New and Improved!    

    Location:  Civic Center Music Hall (Get Directions)

    Price Range:  $12-$65
    Date:  Saturday, January 30, 2010,  8:00pm
 

Program

    Mendelssohn:  Son and Stranger Overture
    Mozart:  Symphony No. 41 ("Jupiter")
    Franck:  Symphonic Variations
    Shostakovich:  Piano Concerto No. 1

About the Music

Artists

Guest:  Marc-André Hamelin

Marc-André Hamelin’s startlingly original blend of musicianship and virtuosity has earned him legendary status as a true avatar of the piano.  Long known for his matchless exploration of unfamiliar pianistic terrain, Mr. Hamelin is now recognized worldwide for the originality and technical brilliance of his performances of the classic repertoire.

Mr. Hamelin began the summer of 2008 in Norway at the Risør Chamber Music Festival, where he performed a duo recital with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, Schubert Lieder with bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, and music of Antheil with violinist Christian Tetzlaff, in addition to solo performances of works by Ornstein, Antheil, Ives and Ligeti.  Other recitals included the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Baroniet Rosendal in Norway, the Ruhr Piano Festival in Bonn, Festival Chopin à Paris, the Cheltenham Festival, the Husum Piano Rarities Festival and the Busoni International Piano Competition.  He also joined the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich for the epic Busoni Piano Concerto led by Marek Janowski.  In North America Hamelin gave recitals at the Aspen Music Festival, the Minnesota Beethoven Festival, Festival International de Lanaudiere, Festival International Domaine Forget, and the International Keyboard Festival at Mannes Collge in New York City.  

Mr. Hamelin’s exciting and diverse 2008/09 season includes a return to Wigmore Hall for the London Pianoforte Series and recitals in Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey.  His North American recitals include the opening of the 126th season of the Schubert Club in St. Paul, as well as recitals for the Columbus Chamber Music Society, Texas Tech, Cornell Concert Series, Music Toronto, Wheaton College, Harvard Musical Association, the Savannah Music Festival and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  

Orchestral engagements include appearances with the Montreal, Saint Louis, Seattle, New Jersey and North Carolina Symphony orchestras with returns in Europe to the Helsinki Philharmonic and the Lahti Symphony. 

In the late fall Mr. Hamelin embarks on a tour of Asia and Australia for concerts with the Singapore Symphony, the Malaysian Philharmonic and the Melbourne Symphony, finishing with a pair of recitals in Hong Kong. 

Throughout the season Marc-André Hamelin and Takács String Quartet will perform the Schumann Piano Quintet in North America at the University of Chicago, University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, Club Musical de Québec, Wake Forest University, Brown University, the Carlsen Center in Overland Park, Kansas, and in Europe in Bilbao, Pamplona, Bristol, and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. 

During March 2009 the Pro Musica Society of Montreal marks its 60th anniversary season celebrating the art of Marc-André Hamelin.  In a week of concerts Mr. Hamelin collaborates with violinist Lara St. John, the Leipzig String Quartet, soprano Karina Gauvin and Les Violins du Roy with Bernard Labadie, completing the festivities with a solo recital. 

Under exclusive contract with Hyperion Records, Marc-André Hamelin has received 8 Grammy nominations, including a 2009 nomination for Marc-André Hamelin in a state of jazz (CDA67656) released in May 2008.  His latest release (fall 2008), Godowsky Strauss Transcriptions and other waltzes (CDA67626), has also received extraordinary critical acclaim. 

Mr. Hamelin has recorded over thirty-five CDs for Hyperion, including concertos by Alkan, Bernstein, Bolcom, Busoni, Korngold, Joseph Marx, Rubinstein, Scharwenka and Shostakovich, and works for solo piano by Alkan, Catoire, Grainger, Medtner, Reger, Roslavets and Rzewski, as well as brilliantly received performances of Haydn, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt and Albeniz.  

Mr. Hamelin was recently presented with a rarely bestowed lifetime achievement prize by the German Record Critic’s Award (Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik).   

Marc-André Hamelin was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003 and a Chevalier de l’Ordre du Québec in 2004; he is also a member of the Royal Society of Canada.  He makes his home in Boston.

Conductor:  Maestro Joel Levine

Joel Levine begins his third decade leading the Philharmonic, having helped create Oklahoma’s largest performing arts agency and one of America’s most successful regional orchestras. Using thematic programming and comments from the podium designed to increase the knowledge and enjoyment of the audience, his style of music direction reflects a desire to bring the public and orchestra together as one. 

Under his leadership, the orchestra has appeared on international, national and local television broadcasts and released several recordings. Maestro Levine’s reputation for sensitive musical accompaniment has enabled the Philharmonic to present one of the country’s most distinguished series of world-renowned guest artists. He has collaborated with many of the greatest classical artists of our time and has been called a “remarkable musician and visionary” by Yo-Yo Ma. 

He has received international recognition for performances reflecting many different styles in the classical repertoire. His program of Schubert and Schumann symphonies with Germany’s Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra led the reviewer to write: “Joel Levine proved that he is an absolute master of his profession; the audience honored this impressive performance with much applause.”  Engagements in the great European capitols include concerts with the Czech National Symphony in Prague’s Dvorák Hall, and the Symphony Orchestra of Portugal in Lisbon. Other international invitations have included orchestras in Spain, Israel, Belgrade, Bucharest, and an appearance with the Mexico City Philharmonic. 

Maestro Levine has conducted many of America’s major ensembles including three seasons with The National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and the orchestras of St. Louis, Detroit, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Seattle, Denver, Nashville and New Orleans. The national press has praised his performances: “the orchestra played with clarity and energy” (Los Angeles Times), “fine musicianship” (Washington Post), “Levine brings the needed sheen and rhythmic verve to the music” (Minneapolis Star), “Levine drew a crisp, bold and tonally lustrous account of the varied score from the orchestra and full-throated chorus” (Houston Post). His Detroit Symphony performances received “four stars” - the highest rating from the Detroit News. 

Oklahoma City audiences enjoyed Maestro Levine’s accomplished opera conducting at the Philharmonic’s 100th anniversary production of La Bohème. Also known for his work with major artists in the world of classical dance, he has performed Rodeo with Agnes deMille and conducted for three of the greatest male dancers: Rudolf Nureyev, Edward Villella, and Peter Martins. For the Kansas City Ballet, he collaborated with the great choreographer, Alvin Ailey and conducted the first contemporary performance of a “lost” Balanchine ballet, “Divertimento.” 

Maestro Levine’s résumé includes collaborations with many of the immortal names of jazz, musical theater, film and television. Several of his recordings with Mexico’s Xalapa Symphony Orchestra are in international release and have been broadcast on the BBC.

Listen

 Hamelin performs Shostakovich's Piano Concert no. 1 - 1/3