String Summit to Be First CSO Masterworks Concert Performed in the Southern

For the Columbus Symphony's inaugural concert in the Southern Theatre, CSO Music Director Jean-Marie has selected three 20th-century masterpieces showcasing orchestral strings. The thematic appeal of Bartók's well-known Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta and Barber's renowned Adagio for Strings is evidenced by their inclusion in the movie soundtracks of Platoon and The Shining. Guest violinist Rachel Barton Pine will perform Bernstein's lively and unpredictable Serenade, inspired by Plato's virtuosic celebration of love, Symposium.

The Columbus Symphony presents String Summit at the Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.) on Friday, October 21, at 8pm; Saturday, October 22, at 8pm; and Sunday, October 23, at 3pm. Tickets are $28-$68 and can be purchased at the Ohio Theatre Ticket Office (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 Southern Theatre Ticket Office will also be open two hours prior to each performance. Students between the ages of 13-19 may purchase $5 High Five tickets while available.

The 2010-11 Masterworks Series is made possible through the generous support of season sponsor Battelle.

About CSO Music Director Jean-Marie Zeitouni
A graduate of the Montreal Conservatory, Jean-Marie Zeitouni has emerged as one of Canada's brightest young conductors with an eloquent yet fiery style in repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary music. He was installed as Music Director of the Columbus Symphony in October 2010, and also serves as principal conductor and artistic director designate of I Musici de Montréal, a prestigious Canadian chamber orchestra. Jean-Marie also enjoys a long association with Les Violons du Roy, a celebrated chamber orchestra based in Quebec City, first as conductor-in-residence, then as associate conductor, and since 2008, as principal guest conductor. Over the years, 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 CD with Les Violons du Roy entitled Piazzolla which received a 2007 JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year in the category of Solo or Chamber Ensemble. They also recorded two subsequent CDs-Bartok (2008) and Britten (2010).

About guest violinist Rachel Barton Pine
American violinist Rachel Barton Pine has appeared as soloist with many of the world's most prestigious orchestras, including the Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis, Dallas, Baltimore, Montreal, Vienna, New Zealand and Iceland Symphonies, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Israel and Scottish Chamber Orchestras, working with conductors including Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Erich Leinsdorf, Marin Alsop, Neeme Järvi, and Placido Domingo. Acclaimed collaborations include Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, William Warfield, Christopher O'Riley, and Mark O'Connor. Her festival appearances include Ravinia, Marlboro, and Salzburg. She has been featured on "St. Paul Sunday," "Performance Today," "From the Top," "CBS Sunday Morning," and NBC's "Today."

Her 16 critically acclaimed albums include Brahms and Joachim Violin Concertos with Carlos Kalmar and the Chicago Symphony, Scottish Fantasies with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Beethoven and Clement Violin Concertos with José Serebrier and the Royal Philharmonic. She holds top prizes from the J.S. Bach (gold medal), Queen Elisabeth, Paganini, Kreisler, Szigeti, and Montreal international competitions, and has twice been honored as Chicagoan of the Year. www.RachelBartonPine.com

About composer Béla Viktor János Bartók (1881-1945)
Bartók is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century, and along with Franz Liszt, one of the greatest composers from his homeland of Hungary. Through his collection and analytical study of folk music, he was one of the founders of ethnomusicology. Written in 1936, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta comes from his "mature period" and showcases one characteristic of his musical style termed "night music." Used mostly in slow movements of a multi-movement ensemble or orchestral compositions, it is characterized by a peculiar dissension as a backdrop to lonely melodies and sounds of nature.

About composer Samuel Osborne Barber II (1910-1981)
Barber was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music. He was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music, for his opera Vanessa and his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. His Knoxville: Summer of 1915, a work for soprano and orchestra, was an acclaimed setting of prose by James Agee.

About composer Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer, and pianist, and among the first conductors born and educated in the US to receive worldwide acclaim. His fame derived from his long tenure as music director of the New York Philharmonic, conducting concerts with most of the world's leading orchestras, and his music compositions for West Side Story, Candide, Wonderful Town, On the Town, and his own Mass. Written in 1954, the Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion is a five-movement concerto inspired by Plato's Symposium, a dialogue of five distinguished speakers making related statements in praise of love.

www.columbussymphony.com

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