Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra to Perform Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, 10/17

MILWAUKEE, WIS. 09/25/2014 - The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Associate Conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong present Tchaikovsky's Fifth on October 17-18, 2014 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The performances feature Bacewicz's Overture for Orchestra, Lutoslawski's Piano Concerto with Christopher Taylor, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5.

Both concerts include Meet the Music, a free, interactive pre-concert discussion held one hour prior to concert start time in Uihlein Hall on Friday and in Anello Atrium on Saturday.

Bacewicz's Overture for Orchestra was composed in 1943 and premiered in 1945. In addition to composing, Bacewicz began performing as principal violinist with the Polish Radio Orchestra in 1936 before embarking on a solo career two years later. In 1943, Bacewicz was beginning to explore styles and forms outside the realm of neoclassicism, which had been the style of her earliest compositions. Many attribute the change in part to the influence of World War II and a rising tide of nationalism during Germany's occupation of Poland. Many Polish folk elements permeate her music, including in this Overture.

Lutoslawski's Piano Concerto was composed and premiered in 1988. The work arose near the end of Lutoslawski's career as one of the most innovative composers of the twentieth century. About the piece, Lutoslawski wrote: "My Piano Concerto consists of four movements which are played without any break, despite the fact that each of the movements has a clear ending.Although used to a lesser degree than in other works of mine, the elements of 'chance' also appears in the Piano Concerto."

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 was composed and premiered in 1888. With a ten year gap after writing his Fourth Symphony, completing his Fifth Symphony was an elusive goal for Tchaikovsky. The composer wrote: "I am dreadfully anxious to prove not only to others but also myself that I am not yet played out as a composer." The symphony begins introspectively with a quiet theme, in a way evoking a funeral march, and perhaps represents the composer's own resignation before fate, or fate itself.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

American conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong, currently associate conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, has worked with orchestras around the world, including the Atlanta, Indianapolis, and St. Louis symphony orchestras, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Hong Kong, Pitesti (Romania), and Ruse (Bulgaria) philharmonics. Equally at ease in the opera house, Mr. Lecce-Chong has served as principal conductor for the Brooklyn Repertory Opera and as staff conductor for the Santa Fe Opera. He has earned a growing reputation and critical acclaim for dynamic, forceful performances that have garnered national distinction, including the Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award and The Presser Foundation Music Award. In summer 2014, he served as the associate conductor at the Grand Tetons Music Festival and had guest appearances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Las Vegas Philharmonic, and Breckenridge Music Festival.

In his role with the MSO, Mr. Lecce-Chong works closely with renowned Music Director Edo de Waart and is directly responsible for leading over forty subscription, tour, education, and community concert performances annually. In his acclaimed subscription appearances with the MSO, he has collaborated with soloists such as Itzhak Perlman, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Augustin Hadelich, and Joyce Yang. In addition, Mr. Lecce-Chong has curated and conducted a special three-week series at venues around Milwaukee using thematic elements to draw together a diversity of works from outside the standard repertoire.

As a trained pianist and composer, Mr. Lecce-Chong embraces innovative programming, champions the work of new composers, and by example supports arts education. He brings the excitement of new music to audiences of all ages through special presentations embodying diverse program repertoire and the use of unconventional performances spaces. Mr. Lecce-Chong also provides artistic leadership for the MSO's nationally-lauded Arts in Community Education (ACE) program - one of the largest arts integration programs in the country. He is a frequent guest speaker at organizations around Milwaukee and hosts Meet the Music, the MSO's pre-concert lecture series.

Mr. Lecce-Chong is a native of Boulder, Colorado, where he began conducting at the age of sixteen. He is a graduate of the Mannes College of Music, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree with honors in piano and orchestral conducting. Mr. Lecce-Chong also holds a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied as a Martin and Sarah Taylor Fellow with renowned pedagogue Otto-Werner Mueller. He currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Follow his blog, Finding Exhilaration, at www.lecce-chong.com.

The past few years have seen Christopher Taylor emerge as one of the nation's foremost musicians. Audiences and critics alike hail the intensity and artistry he brings to the works of masters ranging from Bach and Beethoven to Boulez and Bolcom; The Washington Post, for instance, deems Mr. Taylor "one of the most impressive young pianists on the horizon today," and The New York Times termed a recent performance as "astonishing." He was named an American Pianists Association Fellow for 2000, before which he received an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1996 and the Bronze Medal in 1993 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where he was the first American to receive such high recognition in 12 years. In 1990, he took first prize in the William Kapell International Piano Competition, and also became one of the first recipients of the Irving Gilmore Young Artists Award. In recent seasons, Mr. Taylor has concertized around the globe, performing throughout Europe and in Korea, the Philippines, and the Caribbean. In the United States, he has appeared with the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics; the Detroit, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Houston symphonies; the Boston Pops; and the Polish Chamber Philharmonic. As a soloist, he has performed in such venues as New York's Carnegie and Alice Tully halls, Washington's Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Ravinia and Aspen festivals, and dozens others.

Taylor's first recording released by Jonathan Digital featured works by present-day American composers William Bolcom and Derek Bermel. His most recent recording, Liszt's Twelve Transcendental Etudes, was released on the Liszt Digital label. In addition to performing, he is currently Paul Collins Associate Professor of Piano Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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