Conductor Nicholas McGegan Returns to Juilliard to Lead the Juilliard Orchestra in Works by Britten, Mendelssohn, and Mozart in the Opening Concert of the 2009-2010 Orchestral Season
Friday, October 2 at 8 PM in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater
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FREE tickets are available beginning September 18 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard, located in the lobby of the School at 155 West 65th Street. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or visit www.juilliard.edu.
The concert is the first of twelve by the Juilliard Orchestra this season at The Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and Carnegie Hall. Most of them are free; others heavily discounted. (Please see a complete list of the 2009-2010 Juilliard Orchestra concerts at the end of this release. )
Britten's Suite on English Folk Songs, Op. 90, composed in 1974, was the composer's last orchestral work. It was dedicated to the memory of Percy Grainger, who was a collector of folk tunes; several of the melodies used in the work had been transcribed by Australian composer Percy Grainger. The third movement of the work was composed to celebrate the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1967 and was included in the suite. The movements are: (1) Cake and Ale; (2) The bitter whey; (3) Hankin Booby; (4) Hunt the squirrel; and (5) Lord Melbourne.
Mozart's Bassoon Concerto, K. 191 was composed in 1774. The work is in three movements: the first is a sonata form; the second is slow and lyrical; and the final movement is a rondo. A theme from Le nozze di Figaro (the Countess' aria Porgi, Amor) can be heard in the second movement.
Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish"), Op. 56, may have been conceived while Mendelssohn was on a trip to Scotland in 1829, but was not completed until 1842. The work was dedicated to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and had its premiere in Leipzig on March 3, 1842.
Nicholas McGegan's 2009-2010 season includes appearances with the St. Louis Symphony (October 10, 11, November 20, 21, 22, and December 11, 12, 13), the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (October 21, 22, 23, and 27), and the Cincinnati Symphony (December 17, 19, 20). He gives a lecture on "Musical Tastes of 18th Century London" on September 30 at the Yale Center for British Arts.
Active in opera, as well as the concert hall, Mr. McGegan was principal conductor of Sweden's 18th Century Theater Drottningholm from 1993-1996, running the annual festival there. He has been a pioneer in the process of exporting historically informed practice beyond the small world of period instruments to the wider one of conventional symphonic forces, guest-conducting orchestras like the Concertgebouw, Suisse Romande, Halle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Sydney symphonies and the New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong Philharmonics, as well as opera companies such as Covent Garden, San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Washington.
Through more than twenty years as its music director, Nicholas McGegan has established the San Francisco-based Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO) as one of the leading period performance ensembles in the United States. Born in England, Mr. McGegan was educated at Oxford and Cambridge. Awards include a professorship at Gottingen University and an official Nicholas McGegan Day, declared by the Mayor of San Francisco in recognition of two decades' distinguished work with the PBO.
The next appearance of the Juilliard Orchestra will be in Carnegie Hall's festival, Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: Celebrating Chinese Culture, of which Juilliard is a partner. Composer Tan Dun conducts the Juilliard Orchestra in the world premiere of his violin concerto, featuring violinist and Juilliard faculty member and alumnus, Cho-Liang Lin as soloist on Monday, October 26 at 7:30 PM in Alice Tully Hall. The violin concerto was co-commissioned by Juilliard and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Tan Dun's chamber music works, Concerto for Six, Secret Land for 12 cellos, and Silk Road for soprano and percussion, complete the program. Limited FREE tickets will be available beginning October 12 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard (155 West 65th Street). For further information on tickets, call (212) 769-7406 or visit www.juilliard.edu.
Carnegie Hall presents conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the Juilliard Orchestra on Wednesday, October 28 at 8 PM in Carnegie Hall, also a part of the festival, Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: Celebrating Chinese Culture. The program includes the world premiere of Chinese composer Chen Qigang's new work performed by renowned pianist Lang Lang with Lou Harrison's Pacifika Rondo and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with soprano Anne Sophie von Otter and tenor Gregory Kunde. For information on tickets, call CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7400 or visit www.carnegiehall.org.
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FOR LISTINGS:
Friday, October 2, 2009, 8 PM, Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater (155 West 65th Street)
Juilliard Orchestra
Nicholas McGegan, Conductor
Britten - Suite on English Folk Songs, Op. 90
Mozart - Bassoon Concerto, K. 191
Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish"), Op. 56
FREE tickets are available beginning September 18 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard (155 West 65th Street). For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
JUILLIARD ORCHESTRA ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES - 2009-2010 SEASON
Monday, October 26, 7:30 PM
Alice Tully Hall
Tan Dun, conductor
Cho-Liang Lin, violin
All-Tan Dun program
Concerto for Six; Secret Land for Orchestra and 12 Violoncelli; Silk Road; Violin Concerto (world premiere)
Presented in partnership with Carnegie Hall as part of Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: Celebrating Chinese Culture
LIMITED FREE tickets are available beginning October 12 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard (155 West 65th Street). For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
Wednesday, October 28, 8 PM
Presented by Carnegie Hall as part of Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: Celebrating Chinese Culture
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Lang Lang, piano
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Gregory Kunde, tenor
Harrison - Pacifika Rondo
Chen Qigang - new work (world premiere)
Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde
Tickets from $22 - $59 are on sale September 10 at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, through CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800, or purchased online at www.carnegiehall.org.
Saturday, October 31, 5 PM
Alice Tully Hall
Bernard Haitink, Conductor
Mendelssohn - Overture to The Hebrides, Op. 26
Brahms - Symphony No. 2, Op. 73
LIMITED FREE tickets available beginning October 16 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard (155 West 65th Street). For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
Monday, December 7, 8 PM
Alice Tully Hall
James DePreist, Conductor
Berlioz - Le Corsaire Overture, Op. 21
Prokofiev - Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 19 (soloist to be announced)
Bartók - Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 123
LIMITED FREE tickets available beginning November 23 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard (155 West 65th Street). For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
Friday, January 22, 8 PM
The Peter Jay Sharp Theater
FOCUS! 2010, Music at the Center: Composing an American Mainstream
Jeffrey Milarsky, conductor
Works by Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, and William Schuman
LIMITED FREE tickets available beginning January 8 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard (155 West 65th Street). For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
Friday, February 20, 8 PM
Carnegie Hall
James DePreist, conductor
Börtz - Sinfonia No. 1
Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No. 5 in G Major, Op. 55 (soloist to be announced)
Strauss Ein Heldenleben
Tickets are $25 and $10. Half-price discounts for students and seniors. Tickets available beginning January 16 at the Carnegie Hall Box Office or CarnegieCharge (212) 247-7800 or www.carnegiehall.org.
Friday, February 26, 8 PM
The Peter Jay Sharp Theater
Jeffrey Milarsky, conductor
Featuring world premiere works by Juilliard student composers
FREE tickets available beginning February 12 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard (155 West 65th Street). For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
Thursday, April 1, 8 PM
Avery Fisher Hall
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
All-William Schuman program
Tickets are $20 and $10 available February 25 at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office or through CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500
Monday, April 12, 8 PM
Alice Tully Hall
Alan Gilbert, conductor
Ligeti - Atmospheres
Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 1 (soloist to be announced)
Schoenberg - Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16
Mozart - Symphony No. 38 "Prague"
LIMITED FREE Tickets available beginning March 29 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
Friday, April 30, 8 PM
Alice Tully Hall
Xian Zhang, conductor
Augusta Read Thomas - Jubilee (world premiere)
Sibelius - Symphony No. 2
LIMITED FREE tickets available beginning April 16 at the Janet and Leonard Kramer Box Office at Juilliard. For further information, call (212) 769-7406 or go to www.juilliard.edu.
Thursday, May 20, 8 PM
Alice Tully Hall
Commencement Concert
James DePreist, conductor
Rossini - Overture to La Gazza Ladra
Dvořák - Cello Concerto
Lutoslawski - Concerto for Orchestra
STANDBY ADMISSION ONLY
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