The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Presents ALL RACHMANINOFF with Joyce Yang, 4/25-27

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra presents All Rachmaninoff with Music Director Edo de Waart on April 25-27, 2014 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The program includes Rachmaninoff's Prince Rostislav, Symphony No. 3 in A minor, and Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor featuring pianist Joyce Yang.

All concerts include Meet the Music, a free, interactive pre-concert discussion, held in Uihlein Hall at 10:15 a.m. on Friday and in the Anello Atrium at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Friday's performance also includes a Pre-Concert Fashion Show at 10:15 a.m. in the Bradley Pavilion.

Prince Rostislav was Rachmaninoff's second symphonic work, composed in 1891. The work takes its inspiration from a poem by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, and his musical treatment similarly follows the narrative arch of the story. Although the work exhibits the profound influences of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov, it was one of the first pieces where Rachmaninoff's distinctive compositional voice began to emerge.

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Opus 40 was composed in 1926. Rachmaninoff and his family had moved to America in 1921, and he was self-conscious about his music and how it would be viewed against the groundbreaking works of his peer composers. The critical response to the premiere of his Fourth Piano Concerto in 1927 was mixed, leading Rachmaninoff to further self-doubt and ultimately resulted in his revising the Concerto.

Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Opus 92, was composed in 1935-36. The tremendous reception and success of his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini prompted Rachmaninoff to begin work on his Third Symphony the following summer. Despite a mixed critical response, Symphony No. 3 remains an ingenious work exhibiting innovative orchestration. Musicologist Michael Steinberg described Rachmaninoff's overlooked later works as "represent[ing] their composer at his most formidably intelligent and imaginative, in that they have strength, integrity, vision, and atmosphere."

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
The 2013.14 season is Edo de Waart's fifth as the sixth music director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He is also chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, artistic partner of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and conductor laureate of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.
Guest conducting highlights include performances with the San Francisco Symphony, NHK Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Washington's National Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. As an opera conductor, Mr. de Waart has conducted at Nikikai Opera, Geneva Opera, Opera de Bastille, Santa Fe Opera, and The

Metropolitan Opera. Semi-staged and concert opera performances include Der Rosenkavalier (The Metropolitan Opera), Bluebeard's Castle (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra), and The Rake's Progress (Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra). He regularly conducts an opera with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic as part of the Concertgebouw's Zaterdag Matinee series.

Edo de Waart's extensive catalogue encompasses releases for Philips, Virgin, EMI, Telarc, and RCA. With the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, he has recorded all the orchestral works of Rachmaninoff, the overtures of Wagner for Octavia/Exton, and a Wagner series for Challenge Classics.

Born in Holland, he studied oboe, piano, and conducting at the Music Lyceum in Amsterdam and upon graduating took up the position of associate principal oboe of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Two years later, at the age of 23, he won the Dimitri Mitropoulos Conducting Competition in New York which resulted in his appointment as assistant conductor to Leonard Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic. On his return to Holland, he was appointed assistant conductor to Bernard Haitink at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 1967, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra appointed him guest conductor and, six years later, chief conductor and artistic director. Since then, Edo de Waart has also been music director of the San Francisco Symphony and Minnesota Orchestra, chief conductor and artistic director of the Sydney Symphony, and chief conductor of De Nederlandse Opera. In December 2004, he was made a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion, and in 2005, he was appointed an Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia.

Pianist Joyce 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 Taka?cs Quartet) and the Beverley Taylor Smith Award for Best Performance of a New Work. Yang made her celebrated New York Philharmonic debut with Lorin Maazel at Avery Fisher Hall in November 2006 and performed on the orchestra's tour of Asia, making a triumphant return to her hometown of Seoul, South Korea. Subsequent appearances with the Philharmonic included the opening night of the Leonard Bernstein Festival in September 2008, at the special request of Maazel in his final season as music director. The New York Times called Yang's performance in Bernstein's Age of Anxiety a "knock-out."

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE

All Rachmaninoff
Edo de Waart, conductor Joyce Yang, piano

Friday, April 25 | 11:15 a.m. Saturday, April 26 | 8:00 p.m. Sunday, April 27 | 2:30 p.m.

Tickets range from $25-$105. For more information, please call 414.291.7605 or visit mso.org. Tickets may also be purchased through the Marcus Center Box Office at 414.273.7206.

The MSO Steinway piano was made possible through a generous gift from Michael and Jeanne Schmitz.

The 2013.14 Classics Series is presented by UPAF. Friday Classics Series is sponsored by Chase. Saturday Classics Series is sponsored by Rockwell Automation. Sunday Classics Series is sponsored by Johnson Controls.

ABOUT THE MSO

Ranked among the top orchestras in the country, the MSO is the largest cultural institution in Wisconsin. Since its inception in 1959, the orchestra has received critical acclaim for artistic excellence. The orchestra's full-time professional musicians perform more than 135 concerts each season. A cornerstone organization in Milwaukee's arts community, the MSO provides enrichment and education activities for audiences of every age, economic status, and background.