SPECIALS
2018/19
ITZHAK PERLMAN WITH THE COLORADO SYMPHONY
2018/19 SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS:
COLORADO SYMPHONY BRETT MITCHELL, conductor ITZHAK PERLMAN, violin Thursday, January 10, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. Boettcher Concert Hall
JENNIFER HIGDON
Fanfare Ritmico
GINASTERA
Variaciones concertantes — INTERMISSION —
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 Allegro ma non troppo Larghetto Rondo: Allegro
Tonight's Performance is Gratefully Dedicated to Tina Walls PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
SOUNDINGS
2018/19
PROGRAM 1
SPECIALS BIOGRAPHIES
PHOTO: ROGER MASTROIANNI
BRETT MITCHELL, conductor Hailed for presenting engaging, in-depth explorations of thoughtfully curated programs, Brett Mitchell began his tenure as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony in July 2017. Prior to this appointment, he served as the orchestra’s Music Director Designate during the 2016/17 season. He leads the orchestra in ten classical subscription weeks per season as well as a wide variety special programs featuring such guest artists as Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, and Itzhak Perlman. Mitchell is also in consistent demand as a guest conductor. Highlights of his 2018/19 season include subscription debuts with the Minnesota Orchestra and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and return appearances with the orchestras of Cleveland, Dallas, and Indianapolis. Other upcoming and recent guest engagements include the Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, National, Oregon, and San Antonio symphonies, the Grant Park Festival Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Mitchell also regularly collaborates with the world’s leading soloists, including Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Rudolf Buchbinder, Kirill Gerstein, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Leila Josefowicz, and Alisa Weilerstein. From 2013 to 2017, Mitchell served on the conducting staff of The Cleveland Orchestra. He joined the orchestra as Assistant Conductor in 2013, and was promoted to Associate Conductor in 2015, becoming the first person to hold that title in over three decades and only the fifth in the orchestra’s hundred-year history. In these roles, he led the orchestra in several dozen concerts each season at Severance Hall, Blossom Music Center, and on tour. From 2007 to 2011, Mitchell led over one hundred performances as Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony. He also held Assistant Conductor posts with the Orchestre National de France, where he worked under Kurt Masur from 2006 to 2009, and the Castleton Festival, where he worked under Lorin Maazel in 2009 and 2010. In 2015, Mitchell completed a highly successful five-year appointment as Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. As an opera conductor, Mitchell has served as music director of nearly a dozen productions, principally at his former post as Music Director of the Moores Opera Center in Houston, where he led eight productions from 2010 to 2013. His repertoire spans the core works of Mozart (The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute), Verdi (Rigoletto and Falstaff), and Stravinsky (The Rake’s Progress) to contemporary works by Adamo (Little Women), Aldridge (Elmer Gantry), Catán (Il Postino and Salsipuedes), and Hagen (Amelia). As a ballet conductor, Mitchell most recently led a production of The Nutcracker with the Pennsylvania Ballet in collaboration with The Cleveland Orchestra during the 2016/17 season. In addition to his work with professional orchestras, Mitchell is also well known for his affinity for working with and mentoring young musicians aspiring to be professional orchestral players. His tenure as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra from 2013 to 2017 was highly praised, and included a four-city tour of China in June 2015, marking the orchestra’s second international tour and its first to Asia. Mitchell is regularly invited to work with the highly PROGRAM 2
C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G
SPECIALS BIOGRAPHIES talented musicians at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the orchestras at this country’s highlevel training programs, such as the National Repertory Orchestra, Texas Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, and Interlochen Center for the Arts. Born in Seattle in 1979, Mitchell holds degrees in conducting from the University of Texas at Austin and composition from Western Washington University, which selected him as its Young Alumnus of the Year in 2014. He also studied at the National Conducting Institute, and was selected by Kurt Masur as a recipient of the inaugural American Friends of the Mendelssohn Foundation Scholarship. Mitchell was also one of five recipients of the League of American Orchestras’ American Conducting Fellowship from 2007 to 2010. For more information, please visit www.brettmitchellconductor.com
PHOTO: LISA MARIE MAZZUCCO
ITZHAK PERLMAN, violin Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable artistry, but also to his irrepressible joy for making music. Having performed with every major orchestra and at venerable concert halls around the globe, Perlman was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor, in November 2015 by President Obama for his meritorious contributions to cultural endeavors of the United States and for being a powerful advocate for people of disabilities. In June 2016, he received the 2016 Genesis Prize in recognition for his exceptional contributions as a musician, teacher, advocate for individuals with special needs and dedication to Jewish values. In 2003, he was granted a Kennedy Center Honor by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in celebration of his distinguished achievements and contributions to the cultural and educational life of the United States. President Clinton awarded him the National Medal of Arts in 2000 and President Reagan honored him with a Medal of Liberty in 1986. Perlman has performed multiple times at the White House, most recently in 2012 at the invitation of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama, for Israeli President and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Shimon Peres; and at a State Dinner in 2007, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush, for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. In 2009, he was honored to take part in the Inauguration of President Obama, premiering a piece written for the occasion by John Williams alongside cellist Yo-Yo Ma, clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Gabriela Montero, for an audience of nearly 40 million television viewers in the United States and millions more throughout the world. Born in Israel in 1945, Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. An early recipient of an America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship, he came to New York and soon was propelled to national recognition with an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay,
SOUNDINGS
2018/19
PROGRAM 3
SPECIALS BIOGRAPHIES he won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964, which led to a burgeoning worldwide career. Since then, Perlman has established himself as a cultural icon and household name in classical music. Perlman has further delighted audiences through his frequent appearances on the conductor’s podium. He has performed as conductor with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, National Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Montreal and Toronto, as well as at the Ravinia and Tanglewood festivals. He was Music Advisor of the St. Louis Symphony from 2002 to 2004 where he made regular conducting appearances, and he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony from 2001 to 2005. Internationally, Perlman has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, and the Israel Philharmonic. The 2018/19 season marks the 60th anniversary of Perlman’s U.S. debut and appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, which took place on November 2, 1958. This milestone was celebrated with a return to the Ed Sullivan Theater on November 2, 2018 in a special guest appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. This season Perlman performs the Mendelssohn Concerto with Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl and makes season-opening gala appearances with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas and with the Indianapolis Symphony and Krzysztof Urbański. Other orchestral appearances include the Seattle, Vancouver and Colorado symphony orchestras. As a conductor, he leads the Houston Symphony and Juilliard Orchestra in programs that include works by Bach, Mozart, Schumann, Dvořák and Elgar. In February 2019, he makes an appearance at Carnegie Hall with longtime friend Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the orchestra with whom he has had the closest association since he was a teenager. Spring 2019 sees him performing duo concerts for the first time with the celebrated pianist Evgeny Kissin in Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York. Throughout the season, he makes appearances with his longtime collaborator, Rohan De Silva, in recitals across North America. In May 2019, he debuts a new program entitled “Evening with Itzhak Perlman” which captures highlights of his career through narrative and multi-media elements, intertwined with performance. Further to his engagements as violinist and conductor, Perlman is increasingly making more appearances as a speaker. Recent speaking engagements include appearances in Texas at Lamar University, South Dakota with the John Vucurevich Foundation and in Washington D.C. for the Marriott Foundation. In November 2018, he joins Alan Alda for a conversation on the stage of New York’s 92nd Street Y. A recent award-winning documentary on Perlman, titled “Itzhak”, premiered in October 2017 as the opening film of the 25th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival. It was released theatrically in over 100 cinemas nationwide in March 2018, with international releases that followed in Summer 2018. Directed by filmmaker Alison Chernick, the enchanting documentary details the virtuoso’s own struggles as a polio survivor and Jewish émigré and is a reminder why art is vital to life. For more information, visit www.itzhakthefilm.com. In October 2018, the film will make its debut on PBS’ American Masters in a broadcast throughout the United States.
PROGRAM 4
C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G
SPECIALS BIOGRAPHIES Perlman’s recordings have garnered 16 GRAMMY® Awards and regularly appear on the bestseller charts. In 2008, Perlman was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in the recording arts. Perlman’s most recent album features him in a special collaboration with Martha Argerich. Released in 2016 by Warner Classics, it marked a historic first studio album for this legendary duo exploring masterpieces by Bach, Schumann and Brahms. It had been 18 years since their first album, a live recital from the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. On that momentous occasion in 1998, in addition to recording the material for their initial disc, the pair recorded Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 1. The Schumann Sonata at long last was released in 2016 alongside new material, making the album a fascinating ‘then and now’ portrait of how two living legends have evolved musically. Perlman recorded a bonus track for the original cast recording of the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof, released on Broadway Records in March 2016. The cast recording features Perlman on a track titled “Excerpts from Fiddler on the Roof,” arranged by John Williams. The year of 2015 brought three record releases in celebration of Perlman’s 70th birthday: A new Deutsche Grammophon album with pianist Emanuel Ax performing Fauré and Strauss Sonatas, a 25-disc box set of his complete Deutsche Grammophon and Decca discography, and a 77-disc box set of his complete EMI/Teldec discography titled Itzhak Perlman: The Complete Warner Recordings. In 2012, Sony released Eternal Echoes: Songs & Dances for the Soul, featuring a collaboration with acclaimed cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot in liturgical and traditional Jewish arrangements for chamber orchestra and klezmer musicians, and in 2010, Sony released a recording of Mendelssohn Piano Trios with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax. Highlights of albums over the last two decades have included a Deutsche Grammophon album with Perlman conducting the Israel Philharmonic, a live recording with Martha Argerich performing Beethoven and Franck Sonatas (EMI); Cinema Serenade featuring popular hits from movies with John Williams conducting (Sony); A la Carte, a recording of short violin pieces with orchestra (EMI) and In the Fiddler’s House, a celebration of klezmer music (EMI) that formed the basis of the PBS television special. In 2004, EMI released The Perlman Edition, a limited-edition 15-CD box set featuring many of his finest EMI recordings as well as newly compiled material, and RCA Red Seal released a CD titled Perlman rediscovered, which includes material recorded in 1965 by a young Perlman. Other recordings reveal Perlman’s devotion to education, including Concertos from my Childhood with the Juilliard Orchestra under Lawrence Foster (EMI) and Marita and her Heart’s Desire, composed and conducted by Bruce Adolphe (Telarc). A major presence in the performing arts on television, Perlman has been honored with four Emmy Awards, most recently for the PBS documentary Fiddling for the Future, a film about Perlman’s work as a teacher and conductor for the Perlman Music Program. In 2004, PBS aired a special entitled Perlman in Shanghai that chronicled a historic and unforgettable visit of the Perlman Music Program to China, featuring interaction between American and Chinese students
SOUNDINGS
2018/19
PROGRAM 5
SPECIALS BIOGRAPHIES and culminating in a concert at the Shanghai Grand Theater and a performance with one thousand young violinists, led by Perlman and broadcast throughout China. His third Emmy Award recognized his dedication to klezmer music, as profiled in the 1995 PBS television special In the Fiddler’s House, which was filmed in Poland and featured him performing with four of the world’s finest klezmer bands. Perlman has entertained and enlightened millions of TV viewers of all ages on popular shows as diverse as The Late Show with David Letterman, Sesame Street, The Frugal Gourmet, The Tonight Show, and various Grammy Awards telecasts. His PBS appearances have included A Musical Toast and Mozart by the Masters, as well as numerous Live From Lincoln Center broadcasts such as The Juilliard School: Celebrating 100 Years. In 2008, he joined renowned chef Jacques Pépin on Artist’s Table to discuss the relationship between the culinary and musical arts, and lent his voice as the narrator of Visions of Israel for PBS’s acclaimed Visions series. Perlman hosted the 1994 U.S. broadcast of the Three Tenors, Encore! live from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. During the 78th Annual Academy Awards in 2006, he performed a live medley from the five film scores nominated in the category of Best Original Score for a worldwide audience in the hundreds of millions. One of Perlman’s proudest achievements is his collaboration with film composer John Williams in Steven Spielberg’s Academy Awardwinning film Schindler’s List, in which he performed the violin solos. He can also be heard as the violin soloist on the soundtrack of Zhang Yimou’s film Hero (music by Tan Dun) and Rob Marshall’s Memoirs of a Geisha (music by John Williams). Perlman has a long association with the Israel Philharmonic and has participated in many groundbreaking tours with this orchestra from his homeland. In 1987, he joined the IPO for history-making concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, representing the first performances by this orchestra and soloist in Eastern bloc countries. He again made history as he joined the orchestra for its first visit to the Soviet Union in 1990, and was cheered by audiences in Moscow and Leningrad who thronged to hear his recital and orchestral performances. This visit was captured on a PBS documentary entitled Perlman in Russia, which won an Emmy. In 1994, Perlman joined the Israel Philharmonic for their first visits to China and India. Over the past two decades, Perlman has become actively involved in music education, using this opportunity to encourage gifted young string players. Alongside his wife Toby, his close involvement in the Perlman Music Program has been a particularly rewarding experience, and he has taught full-time at the Program each summer since its founding in 1993. Perlman currently holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair at the Juilliard School. Numerous publications and institutions have paid tribute to Perlman for the unique place he occupies in the artistic and humanitarian fabric of our times. Harvard, Yale, Brandeis, Roosevelt, Yeshiva and Hebrew universities are among the institutions that have awarded him honorary degrees. He was awarded an honorary doctorate and a centennial medal on the occasion of Juilliard’s 100th commencement ceremony in 2005. Perlman’s presence on stage, on camera, and in personal appearances of all kinds speaks eloquently on behalf of the disabled, and his devotion to their cause is an integral part of his life.
PROGRAM 6
C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G
IN CONCERT
with the Colorado Symphony conducted by Music Director Brett Mitchell
1STBANK CENTER - BROOMFIELD, CO
MAR 23-24 - 2:00
COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG
SYMPHONY POPS
2018/19
2018/19 SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS:
A TRIBUTE TO ARTHUR FIEDLER AND THE BOSTON POPS COLORADO SYMPHONY CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor STEVE METCALF & NICK RECUBER, bass ABBY RAYMOND, E-flat clarinet Saturday, January 12, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. Boettcher Concert Hall
Overture to The Barber of Seville
ROSSINI
ELGAR
“Nimrod”, No. 9 from Variations on an Original Theme, “Enigma Variations”
DVOŘÁK Three Slavonic Dances from Op. 46 No. 1: Presto No. 7: Allegro assai No. 8: Presto — INTERMISSION — BOTTESINI
Passione Amorosa for Two Double Basses and Orchestra
WILLIAM BOLCOM Little Suite of Four Dances for E-flat Clarinet and Orchestra — INTERMISSION — BERNSTEIN/Peress
Overture to West Side Story
Calvin Custer, arr.
Themes from 007, A Medley for Orchestra
JOHN WILLIAMS Arr. Lavender
Tribute to John Williams
Tonight's Performance is Gratefully Dedicated to Genesee Mountain Foundation PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
PROGRAM 8
C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G
SYMPHONY POPS BIOGRAPHIES CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor Australian conductor Christopher Dragon is in his fourth season as the Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony. For three years he previously held the position of Assistant Conductor with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with Principal Conductor Asher Fisch. Dragon works regularly in Australia and has guest conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. His 2015 debut performance at the Sydney Opera House with Josh Pyke and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was released on album by ABC Music and won an ARIA the following year. Dragon’s international guest conducting includes the Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He has also conducted at numerous festivals including the Breckenridge and Bangalow Music Festivals, with both resulting in immediate re-invitations. At the beginning of 2016 Dragon conducted Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony as part of the Perth International Arts Festival alongside Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra. Dragon began his conducting studies in 2011 and was a member of the prestigious Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program in Australia under the guidance of course director Christopher Seaman. He has also studied with numerous distinguished conductors including Leonid Grin, Paavo and Neeme Järvi at the Järvi Summer Festival, Fabio Luisi at the Pacific Music Festival, and conducting pedagogue Jorma Panula.
PHOTO: LOCK+LAND.COM
STEVE METCALF, bass Steve Metcalf grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and began his studies under the tutelage of North Carolina Symphony member Craig Brown at age 13. Metcalf went on to attend Indiana University under the instruction of Professor Emeritus Lawrence Hurst and received his Bachelor’s of Music. Upon graduating from Indiana, Metcalf moved to Los Angeles to continue his graduate studies with Peter Lloyd at the Colburn Conservatory, where he received a Professional Studies Certificate. In his free time, Metcalf likes to enjoy the merits of living in Colorado, which include climbing, skiing, trail running, and backpacking
SOUNDINGS
2018/19
PROGRAM 9
SYMPHONY POPS BIOGRAPHIES
PHOTO: LOCK+LAND.COM
NICHOLAS RECUBER, bass Nicholas Recuber is the Assistant Principal Bassist in the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and an Artist-In-Residence in String Bass in the School of Music at the University of Northern Colorado. Recuber was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began his studies on the double bass at age 14. Initially interested in jazz, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in jazz studies from Rowan University in New Jersey with his principal teacher Doug Mapp. As he became more attracted to classical music, he began taking lessons from John Hood of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He then attended the Juilliard School where he earned his Master’s degree under the tutelage of Ms. Orin O’Brien. He continued his studies with Nico Abondolo at the University of Southern California where he was awarded a graduate certificate and then spent two years as a fellow with the New World Symphony. In addition to his work with the Colorado Symphony, he has served as principal bassist of the Santa Barbara Symphony, as acting associate principal bass with the Los Angeles Chamber orchestra. He has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, and in France with the Ensemble Intercontemporain conducted by Pierre Boulez. Recuber has also performed at the Pacific Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West, the Lucerne Academy, the Colorado Music Festival, and the Moab Music Festival. In 2017 Recuber released “Fantasies for the Double Bass,” which features two Telemann Violin Fantasies transcribed and edited for the Double Bass. Published by Carl Fischer, this edition adds to the bass repertoire by giving players a stepping stone between the simple baroque sonatas of Marcello and Vivaldi and the complex cello suites by Bach. Throughout the two suites bassists are exposed to beautiful melodies and complex technical passage work. Recuber is also interested in the possibilities of combining orchestral music with contemporary artists. This led to Recuber conceiving and producing a collaboration between local Colorado artists and the Colorado Symphony performing songs from singer songwriter Beck’s album Song Reader. Recuber worked closely with Nathaniel Rateliff, Otis Taylor, and The Hollyfelds to arrange and curate the concert in a way that would satisfy both the classical and non-classical audience and performers alike. The show was performed at Westword’s Music Showcase, and recorded at The Colorado Public Radio studios.
PROGRAM 10
C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G
SYMPHONY POPS BIOGRAPHIES
PHOTO: RICHARD POPPINO
ABBY RAYMOND, E-flat clarinet A native of upstate New York, Abby Raymond has been the Colorado Symphony’s Assistant Principal/E-flat/Second Clarinet since 2001. During her tenure with the Colorado Symphony, she served as Acting Principal Clarinet from 2011-2013. Raymond previously held positions in the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra and the Orquesta Philharmonica of Santiago, Chile. A sought after orchestral musician, she performed as guest Principal Clarinet with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra during their 2018 tour with the American Ballet Theater and has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Central City Opera and Colorado Music Festival. At the age of 17, she made her solo debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra performing Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie and has appeared as a soloist with the Colorado Symphony, Tucson Symphony Orchestra and the Texas Festival Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Raymond has performed across the country with the Chintimini Chamber Music Festival (Corvallis, OR) and Loon Lake Live (Loon Lake, NY) and in Colorado with the Strings Music Festival, the Front Range Chamber Players and the Englewood Arts Concert Series. Raymond is a devoted music educator. She currently teaches clarinet at the Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Denver School for the Arts and since 2016 has traveled to Mirebalais, Haiti each summer to work with the students of the Haiti Youth Orchestra. She frequently performs with the Up Close and Musical group which performs educational concerts in Denver area schools. Raymond holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music where she studied with Harold Wright, Stanley Hasty and Tom Martin, and began graduate studies at Rice University and Boston University. When not playing the clarinet Raymond enjoys traveling far and wide (30 countries so far!) and hiking with her border collie, Piper.
SOUNDINGS
2 0 1 8 / 1 9 PROGRAM 11
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