Rachmaninoff & Brahms Program Presents Maxim Mogilevsky Tonight

In a program featuring guest pianist Maxim Mogilevsky and conducted by CSO Music Director Jean-Marie Zeitouni, the CSO will perform perhaps the most beloved of all piano concertos, Rachmaninoff's second which overflows with appealing Russian-flavored melodies, heady emotions, and dazzling solo virtuosity. Also to be performed are John Estacio's Brio and the last Brahms symphony that sums up his life with waves of warmth, nostalgia, regret, defiance, and joy.

The Columbus Symphony presents Rachmaninoff & Brahms at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.) tonight and Saturday, October 11 and 12, at 8pm. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 228-8600 or (800) 745-3000. The CAPA Ticket Centerwill also be open two hours prior to each performance. Young people between the ages of 13-25 may purchase $5 PNC Arts Alive All Access tickets while available. For more information, visit www.GoFor5.com.

The 2013-14 Masterworks Series is made possible through the generous support of season sponsors Anne and Noel Melvin.

About CSO Music Director Jean-Marie Zeitouni

Jean-Marie Zeitouni, music director of the Columbus Symphony and principal conductor and artistic director of I Musici de Montréal, has emerged as one of Canada's brightest young conductors whose eloquent yet fiery style results in regular re-engagements acrossNorth America. Also enjoying an association with Les Violons du Roy that goes back many years, first as conductor-in-residence, then as associate conductor, and since 2008, as principal guest conductor, he has led the ensemble in more than 200 performances in the province of Québec, across Canada, and in Mexico. In 2006, he recorded his first album with Les Violons du Roy entitledPiazzolla which received a 2007 JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year in the category Solo or Chamber Ensemble. They also have two subsequent recordings-Bartok (2008) and Britten (2010).

About guest pianist Maxim Mogilevsky

Having impressed audiences worldwide with his fiery performances and distinctive interpretations, Maxim Mogilevsky made his debut at age 13 with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra to widespread acclaim. Since that time, he has gone on to perform as a soloist with major orchestras around the world and has undertaken many unique artistic projects. Called by The Washington Post, "a pianist with distinctive personality, outstanding technique, and an inclination to stamp his own imprint on whatever he plays," Mogilevsky has become a favorite of musicians and audiences worldwide.

About composer John Estacio (born 1966)

JUNO-nominated composer John Estacio has served as composer in residence for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic, the Calgary Opera, and Pro Coro Canada. His residencies have yielded numerous orchestral works, several of which appear on Frenergy, the Music of John Estacio, released by CBC Records. After nearly a decade of composing opera, Brio: Toccata and Fantasy for Orchestra is Estacio's first orchestral work after completing his most recent opera Lillian Alling. Set in three sections, Brio is a vigorous and mercurial piece that charts the course of a short melodic motive from its strident introduction by muted trumpets through to a resounding conclusion.

About composer Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Rachmaninoff was a Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output. He made a point of using his own skills as a performer to explore fully the expressive possibilities of the instrument. The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, was composed between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on December 2, 1900. The complete work was premiered, again with the composer as soloist, on November 9, 1901, with his cousin Alexander Siloti conducting. This is one of Rachmaninoff's most enduringly popular works, and established his fame as a concerto composer.

About composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

German composer and pianist Johannes Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene. In his lifetime, Brahms's popularity and influence were considerable-he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs." Completed in 1885, the Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98, is the last of his symphonies. It was premiered on October 25, 1885, with Brahms himself conducting.

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