BSO Opens 2013-14 Season with Scheherazade & 1812 Overture, Sept. 20-22

Music Director Marin Alsop will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture on Friday, September 20 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, September 22 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, andSaturday, September 21 at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore. Also on the program is the United States' premiere of the BSO co-commission of John Adams' Saxophone Concerto, performed by Tim McAllister. BSO opens the subscription season with a performance of the national anthem, arranged by James Lee III. Please see below for complete program details.

The collection of West and South Asian stories knows as The Arabian Night's Entertainments inspired Rimsky-Korsakov to write, "an orchestral suite in four movements, closely knit by the community of its themes and motives, yet representing, as it were, a kaleidoscope of fairy-tale images and designs of Oriental character." The end result was Scheherazade, Rimsky-Korsakov's seductive and most popular work. The first movement highlights the cello and violas through flowing arpeggios. The second draws highly on Middle Eastern-style melodies, while the third slows and relaxes to simple form melodic content. The finale is a combination of three tales from The Arabian Nights.

In 1880, Russian composer Tchaikovsky was commissioned to compose a score to celebrate Napoleon's retreat from Russia in 1812. Beginning with a solemn mood set at the opening, 1812 Overture quickly explodes into a climax that highlights the brass and percussion sections of the orchestra. The piece was quickly adapted by the United States and is known as a joyful and patriotic composition used at many Independence Day celebrations across America. The BSO performance of this well-known classic will feature the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters Chorus.

Tim McAllister will also make the United States premiere of John Adams' Saxophone Concerto. As a premier concert saxophonist, McAllister will perform the Saxophone Concerto at the worldwide debut in Sydney, Australia in August. In 2009, McAllister performed in the premiere of Adams' City Noir at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, gaining astounding reviews. Adams, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, is characterized by his signature minimalist style featuring a steady pulse that controls and defines his music.

In keeping with BSO tradition, the subscription season-opening concerts will begin with a performance of the Star-Spangled Banner. The arrangement of the national anthem is by James Lee III. The BSO has performed several of Mr. Lee's past works, including a movement from Beyond Rivers of Vision, as well as the BSO-commissioned workChuphshah! Harriet's Drive to Canaan about the life of Harriet Tubman. Mr. Lee was commissioned for his arrangement of the national anthem by the BSO as the second of a five-season series of original versions of the national anthem by contemporary composers, leading up to the BSO's centennial season in 2016-2017. Maestra Alsop-ever the champion of living composers and new music-developed the initiative and curates a similar effort for the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, where she also serves as music director.

Marin Alsop, conductor

Hailed as one of the world's leading conductors for her artistic vision and commitment to accessibility in classical music, Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12thmusic director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She also holds the title of conductor emeritus at the Bournemouth Symphony in the United Kingdom, where she served as the principal conductor from 2002-2008, and is music director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California.

In 2005, Ms. Alsop was named a MacArthur Fellow, the first conductor ever to receive this prestigious award. In 2007, she was honored with a European Women of Achievement Award, in 2008 she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2009 Musical America named her "Conductor of the Year." In November 2010, she was inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame. In February 2011, Marin Alsop was named the music director of the Orquestra Sinfônica do estado de São Paulo (OSESP), or the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, effective for the 2012-13 season. Ms. Alsop was named to Guardian's Top 100 Women list in March 2011. In the spring of 2011, Marin Alsop was named an Artist-in-Residence at the Southbank Centre in London, England.

A regular guest conductor with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ms. Alsop appears frequently as a guest conductor with the most distinguished orchestras around the world. In addition to her performance activities, she is also an active recording artist with award-winning cycles of Brahms, Barber and Dvo?ák.

Marin Alsop has led Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in several key outreach initiatives. In 2008, she partnered with the BSO to launch OrchKids, a music education and life enrichment program for youth in West Baltimore. In 2010, she conducted the first "Rusty Musicians with the BSO" - an event that gave amateur musicians the chance to perform onstage with a professional symphony orchestra and quickly became a popular component of the BSO's efforts to connect with the community. In June 2010, Maestra Alsop conducted the inaugural BSO Academy - an immersive summer music program that gives approximately 100 amateur adult musicians the opportunity to perform alongside a top professional orchestra.

Marin Alsop attended Yale University and received her master's degree from The Juilliard School. In 1989, her conducting career was launched when she won the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize at Tanglewood where she studied with Leonard Bernstein.

Tim McAllister, saxophone

Acclaimed soloist and member of the renowned PRISM Quartet, Timothy McAllister is one of America's premier concert saxophone performers and a champion of contemporary music. His solo, orchestral and chamber music recordings appear on the Naxos, Albany, Summit, OMM, New Focus, Centaur, Equilibrium and Innova labels. He has been featured on National Public Radio, Dutch National Radio, BBC, WQXR-NYC, WFMT-Chicago and various PBS affiliates throughout the U.S. Credited with more than 150 premieres of new compositions by eminent and emerging composers worldwide, his celebrated work is highlighted in the Deutsche Grammophon DVD release of the world premiere of John Adams' City Noir, filmed as part of Gustavo Dudamel's inaugural concert as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Prior to the U.S. Premiere with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, he gave the World Premiere of John Adams' Saxophone Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the composer in the Sydney Opera House.

McAllister has recently appeared as soloist with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, United States Navy Band, Dallas Wind Symphony, Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia, Pacific Symphony and the Nashville Symphony, among others. In 2010, he toured with the Los Angeles Philharmonic including performances in San Francisco, Phoenix, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and New York's Lincoln Center.

He serves as professor of saxophone and co-director of the Institute for New Music at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music, and has attained visiting positions at the University Of Michigan School Of Music, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique of Paris, and Tokyo's Kunitachi College of Music.

COMPLETE PROGRAM DETAILS

Scheherazade & 1812 Overture

Friday, September 20, 2013 at 8 p.m. - JMSH

Saturday, September 21, 2013 at 8 p.m. - The Music Center at Strathmore

Sunday, September 22, 2013 at 3 p.m. - JMSH

Marin Alsop, conductor

Tim McAllister, saxophone

U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters Chorus

Arr. James Lee III: Star-Spangled Banner (World Premiere)

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade

John Adams: Saxophone Concerto (U.S. Premiere, BSO co-commission)

Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture

Tickets range from $29 to $84 and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.

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