About Press Room Vänskä conducts Sibelius' Fourth Symphony; Tetzlaff solos in Szymanowski concertoVänskä conducts Sibelius' Fourth Symphony; Tetzlaff solos in Szymanowski concerto
Music Director Osmo Vänskä leads Minnesota Orchestra concerts March 16 and 17 that include Sibelius’ Fourth Symphony, Kodály’s folk-infused Dances of Galánta
Violinist Christian Tetzlaff returns to perform Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto
(February 9, 2012) German violinist Christian Tetzlaff returns to Orchestra Hall March 16 and 17 for his third collaboration with the Minnesota Orchestra under Music Director Osmo Vänskä, performing Szymanowski’s glittering Violin Concerto No. 1. The program opens with the enigmatic Fourth Symphony of Sibelius, a composer whose works Vänskä and the Orchestra have performed to acclaim, and whose complete symphonies the Orchestra is in the process of recording for release on the BIS label. The concerts conclude with Zoltán Kodály’s Dances of Galánta, a set of five whirling dances named for the Hungarian composer’s boyhood home.
The concert is performed twice at Orchestra Hall: on Friday, March 16, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, March 17, at 8 p.m., with tickets priced from $26 to $84. For tickets, call (612) 371-5656 or visit minnesotaorchestra.org.
Christian Tetzlaff, violin
Christian Tetzlaff has garnered international acclaim for his interpretations of repertoire spanning the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and modern eras. He performs regularly with leading orchestras throughout the world. He debuted with the Minnesota Orchestra at Sommerfest 1996 and last appeared with the ensemble in 2010, playing Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto under Osmo Vänskä’s direction.
Highlights of his recent and upcoming performance calendar include concerts with the London Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra of London; tours with European orchestras that will take him to South America, Asia, France and Spain; a nationally televised performance at the Mostly Mozart Festival; and an East Coast recital tour with pianist Lars Vogt.
Three early 20th-century masterpieces: Sibelius symphony, Szymanowski concerto and Kodály dances
An enigma from the pre-World War I years, Jean Sibelius’ Fourth is dark music from a dark moment in the composer’s life. The beginning question, elaborated by solo cello, is pondered throughout the work. The scherzo emerges as if from nowhere, and the Largo rises slowly, singing, to a Brucknerian climax. Before the finale’s brusque ending, it brims with ideas and the bright sonority of bells. Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra will record the work at sessions in May and June 2012.
Karol Szymanowski’s First Violin Concerto, premiered in 1922, is a work of passion and lyricism. Its single movement opens with brilliant flashes of sound, then continues with hints of humor and extended passages of joyful, carefree song.
In his 1933 Dances of Galánta, Zoltán Kodály memorializes Galánta, the Hungarian town (now part of Slovakia) where he spent seven years of his childhood. He imposes his own structure on five dances the local gypsy band had played—haunting, majestic, stomping and whirling—producing a vivid image of yesteryear.
Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts
VÄNSKÄ CONDUCTS SIBELIUS
Friday, March 16, 2012, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, March 17, 2012, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Christian Tetzlaff, violin
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 4
SZYMANOWSKI Violin Concerto No. 1
KODÁLY Dances of Galánta
Music Up Close: Meet a Musician: Rebecca Albers, viola – Mar. 16 & 17, 7 p.m.
Ask Osmo! Post-concert Q&A with Music Director Osmo Vänskä – Mar. 17
Individual tickets are available for purchase at the Minnesota Orchestra Box Office at 11th and Marquette in Minneapolis, online at minnesotaorchestra.org or by calling (612) 371-5656 or (800) 292-4141. For groups of 10 or more, call (612) 371-5662 or (800) 292-4141, ext. 662. Prices listed do not include a $5.75 service charge per transaction for all phone or mail orders. Save $1 by purchasing tickets online or by having the Orchestra e-mail your tickets. There are no service charges for subscribers, group purchasers or in-person transactions at the Orchestra Hall Box Office. A non-discountable $3.50 facility fee is included in the price of each individual ticket. No refunds. Some fees and restrictions may apply to ticket exchanges. All sales are final. All programs, artists, dates, times and prices subject to change.
Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2011-12 season.
The Star Tribune and 830 WCCO-AM are the Minnesota Orchestra’s media partners for the 2011-12 season.
This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the State’s general fund and its arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.
PRESS CONTACTS:
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(612) 371-5628 •
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Sandi Brown, Public Relations Coordinator
(612) 371-5641 •
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