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Phoenix Symphony Showcases Music of Brahms in October "Classics"
German Requiem and Fourth Symphony featured as part of Composer Narratives
(PHOENIX) - The Phoenix Symphony performs two weeks of Classics concerts featuring the music of Johannes Brahms with performances on October 18-20 and October 25-28 at Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix. Both weeks highlight the music of Brahms as part of The Phoenix Symphony's Composer Narratives that focus on the music of three composers selected each season. The 2007-08 Composer Narratives explore the music of Leonard Bernstein, Osvaldo Golijov, and Johannes Brahms. The upcoming concerts in October include two of Brahms's greatest masterpieces including his passionate Fourth Symphony and haunting German Requiem which features the Phoenix Symphony Chorus alongside baritone Nmon Ford and soprano Celena Shafer.
The first program of concerts led by Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan October 18-20, features Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture and a talented American violinist performing Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto. Heralded by critics across the globe, American violinist Jennifer Frautschi will make her debut with The Phoenix Symphony. The Boston Globe declares Frautschi "a vigorous and colorful player, at once exact and exciting. In a world where it is impossible to distinguish between one young violinist from another, Frautschi has found a compelling voice." The concert concludes with Brahms's majestic Fourth, and final, Symphony. Thursday's concert begins at 7:30 p.m. The Saturday evening concert begins at 8 p.m. and is sponsored by Cigna Healthcare of Arizona. A Friday morning coffee concert begins at 11 a.m. and features one hour of music selected from the week's evening performances.
The second program of Classics concerts, Brahms's German Requiem October 25-28, features contrasting requiems by Benjamin Britten and Johannes Brahms under the direction of Michael Christie. While Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem was composed at the beginning of World War II for orchestra alone, Brahms's German Requiem includes the monumental collection of orchestra, chorus, soprano and baritone soloists. Soprano Celena Shafer and baritone Nmon Ford, both internationally recognized for their superb performances in opera houses and concert halls, will join the orchestra and the Phoenix Symphony Chorus as soloists for the weekend performances. Thursday's concert begins at 7:30 p.m. The Friday concert begins at 8 p.m., and the Sunday matinee begins at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets for these concerts of Brahms masterpieces range from $19-$71 and can be purchased by calling the Phoenix Symphony Box Office at 602.495.1999 or on line at www.phoenixsymphony.org.
These concerts are part of The Phoenix Symphony's 2007-08 Classics Season. Future concerts in this season include "Symphonie Fantastique" on November 23-25, "Beethoven and Meyer" with double bassist Edgar Meyer on January 17 and 18, "Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio" on February 7 and 9, "Mahler Fifth Symphony" on February 28 to March 2, and "Ainadamar" with soprano Dawn Upshaw on May 23 and 24.
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About violinist Jennifer Frautschi: Avery Fisher Career Grant Recipient, Jennifer Frautschi has created a sensation in recent seasons with appearances as soloist with Pierre Boulez and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Christoph Eschenbach and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival, Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony, Peter Oundjian and the Orchestra of St. Luke's at opening night of the Caramoor International Festival, the Cincinnati Symphony at Riverbend, and Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. Born in Pasadena, California, Ms. Frautschi began studying the violin at age three. She was a student of Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. She also attended Harvard, the New England Conservatory of Music, and The Juilliard School, where she studied with Robert Mann. She performs on a 1722 Antonio Stradivarius violin known as the "ex-Cadiz," on generous loan to her from a private American foundation.
About Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan: Lawrence Golan joined the conducting staff of The Phoenix Symphony as Resident Conductor at the start of the 2006-07 season. In this role, he leads concerts in each of the symphony's major series - including Classics, Pops, and Family presentations. In conjunction with his role as Resident Conductor of The Phoenix Symphony, Mr. Golan leads the Phoenix Youth Symphony, helping to prepare these young musicians for future careers in music. He is also Music Director of Boulder Baroque and the Boulder Bach Festival in Colorado, and of the Portland Ballet Company in Maine. In addition, he continues his work as Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music, where he teaches graduate conducting and leads the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre.
About soprano Celena Shafer: Praised for her vocal beauty and impeccable technique, soprano Celena Shafer is recognized as one of the leading artists of her generation garnering great acclaim for her operatic, orchestral, and recital performances. Recently, she has performed with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Saint Louis, and San Francisco. She has also appeared with prestigious opera companies including the Los Angeles Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Welsh National Opera. She can also be heard as the Coloratura on the Chant du Monde recording of Laurent Petitigirard's Joseph Merrick dit L'elephant man.
About Music Director Michael Christie: Michael Christie begins his third season as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director of The Phoenix Symphony with the 2007-08 season. He also serves as Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival and of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He has appeared with orchestras across the United States, Europe, and Canada, as well as with the Finnish National Opera, Queensland Opera, and Zürich Opera. In 1995, Mr. Christie was awarded a special prize at the First International Sibelius Conductor's Competition. Following the competition, he became an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony. Michael Christie graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music with a bachelor's degree in trumpet performance. His conducting teachers have included Daniel Barenboim, Robert Spano, Eiji Oue, and Peter Jaffe.
About baritone Nmon Ford: A two-time 2006 Grammy Award winner (including Best Classical Recording), Panamanian-American Nmon Ford appears regularly in major venues worldwide including Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Hamburg State Opera, Kennedy Center, Avery Fisher Hall, Los Angeles Opera, and he records for Telarc, Naxos and Koch. For more information, visit www.nmonford.com.
About The Phoenix Symphony: Celebrating its 60th Anniversary Season, The Phoenix Symphony has been proudly serving the citizens of the Phoenix metropolitan area and Arizona since 1947. What began as an occasional group of musicians performing a handful of concerts each year (in a city of fewer than 100,000 people) today serves more than 300,000 people annually, with 275 concerts and presentations throughout the greater Phoenix area and beyond.
Under the artistic leadership of Michael Christie as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director and administrative leadership of President Maryellen H. Gleason, the orchestra is overseen by the non-profit Phoenix Symphony Association under Board Chairman Gerald W. Murphy.
The 76-member Phoenix Symphony presents an annual season from September through the beginning of June, featuring full-length classical and pops concerts at Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix, in Scottsdale, in Prescott, and throughout central Arizona. The Symphony performs for more than 50,000 students and children, helping to introduce music to new generations through a variety of education and youth-engagement programs.
BRAHMS FOURTH SYMPHONY Symphony Classics Concert No. 3 Friday Morning Coffee Classics No. 2 October 18 - Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. October 19 - Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. October 20 - Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. at Symphony Hall
THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY Lawrence Golan, conductor Jennifer Frautschi, violin MENDELSSOHN Hebrides Overture SCHUMANN Violin Concerto BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 Overwhelmed by the giant shadow of Beethoven, Brahms struggled for years before putting forth his First Symphony. He finally won over the public and accepted the tremendous acclaim he so richly deserved with his majestic "Fourth." Saturday's concert is sponsored by Cigna Heathcare of Arizona, TICKETS: $19, $29, $39, $48, $58, $68 FRIDAY COFFEE CONCERT: $22, $28, $34 FRIDAY "MEET THE ARTISTS" LUNCHEON: $25 ____________________________________
BRAHMS GERMAN REQUIEM Symphony Classics Concert No. 4 Sunday Concert No. 1 October 25 - Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. October 26 - Friday evening at 8:00 p.m. October 28 - Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Symphony Hall
THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY Michael Christie, conductor Celena Shafer, soprano Nmon Ford, baritone The Phoenix Symphony Chorus Gregory Gentry, chorusmaster Brahms, who once said "life robs one of more than death does," authored one of the most profoundly moving sacred works ever composed; a requiem not for the dead, but for us, the living. Experience Brahms's haunting German Requiem as Michael Christie leads The Phoenix Symphony and Chorus. TICKETS: $22, $32, $42, $51, $61, $71
--------------------------------------------------------- The Phoenix Symphony's 2007-08 Media Sponsors are The Arizona Republic and KAET.
