Chicago Philharmonic to Present SCENTS OF BEAUTY, Featuring Pianist Jorge Federico Osorio, 4/19

The Chicago Philharmonic presents works by Debussy, Ravel, and De Falla in Scents of Beauty at Northwestern University's Pick-Staiger Hall on April 19, 7pm. The performance will feature world-renowned pianist Jorge Federico Osorio as the orchestra continues its 2014-15 subscription series dedicated to the five senses. Artistic Director Scott Speck conducts.

This springtime concert opens with Claude Debussy's fragrant Prelude to The Afternoon of A Faun. Actress Barbara Robertson will perform a dramatic reading of selections from the poem by Mallarme that inspired Debussy's famous work, which evokes the fresh scents of the season. Next, Mr. Osorio performs two of his signature works: First, Nights in The Gardens of Spain, in which composer Manuel de Falla draws inspiration from the perfumes of orange, jacaranda, pomegranate, and the Valencia rose; then, Maurice Ravel's spicy Concerto for The Left Hand. To close, the smells of the sea emerge from Debussy's distinctly impressionistic La mer.

The Atara String Quartet -- featuring Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago students Hannah White, Karisa Chiu, Tess Krope, and Krystian Chiu -- will perform in the lobby preceding the concert and during intermission as part of the orchestra's NEXT! program. Chicago Philharmonic musician Erica Anderson will present the evening's Phil Talk about the program concept. Tickets (adults: $25 - $75, students with ID: $10) can be purchased at (312) 957-0000 or chicagophilharmonic.org.

Jorge Federico Osorio has been internationally acclaimed for his superb musicianship, powerful technique, vibrant imagination, and deep passion and hailed as "one of the more elegant and accomplished pianists on the planet" (Los Angeles Times). He has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras, and his concert tours have taken him to Europe, Asia, and North, Central, and South America. American festival appearances include the Hollywood Bowl, Ravinia, Mainly Mozart, Newport, and Grant Park festivals. Osorio has won several international prizes and received numerous awards, including the prestigious Medalla Bellas Artes, the highest honor granted by Mexico's National Institute of Fine Arts; the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Gina Bachauer Award; and First Prize in the Rhode Island International Master Piano Competition. He serves on the faculty at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts and resides in Highland Park, Illinois.

The Chicago Philharmonic is a musician-governed not-for-profit organization founded 25 years ago by principals from the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra. Today, the orchestra is a collaboration of over 225 of the highest-level classical musicians performing in the metropolitan Chicago area and has consistently won accolades from music critics and audiences alike. The orchestra's symphonic concerts at Pick-Staiger Hall and Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston, IL and their chamber series at locations all over the Chicago area cover the full spectrum of classical music, from the masters of Baroque to the composers of today. The Chicago Philharmonic is proud to serve as the official orchestra for the Joffrey Ballet and to have maintained a partnership with the Ravinia Festival for over 20 years.