

BEETHOVEN Coriolan Overture
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered one hour before each performance.


BACH AND MOZART

Saturday, May 14, 2011 at 8 pm

Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Mark Hill, oboe
Elena Urioste, violin

Bach’s charming Orchestral Suite No. 3 consists of stylized dance movements. Beginning with a long, vigorous and powerful overture, this work features the famous Air on the G String. Mozart’s Oboe Concerto highlights the soloist while also giving an almost equal voice to the orchestral accompaniment. Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4, performed by Elena Urioste, who was selected by Symphony Magazine as the emerging artist to watch, offers the listener various charms and delights with its richness of ideas and subtle wit. The concert concludes with Bach’s Concerto for Oboe and Violin, a work that beautifully contrasts the two solo instruments.

BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major
MOZART Oboe Concerto in C Major
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major
BACH Concerto for Oboe and Violin in D minor

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered at 7 pm on May 14.


VERDI REQUIEM

Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 8 pm

Stan Engebretson, conductor
Arianna Zukerman, soprano
Patricia Miller, mezzo-soprano
Don Bernardini, tenor
Kevin Deas, bass

In 1874, Verdi composed this brilliant, theatrical Requiem as a memorial to his close friend, Alessandro Manzoni, whose novel, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) was a powerful force in the unification of Italy. Verdi conceived the Requiem as a patriotic act celebrating the Italian republic. The music of the Requiem covers the range of human emotions from terror, shame and sadness to hope and exaltation.

VERDI’S Requiem

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered at 7 pm on May 21.


ALL TCHAIKOVSKY

Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 8 pm

Piotr Gajewski, conductor
Soovin Kim, violin

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto eclipsed all others in popularity with its agile tour-de-force qualities, although initially it was declared unplayable because of its technical challenges. It is characterized by melodious themes and acrobatic demonstrations of virtuosity. In his Symphony No. 5, Tchaikovsky used a new technique, moving a theme of fate and resignation forward from one movement to another.

TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor

A free pre-concert lecture will be offered at 7 pm on June 4.

Piotr Gajewski