The Rhode Island Philharmonic Presents Pianist Cecile Licad, 11/15

October 23, 2013 - East Providence, RI ? The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra's season continues Saturday November 16, when Music Director LARRY RACHLEFF welcomes pianist CECILE LICAD for Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The orchestra will also play Dvor?a?k's Symphony No.7 in D minor and Barto?k's Miraculous Mandarin Suite. The concert takes place Saturday, November 16 at 8:00pm at The Vets, 1 Avenue of the Arts in Providence. Resident Conductor FRANCISCO NOYA presents an informal talk about the concert program in the auditorium before the concert from 7:00?7:25. WPRO News Talk 630 is the media sponsor for the season. Tickets ($15-100) are available at www.riphil.org/tickets, and at the RIPO box office: 401.248.7000.

The Amica Rush Hour performance, featuring Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in its entirety, is Friday November 15 at The Vets, 6:30pm.

Music director LARRY RACHLEFF said: "Our Eastern European concert begins with Bela Barto?k's Miraculous Mandarin - an exotic, erotic ballet suite from the early 1900s, full of Hungarian folk elements, primal, aggressive sounds, and beautiful, bittersweet tunes. Dvor?a?k's Seventh Symphony is rich in its own folk influences: Slavonic, tragic and highly rhythmic. I'll go out on a limb and say that this is Dvor?a?k's most compelling work, even more than his New World Symphony. With its fabulous thematic and motivic transformations, use of keys and modulations, it's a work of architectural and emotional genius."

"Then from Budapest and Prague we go to Moscow," Rachleff added. "Cecile Licad joins us for Rachmaninoff's glorious piano concerto, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. With one of the most soaring tunes in the symphonic repertoire, it's Rachmaninoff at his compositional best."

Making her second appearance with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, pianist CECILE LICAD has performed with the Chicago, Boston and National Symphonies, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics among many others, as well as major orchestras throughout Europe and Asia. Ms. Licad has performed in recital with Murray Perahia, Peter Serkin and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and she also performs with cellist Alban Gerhardt in Germany and in the US. As a highly regarded chamber musician, she has performed regularly with ensembles such as the New York Chamber Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Guarneri Quartet, Takacs Quartet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Music from Marlboro. She has appeared at the Caramoor, Tanglewood, Mostly Mozart, Santa Fe Chamber, La Jolla Chamber and Eastern Music Festivals.

The Philharmonic's season features eight Classical concerts on Saturday nights at Vets. Four are preceded by Amica Rush Hour concerts on Friday, and four have Friday Open Rehearsals. The Amica Rush Hour Series offers an early start time - 6:30pm - on Friday November 15, March 21, and April 11. These shorter, informal, accessible concerts feature full performances of select repertoire from the Saturday Classical concerts. Open Rehearsals, on Fridays at 5:30pm (January 17, February 21, May 9), offer insight into the collaboration between the conductor, guest artists and orchestra musicians as they prepare for the upcoming classical concert. Special events include the perennial holiday favorite, Handel's Messiah, with the Providence Singers on Saturday, December 7. Subscriptions and single tickets are on sale now. Please call the Philharmonic box office at 401.248.7000, or visit www.riphil.org/tickets.

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