American Symphony Orchestra Returns To Carnegie Hall With James Joyce Program 10/6

The American Symphony Orchestra with Music Director and conductor Leon Botstein return to Carnegie Hall for the 2010-2011 season (where the ensemble debuted under Leopold Stokowski in 1962) with a program about James Joyce's iconic influence and musical inspirations on Wednesday, October 6 at 8:00 P.M. The evening features baritone John Hancock, tenor Christian Reinert and The Collegiate Chorale Singers in three rarely heard works, including two U.S. premieres. Botstein, whom The New Yorker posits "goes where other conductors fear to tread," will continue to present Conductor's Notes lectures one hour prior to performances, free for ticket-holders at Carnegie Hall. Tickets are just $25.

For an icon of modern literature, Joyce's musical interests notably excluded 20th century repertoire. He connected, however, with two of the evening's composers whom he considered great-modernist George Antheil and the relatively conservative Othmar Schoeck. The program will begin with Antheil's Ballet méchanique, a futurist work which became an emblem of modernism and was greatly admired by Joyce. The ASO version is scored for an unusual array of instruments including four pianos, four xylophones, two electric bells and two airplane propellers. The evening also features the U.S. premiere of Schoeck's song cycle Buried Alive (Lebendig Begraben), Op. 40. Legend has it that Joyce heard a broadcast of this piece and showed up at the composer's doorstep in Switzerland to express his appreciation. Joyce eventually translated one of the song cycle's texts, a poem by Gottfried Keller.

The program concludes with Ulysses by Mátyás Seiber, who used Joyce's most famous work as inspiration. Seiber was a great mid-20th century talent who passed away while still young; his interpretation of Ulysses focuses on the legendary "Ithaca" episode.

The ASO's portrait of James Joyce's musical inspirations and impact opens the season in distinct continuation of what the New York Times characterizes as the ensemble's "justly acclaimed thematic programming."

"James Joyce."
Wednesday, October 6, 2010, 8 P.M.
Music played a significant if understated role in the consciousness of James Joyce. Joyce deeply admired some of the composers of his time such as George Antheil and Othmar Schoeck, and the subtle music in Joyce's own work was not lost on these composers either. Based on perhaps the most iconic novel of the last century, the Ulysses cantata of Mátyás Seiber receives its U.S premiere.
George Antheil (1900-59): Ballet Mécanique (1953)
Othmar Schoeck (1886-1957): Buried Alive, Op. 40 (1926) (U.S. premiere)
Mátyás Seiber (1905-60): Ulysses (1947) (U.S. premiere)

Subscription and Ticket Information
Subscription packages are available at AmericanSymphony.org or by calling (212) 868-9ASO, Mon-Fri, 10 A.M. - 5 P.M. Single tickets will go on sale to the general public on September 7, 2010 and can also be purchased through CarnegieHall.org, at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, or by calling CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800.

About the American Symphony Orchestra
The American Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski, who defined its mission "to offer great music within the means of everyone." Under its current Music Director, Leon Botstein, the American Symphony has enhanced that mission by pioneering the performance of thematically organized concerts, linking music to the visual arts, literature, politics, and history. It also specializes in the revival of underplayed repertoire from the last 200 years, all as part of its effort to make orchestral music accessible as well as affordable to everyone.

The American Symphony performs its Vanguard Series at Carnegie Hall. In addition, it offers a celebrated lecture/concert series with audience interaction, entitled Classics Declassified, at Peter Norton Symphony Space. It is also the resident orchestra of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, where it performs an annual winter concert series, as well as participating in Bard's annual SummerScape Festival and the Bard Music Festival. The American Symphony also recently became the resident orchestra of The Collegiate Chorale, performing regularly in the Chorale's New York concert series. ASO's award-winning music education program is active in numerous high schools throughout New York, New Jersey, and Long Island.

Many of the American Symphony's concerts are now available on the Internet for download. Among its CDs are music by Copland, Sessions, Perle, and Rands (New World Records); music of Ernst von Dohnányi (Bridge Records); Richard Strauss's opera Die ägyptische Helena with Deborah Voigt and Strauss's Die Liebe der Danae (Telarc); Franz Schubert: Orchestrated (Koch); and Johannes Brahms's Serenade No. 1 in D major, Op. 11 (Vanguard). The American Symphony inaugurated São Paolo's new concert hall and has made several tours of Asia and Europe. It has a long history of appearing in charitable and public benefits for such organizations as the Jerusalem Foundation and PBS.

www.americansymphony.org <http://www.americansymphony.org>