Augustin Hadelich Returns to the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra to Kick Off 70th Anniversary Season, 9/20

The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra kicks off Season 70, its 70th Anniversary season, with a celebratory performance at 8:00pm on Saturday September 20 at The Vets, 1 Avenue of the Arts in Providence. Music Director LARRY RACHLEFF - now in his 19thseason with the Orchestra - welcomes back violinist AUGUSTIN HADELICH for Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, in a thrilling and diverse program including R. Strauss's Wiener Philharmoniker Fanfare, Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony and Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Resident Conductor FRANCISCO NOYA presents an informal talk about the program in the auditorium before the concert from 7:00?7:25 p.m. Tickets (starting at $15) are available at tickets.riphil.org, and the RIPO box office at 401.248.7000. An Open Rehearsal takes place Friday September 19 at 5:30, with seats at $15, facilities fee included (Internet fee may apply).

"Season 70 opens with a blockbuster concert," says LARRY RACHLEFF, Music Director, "starting with two fanfares to salute our anniversary. A stage full of brass players in Richard Strauss's wonderfulWiener Philharmoniker Fanfare will establish the sound and glittering colors for the evening. We then move to American composer John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine, a title that describes the piece perfectly - you're in a fast car on that California coastline, holding on for dear life! Next, the great violinist Augustin Hadelich returns to us - we're so fortunate to nab him for our opening. He's featured in Tchaikovsky's famous violin concerto, with melodies we all know so well, built on the richness of the Russian soul. And that's where we end the concert, too, with Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony. It has beautiful rich tunes, a slow movement to die for, and a scherzo full of Russian sarcasm, with a kind of burlesque built around the sound of the wheat machine beating out the rhythm. The program is an extraordinary opening to Season 70!"

Violinist AUGUSTIN HADELICH returns for a third engagement with the Philharmonic. Eight months after his sensational debut in 2012 he replaced another soloist who was ill, adjusting his international performance schedule with only a few days' notice. Consistently cited in the press for his "gorgeous tone" (New York Times), "poetic communication" (Washington Post) and "fast-fingered brilliance" (The New Yorker), Hadelich has confirmed his place in the top echelon of young violinists. Following stellar debuts with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood and the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center, he made equally acclaimed debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, Dallas Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic/Manchester and the SWR Orchestra in Stuttgart. Last summer he appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the New York Philharmonic at Vail, Britt Festival Orchestra, Chautauqua Festival Orchestra, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, and La Jolla's SummerFest. In the United States, Hadelich has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the symphonies of Alabama, Baltimore, Colorado, Columbus, Florida, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Louisville, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle and Utah. Festival appearances include Aspen, Blossom, Bravo! Vail Valley, Chautauqua (where he made his American debut in 2001), Eastern Music Festival, the Hollywood Bowl, Tanglewood and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany). Born in Italy in 1984, the son of German parents, Hadelich holds an artist diploma from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Joel Smirnoff. He plays on the 1723 "Ex-Kiesewetter" Stradivari violin, on loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society.

RIPO's Season 70 offers symphonies by Beethoven, Prokofiev and Sibelius; concerti by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Saint-Sa?ns and Tchaikovsky; and popular favorites Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Ravel's Boléro and Orff's Carmina Burana. Twentieth-century highlights include works by Adams, Orff, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Sibelius, Strauss, Stravinsky, and Weill. The season's final concert features the world premiere of a commissioned work by the New England native composer Pierre Jalbert in honor of the Orchestra's 70th Anniversary. An all-star cast of guest artists will perform with the orchestra this season, including returning violinists Augustin Hadelich and Jennifer Koh, cellistAlban Gerhardt, mezzo-soprano Susan Lorette Dunn, and pianists Ilya Yakushev and Joyce Yang. Pianist Jon Nakamatsu will be making his debut with the Rhode Island Philharmonic. The Providence Singers, Christine Noel, artistic director, will share two performances with the Philharmonic: Handel's Messiah in December and Carmina Burana in May.

The Philharmonic's season features eight Classical concerts on Saturday nights at The 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 Fridays October 17, November 14, April 10 and May 8. These shorter, informal, accessible concerts feature full performances of select repertoire from the Saturday Classical concerts. Open Rehearsals, on Fridays September 19, January 16, February 20 and March 20 at 5:30pm, offer insight into the collaboration between the conductor, guest artists and orchestra musicians as they prepare for the upcoming classical concert. Subscriptions and individual concert tickets are on sale now. Call the Philharmonic box office at 401.248.7000, or visittickets.riphil.org.

TICKETS: Starting at $15, with discounts for students and groups in select sections. Facilities fee included in the price of each ticket; Internet fee may apply.

online: tickets.riphil.org, 24/7

by phone: RI Philharmonic box office: 401.248.7000; Monday-Friday 9?4:30

in person: RI Philharmonic box office, Carter Center, 667 Waterman Street, East Providence: Monday-Friday 9?4:30 OR Vets box office, Avenue of the Arts, Providence: concert Friday 2?5:30pm; concert Saturday 3:30?8pm

ABOUT THE PROGRAM: stories behind the music

Richard Strauss's Wiener Philharmoniker Fanfare

Hold on to your hats: This fanfare by the composer best known for Der Rosenkavalier and Thus Spake Zarathustra is scored for full orchestral brass choir and timpani. The character and mood is bright and flamboyant. Quick triplet rhythms allow for only brief snippets of melody. Its dominant mood clearly prepared its listeners for an evening of celebration.

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D, op.35

The best of times, the worst of times: In 1878 Tchaikovsky spent most of the year in Italy and Switzerland recovering from a shattered marriage and a near breakdown. He finished the depressive Fourth Symphony; his operatic masterpiece, Eugene Onegin; and one of the most brilliant and cheerful of all his works, his Violin Concerto.

Sounds like home: Many believe the concerto evokes the composer's yearning to return to Russia. The final movement's opens with a Trepak, a stamping Cossack dance, followed by a peasant or gypsy melody played to the droning accompaniment of bagpipes or a hurdy-gurdy.

Ahead of its time: Beloved today, the concerto was not embraced by early listeners. The composer's patron and ardent admirer found faults in it. Tchaikovsky dedicated the concerto to Leopold Auer and asked him to play its premiere. Auer begged off, however, on the excuse that the soloist's part was awkward and too difficult to be worth the trouble. When violinist Adolf Brodsky played the premiere, reviews in the press were scathing. Vienna's most influential critic wrote "Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto brings to us for the first time the horrid idea that there may be music that stinks in the ear."

Prokofiev's Symphony No.5, op.100

I shall never forget the first performance of the Fifth Symphony in 1945, on the very eve of victory. It was Prokofiev's last appearance as a conductor. . . . No doubt, the Bolshoi Hall of the Moscow Conservatory was lighted as usual, but when Prokofiev appeared, it seemed as if the light streamed directly on him from somewhere above. He stood like a monument on a pedestal. - Sviatoslav Richter, pianist-conductor. It had been nearly 16 years since Prokofiev had produced a symphony. His First ("Classical") Symphony had scored a tremendous success. The next three were critical failures.

Change your tune, they said: Prokofiev was under government orders to make his music more accessible to the public. He replied with the ballets Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella, Peter and the Wolf, music for the film Alexander Nevsky and the opera War and Peace. His "new" symphonic style led to the Fifth Symphony. A simple, heroic style of melody can be heard from the first theme. The scherzo provides a glimpse of the sardonic style of the "old" Prokofiev. The final movement revives the motoristic motion of the scherzo in the character of a march. Pompous themes struggle against sarcasms from various quarters of the orchestra. Ultimately, sheer rhythmic drive wins out, as if to express Prokofiev's aim: "I tried in this symphony to embody a fundamental conception - the triumph of the human spirit."

John Adams, Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Fasten your seat belts: Best known for his award-winning operas Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer, Adams first came into public view through his orchestral music. Quick, joyful and exuberant, Fast Machine rides along on feeling and atmosphere rather than thematic development. Delightfully rambling tunes are etched on a rapid, repetitive background. It is scored for large orchestra including two synthesizers.

RHODE ISLAND PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA: 2014-15 CLASSICAL SEASON - SEASON 70

2. SCHEHERAZADE!

Daniel Hege, guest conductor

Jon Nakamatsu, piano

SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture, op.96

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.2, B-flat major, op.19

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade, op.35

Saturday October 18 at 8:00pm Amica Rush Hour Concert Friday October 17 at 6:30pm

3. THE FOUR SEASONS

Larry Rachleff, conductor

Jennifer Koh, violin

ROSSINI Semiramide: Overture

VIVALDI The Four Seasons, op.8, Nos.1-4

BEETHOVEN Symphony No.8, F major, op.93

Saturday November 15 at 8:00pm Amica Rush Hour Concert Friday November 14 at 6:30pm

4. STRAUSS SHOWPIECES!

Larry Rachleff, conductor

Ilya Yakushev, piano

R. STRAUSS Serenade for Winds, op.7

BACH Keyboard Concerto No.1, D minor, BWV 1052

R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben, TrV 190, op.40

Saturday January 17 at 8:00pm Open Rehearsal Friday January 16 at 5:30pm

5. MOZART'S "ELVIRA MADIGAN"

Larry Rachleff, conductor

Joyce Yang, piano

STRAVINSKY Jeu de cartes

MOZART Piano Concerto No.21, C major, K 467 (Elvira Madigan)

SIBELIUS Symphony No.5, E-flat major, op.82

Saturday February 21 at 8:00pm Open Rehearsal Friday February 20 at 5:30pm

6. RAVISHING RACHMANINOFF

Larry Rachleff, conductor

Susan Lorette Dunn, mezzo-soprano

DVO?ÁK Carnival Overture, op.92, B.169

WEILL Cabaret Songs

RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances, op.45

Saturday March 21 at 8:00pm Open Rehearsal Friday March 20 at 5:30pm

7. BOLÉRO!

Larry Rachleff, conductor

Alban Gerhardt, cello

BERLIOZ Romeo & Juliet: Queen Mab Scherzo

SAINT-SA?NS Cello Concerto No.1, A minor, op.33

RAVEL Mother Goose Suite

RAVEL Boléro

Saturday April 11 at 8:00pm Amica Rush Hour Concert Friday April 10 at 6:30pm

8. CARMINA BURANA

Larry Rachleff, conductor

The Providence Singers, Christine Noel, artistic director

JALBERT World Premiere, in honor of the RI Philharmonic's 70th Anniversary

RESPIGHI Ancient Airs and Dances: Suite 1, P 138

ORFF Carmina Burana

Saturday May 9 at 8:00pm Amica Rush Hour Concert Friday May 8 at 6:30pm

All programs and artists are subject to change without notice.

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ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School is the largest fully integrated orchestra and music school in the United States. Our mission is to enrich and transform Rhode Island and our region through great music performance and education.

2014-2015 is the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra's 70th Season, Music Director Larry Rachleff's 19th with the Orchestra. The season includes an eight-concert Classical Series with a roster of world-renowned guest artists that includes pianists Jon Nakamatsu, Ilya Yakushev and Joyce Yang, violinists Augustin Hadelich and Jennifer Koh, cellist Alban Gerhardt, mezzo-soprano Susan Lorette Dunn, and guest conductor Daniel Hege. Our Amica Rush Hour Series offers an early start time -6:30pm - on four Fridays (October 17, November 14, April 10, May 8). These shorter, informal, accessible classical concerts feature full performances of select repertoire from the Saturday Classical concerts. Our four Open Rehearsals, on Fridays at 5:30pm (September 19, January 16, February 20,March 20), offer audience members 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 20 at 7:00pm, conducted by the Singers' artistic director Christine Noel. Resident Conductor Francisco Noya conducts our Education Concerts and our Summer Pops Concerts.

Now in its 27th year, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School serves approximately 1,500 children, youth and adults every week with lessons, classes, ensembles and community partnership programs, and an additional 21,000+ students annually through partnerships, residencies, education concerts and in-school performances. Ensembles include five youth orchestras, two wind ensembles, eleven jazz ensembles and many chamber music ensembles and the RI Philharmonic Community Orchestra for adults. Information is available at www.riphil.org.

TICKETS AND DISCOUNTS

Single tickets for the 2014/2015 Season are now available for purchase: online, in-person and by phone. Subscribing to the Classical and Amica Rush Hour Series can be done at any time by calling or visiting the Philharmonic Box Office. Subscriptions are also available online at tickets.riphil.org.

Tickets may be purchased 24/7 on the Philharmonic website: tickets.riphil.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Philharmonic box office at 667 Waterman Avenue, East Providence, by phone(401.248.7000) or in-person Monday?Friday 9am?4:30pm. On Open Rehearsal and Amica Rush Hour Fridays, ticket sales are also available at The Vets box office, from 2:00pm and 2:30pm respectively until showtime. On Saturday concert days, tickets are available onsite at The Vets box office from3:30pm until showtime, or by calling 401.248.7000.

Ticket prices start at $15 for adults, with discounts in selected areas of the hall for full?time students and groups. Internetfee may apply for website purchases. Tickets for Open Rehearsals are $15, including facilities fee (Internet fee may apply). There is free parking for all Philharmonic concerts at designated lots along Smith Street. For Saturday evening concerts, the Philharmonic provides a free shuttle bus to and from the parking lots before and after the concerts.