Pianist Joyce Yang to Headline Concert with RI Philharmonic, 2/21

January 29, 2015 - East Providence, RI ? On Saturday, February 21, Music Director LARRY RACHLEFF and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra welcome pianist JOYCE YANG to the stage. The concert program features Stravinsky's Jeu de cartes, Sibelius' Fifth Symphony, and Mozart's Elvira Madigan Concerto, featuring Ms. Yang as soloist. The Carter Family Charitable Trust is Concert Sponsor and Guest Artist Sponsor for Joyce Yang. Tickets (starting at $15) are available at tickets.riphil.org, and the RIPHIL box office at 401.248.7000.

An Open Dress Rehearsal takes place Friday February 20 at 5:30pm.

"Mozart's most famous piano concerto," says LARRY RACHLEFF, Music Director, "is his 21st, the Elvira Madigan. The great pianist Joyce Yang will create this concerto with us. We begin with Stravinsky's neoclassical ballet, his Card Game, which our orchestra has never performed. We conclude with Sibelius' Fifth Symphony, known for its glorious sounds, beautiful tunes and typical Finnish landscape. You'll find it both provocative and accessible, a wonderful conclusion to this concert that offers classical Mozart, neoclassical Stravinsky and the romantic Sibelius."

Pianist JOYCE YANG most recently played Ravel with the Philharmonic in 2011. Blessed with "poetic and sensitive pianism" (Washington Post) and a "wondrous sense of color" (San Francisco Classical Voice), Yang captivates audiences across the globe with her virtuosity, lyricism, and magnetic stage presence. At just 27, she has established herself as one of the leading artists of her generation through her innovative solo recitals and collaborations with the world's top orchestras. In 2010 she received an Avery Fisher Career Grant, one of classical music's most prestigious accolades.

Yang came to international attention in 2005 when she won the silver medal at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The youngest contestant, she took home two additional awards: the Steven De Groote Memorial Award for Best Performance of Chamber Music (with the Takàcs Quartet) and the Beverley Taylor Smith Award for Best Performance of a New Work. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Yang received her first piano lesson from her aunt at the age of four. She quickly took to the instrument, which she received as a birthday present, and over the next few years won several national piano competitions in her native country. By the age of ten, she had entered the School of Music at the Korea National University of Arts, and went on to make a number of concerto and recital appearances in Seoul and Daejeon. In 1997, Yang moved to the United States to begin studies at the pre-college division of the Juilliard School in New York with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky. During her first year at Juilliard, Yang won the pre-college division Concerto Competition, resulting in a performance of Haydn's Keyboard Concerto in D with the Juilliard Pre-College Chamber Orchestra. After winning the Philadelphia Orchestra's Greenfield Student Competition, she performed Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto with that orchestra at just twelve years old. She graduated from Juilliard with special honor as the recipient of the school's 2010 Arthur Rubinstein Prize, and in 2011 she won its 30th Annual William A. Petschek Piano Recital Award.

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. Several well-known guest artists will perform with the orchestra, including returning violinists Augustin Hadelich and Jennifer Koh, cellist Alban Gerhardt, mezzo-soprano Susan Lorette Dunn, and pianists Ilya Yakushev and Joyce Yang. Pianist Jon Nakamatsu made 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, which also features the Rhode Island Children's Chorus (also directed by Ms. Noel). Capping off this anniversary season, world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell appears with the Philharmonic in a Gala Celebration of Season 70! on Friday March 6 at The VETS.

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 remaining Fridays 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 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. Special events include the perennial holiday favorite Handel's Messiah with The Providence Singers on Saturday, December 20 at 7:00pm at The VETS, conducted by the Singers' former artistic director Andrew Clark, and the Philharmonic Pops showcasing Cirque de la Symphonie on Saturday, January 31 at 7:00pm at The VETS and appearing with the Indigo Girls on Saturday, February 13 at 7:00pm at PPAC, both conducted by Resident Conductor Francisco Noya. Mr. Noya also conducts our Education Concerts and Summer Pops Concerts. Subscriptions and individual concert tickets are on sale now. Call the Philharmonic box office at 401.248.7000 or visit tickets.riphil.org.