Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to Kick Off October with Higdon and Beethoven

The Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will start October with three concerts featuring Music Director Robert Spano conducting Jennifer Higdon's Concerto for Orchestra and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor" featuring pianist Jonathan Biss. The performances will take place October 1, 2015, 8:00 p.m., October 2, 2015, 6:30 p.m. and October 3, 2015, 8:00 p.m. at Atlanta Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center. This is the first weekend of the Orchestra's Mostly Beethoven Festival, which will run through November 21, 2015.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra won a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Classical Recording for Jennifer Higdon's Concerto for Orchestra. Higdon also won a Grammy Award and a 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her compositions for percussion and violin, respectively. A New York native raised in Atlanta to age 10, Higdon studied music at Bowling Green State University, where she met Robert Spano during a conducting course.

Higdon describes her Concerto for Orchestra as "truly a concerto in that it requires virtuosity from the principal players, the individual sections and the entire orchestra." According to the League of American Orchestras, as of 2008 Higdon ranked among the most performed living American composers.

An award-winning American pianist, Jonathan Biss is widely regarded for his artistry, musical intelligence and deeply felt interpretations. With the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Liss will perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor," the composer's final piano concerto which radiates defiance, heroism and virtuoso fireworks from start to finish. The concerto was first performed nearly 204 years ago in Leipzig, Germany, and titled "Emperor Concerto" by Beethoven's contemporary and publisher of the work, Johann Baptist Cramer.

On Friday, October 2, 2015, Jonathan Biss will join Music Director Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in an abbreviated version of the subscription weekend's performances as part of the Orchestra's "Casual Fridays" concert series. The concert will also feature an abbreviated version of Higdon's Concerto for Orchestra. The concert begins at 6:30 p.m. and lasts approximately one hour without intermission. All tickets are $25. Additional details are available at aso.org.

Directly following the "Casual Fridays" concert, guests are invited to enjoy a performance from hip-hop artist and violin prodigy Damien Escobar. Escobar -- a graduate of Julliard and formerly of the group "Nuttin' but Stringz," made famous on "America's Got Talent," -- is a sensation, combining the worlds of classical violin and hip-hop music to create a sound that is all his own.

Jennifer Higdon was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 31, 1962. The first performance of the Concerto for Orchestra took place at Verizon Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 12, 2002, with Wolfgang Sawallisch conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn, Germany, on December 17, 1770, and died in Vienna, Austria, on March 26, 1827. The first performance of the "Emperor" Piano Concerto took place in Leipzig, Germany, on November 28, 1811, with Friedrich Schneider as soloist and Johann Philipp Christian Schulz conducting.

Conductor, pianist, composer and pedagogue Robert Spano is known worldwide for the depth and intensity of his artistry as well as his unique communicative abilities. Beginning his 15th season as Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, this imaginative conductor is an approachable artist with the innate ability to share his enthusiasm for music with an entire community and concert hall.

American pianist Jonathan Biss is widely regarded for his artistry, musical intelligence and deeply felt interpretations, winning international recognition for his orchestral, recital, and chamber music performances and for his award-winning recordings. He performs a diverse repertoire ranging from Mozart and Beethoven, through the Romantics to Jana?cek and Schoenberg.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, beginning its 71st season, consistently affirms its position as one of America's leading orchestras by performing great music, presenting great artists, educating and engaging. The orchestra is known for the excellence of its live performances, presentations, renowned choruses and its impressive list of GRAMMY Award-winning recordings. A leading cultural organization in the Southeast, the ASO serves as the cornerstone for artistic development and music education in the region.

Audiences have the opportunity o learn more about the music they will be hearing at concerts with free Concert Previews given by composers, conductors, educators and musical experts, all hosted by ASO Insider and Program Annotator Ken Meltzer. Thursday evenings, 7:00-7:30 p.m. in Atlanta Symphony Hall (unless otherwise noted). Concert previews are free and open to all concert ticketholders. Speakers and locations are subject to change.

All single tickets for the 2015-2016 season are on sale now and available online at atlantasymphony.org, or by calling 404.733.5000. Tickets may also be purchased at the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office, located in the Woodruff Arts Center at 15th and Peachtree Streets. Box office hours are Monday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.