Violinist And Conductor Joseph Swensen Joins Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra For MOZART VIOLIN CONCERTO NO.3

The Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra (HSO) will welcome acclaimed violinist and conductor Joseph Swensen on February 18 and 19 in a dazzling program featuring masterworks by Schubert and Mozart. The concert titled "Schubert 'The Great'" has been updated to reflect a change in program; Maestro Swensen, who will conduct from the violin spotlight, will replace Maestro Rune Bergmann, who has withdrawn due to an illness in the family. The HSO sends its most heartfelt support to Maestro Bergmann during this time. The updated concert program features Schubert's Symphony No. 9 "The Great" and Mozart's Concerto No. 3 for violin and orchestra in G Major, K. 216, sometimes called the "Strassburger Concerto."

Swensen, who has enjoyed a long career as a violinist, conductor and composer, will take on the dual roles of soloist and conductor in Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3. This sparkling concerto is one of five Mozart composed at age 19, during the same year, 1775. In this expressive concerto, he assigned a more demanding role to the orchestra, which created an elegant and playful dialogue between soloist and orchestra. It is also the only Mozart Concerto that features flutes, rather than the traditional oboes. Biographers speculate that Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 was his personal favorite.

It is no wonder that the Violin Concerto No. 3 has become one of music's most beloved masterworks, instantly recognized by classical music aficionados and newcomers alike, in some measure thanks to its aria-like second movement. In the third movement, concertgoers may also recognize a tune that was featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 film "Master and Commander." Written in "Mozart's friendliest key," it is often the first Mozart concerto studied by children.

Composed in 1825, Schubert's Symphony No. 9 "The Great" quotes Beethoven's Ninth Symphony - and pays homage to Beethoven's greatness - but needless to say, it is a masterwork that stands fully on its own magnificence. This one-of-a-kind symphony received its posthumous premiere in 1839, thanks to the efforts of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. Schubert, who died in 1828 at age 31, enjoyed little fame or appreciation for his artistry during his lifetime and it is thanks to his fellow composers that his works became known to an international audience. In 1863, Johannes Brahms wrote to critic Adolf Schubring, "My love for Schubert is a very serious one, probably just because it is not a fleeting fancy. Where is genius like his, which soars aloft so boldly and surely, where we then see the first few enthroned? To me he is like a child of the gods, who plays with Jupiter's thunder, albeit also occasionally handling it oddly. But he plays in such a region, at such a height, to which the others are far short of raising themselves..." Letter from Brahms to Schubring, June 1863.

Tickets for Schubert "The Great" are on sale now and range from $34 to $92. Student rush tickets ($13) and active military discounted tickets ($20) will be available with a valid ID beginning February 13.

About Joseph Swensen
Recently appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada and Artistic Partner of the Northwest Sinfonietta (USA), Joseph Swensen is Starling Professor of Music (violin) at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music. He is Conductor Emeritus of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, where he was Principal Conductor from 1996-2005. Swensen was also Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris from 2009-2012, and has also held positions at the Malmö Opera (2008-2011), Lahti Symphony, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Swensen is a busy guest-conductor throughout the world (from Europe to the USA, Japan and Australia), enjoying long-established relationships with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, London Mozart Players, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música and Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine.

Before launching his conducting career in the mid-1990s, Swensen enjoyed a highly successful career as a violin soloist appearing frequently with the world's major orchestras and important conductors. As an exclusive recording artist with BMG Classics his recordings of the Beethoven and Sibelius concerti in particular (with André Previn and Jukka-Pekka Saraste respectively) were well-received and influential. Swensen trained at Juilliard and was a student of Isaac Stern.

Active-duty military ($20) and student rush ($13) discounts will be available for this concert beginning, Monday, February 13. Tickets must be purchased at either the Blaisdell Box Office or at the HSO Box Office in-person. Appropriate ID must be presented at the time of purchase. For more information, call the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra Box Office (808) 94-MUSIC - (808) 946-8742 from Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

About the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra

The Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra was founded in 2011 and made its debut in 2012. The new HSO carries on the legacy of the Honolulu Symphony, which was founded in 1900 and performed for more than a century. The orchestra employs 84 professional musicians and presents classical masterworks, pops, educational and community programs.

The mission of the Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra is to present the highest-quality performances of great music, bringing national and international distinction to the orchestra and its community; to delight and educate audiences of all ages and backgrounds, and enhance the cultural vitality and quality of life in these Islands; and to operate in a financially sound manner.

For more information or to make a donation, please visit www.HawaiiSymphonyOrchestra.org. Share your Hawai'i Symphony Orchestra experience with the #HiSymphony hashtag on Twitter and Instagram @HawaiiSymphonyOrchestra and on Facebook: facebook.com/HawaiiSymphony.

(Photo Credit: HSO)

 

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