Christian Thielemann to Lead Staatskapelle Dresden in Two Concerts at Carnegie Hall, 4/17 & 19

Carnegie Hall presents conductor Christian Thielemann leading the venerable Staatskapelle Dresden in two concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage this April. On Wednesday, April 17 at 8:00 p.m., Maestro Thielemann conducts an all-Brahms program, featuring the composer's Symphony No. 4, Academic Festival Overture, and the Violin Concerto with acclaimed violinist Lisa Batiashvili. Earlier this year, the Deutsche Grammophon label released a new recording featuring Ms. Batiashvili's performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto with MR. Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden.

On Friday, April 19 at 8:00 p.m., Maestro Thielemann and the Staatskapelle perform Bruckner's Symphony No. 8, the composer's last symphony, sometimes called the "Apocalyptic" Symphony.

The April 19 performance will be aired on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York and stations nationwide as part of the Carnegie Hall Live broadcast and digital series, produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall in collaboration with American Public Media and hosted by WQXR's Jeff Spurgeon and American Public Media's Fred Child. Concerts in the series are available for live streaming on wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr. During every live broadcast, WQXR, Carnegie Hall, and digital partner NPR Music host live web chats, including Twitter commentary by the broadcast team, from backstage and in the control room, connecting national and international fans to the music and to each other.

Lisa Batiashvili is one of the world's most sought-after violinists. In Europe, she frequently performs with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In the US, she performs every season with the New York Philharmonic and regularly returns to The Philadelphia Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra.

During the 2012--2013 season Lisa holds the position of Capell-Virtuosin with the Staatskapelle Dresden, performing several times with the orchestra and its principal conductor Christian Thielemann. Ms. Batiashvili records exclusively for the Deutsche Grammophon label. Her latest album, featuring the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Staatskapelle Dresden and MR. Thielemann and Clara Schumann's Three Romances for violin and piano with pianist Alice Sara Ott, was released in January 2013. A dedicated chamber musician, Ms. Batiashvili has appeared at the Salzburg, Edinburgh International, Schleswig-Holstein, Heimbach, and Verbier festivals and tours regularly with oboist François Leleux, violist Lawrence Power, and cellist Sebastian Klinger. Committed to new music, she has given several world premiere performances in recent seasons, including Magnus Lindberg's Violin Concerto.

Ms. Batiashvili gained international recognition at age 16 as the youngest-ever competitor in the Sibelius Competition, where she took second prize. In 2003, she received the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival's Leonard Bernstein Award and the Beethoven Ring Prize from the Beethoven Festival Bonn. In 2008, she was honored with the MIDEM Classical Award, the Choc de L'année, and the ECHO Klassik for her Sony recording of Sibelius's and Lindberg's violin concertos. She plays the 1715 ex-Joachim Stradivarius, kindly loaned by the Nippon Music Foundation.

Born in Berlin, Christian Thielemann comes from a family of music-lovers. He began his professional career in 1978 as a rehearsal pianist at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Following positions in Gelsenkirchen, Karlsruhe, and Hanover, he joined the conducting staff of the Rhine Opera in Dusseldorf in 1985. Three years later he moved to Nuremberg to become Germany's youngest music director, before returning to the Deutsche Oper in Berlin in 1997, holding the position of music director there for seven years. MR. Thielemann conducted the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra from 2004 to 2011. In the summer of 2012, he took up the baton as principal conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden.

Maestro Thielemann's repertoire is extensive, ranging from Bach to Hans Werner Henze and Sofia Gubaidulina. His interpretations of German romantic music, both in opera and on the concert stage, are regarded around the world as exemplary. Since his Bayreuth debut in the summer of 2000 leading Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, he has set new standards in conducting with his annual appearances at the festival, where he has been musical advisor since 2010. At the 2011 Salzburg Festival, MR. Thielemann conducted a new, highly acclaimed production of Richard Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten. Beginning in 2013, MR. Thielemann will assume the position of artistic director of the Salzburg Easter Festival, where the Staatskapelle Dresden will become the festival's orchestra.

On September 22, 2008, the Staatskapelle Dresden celebrated its 460th jubilee. Founded by Prince Elector Moritz von Sachsen in 1548, it is one of the oldest orchestras in the world and steeped in tradition. Over its long history, many distinguished conductors and internationally celebrated instrumentalists have left their mark on this one-time court orchestra. Previous directors include Heinrich Schütz, Johann Adolf Hasse, Carl Maria von Weber, and Richard Wagner, who called the ensemble his "miraculous harp." The list of prominent conductors of the last 100 years includes Ernst von Schuch, Fritz Reiner, Fritz Busch, Karl Böhm, Joseph Keilberth, Rudolf Kempe, Otmar Suitner, Kurt Sanderling, Herbert Blomstedt, and Giuseppe Sinopoli. The orchestra was directed by Bernard Haitink from 2002-2004 and most recently by Fabio Luisi from 2007-2010. Sir Colin Davis has been the orchestra's Conductor Laureate since 1990. The upcoming season also sees the introduction of the new position of principal guest conductor, with Myung-Whun Chung first to hold the post.

Richard Strauss and the Staatskapelle were closely linked for more than sixty years. Nine of the composer's operas were premiered in Dresden, including Salome, Elektra, and Der Rosenkavalier, while Strauss's Alpine Symphony was dedicated to the orchestra. Countless other famous composers have written works either dedicated to the orchestra or first performed in Dresden. In 2007, the Staatskapelle reaffirmed this tradition by introducing the annual position of Capell-Compositeur, successively held by composers Isabel Mundry, Bernhard Lang, Rebecca Saunders, Johannes Maria Staud, and Lera Auerbach. The Capell-Compositeur for the 2012-2013 season is Hans Werner Henze.

PROGRAM

Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN
Christian Thielemann, Conductor
Lisa Batiashvili, Violin

ALL-BRAHMS PROGRAM
Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98

Friday, April 19, 2013 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN
Christian Thielemann, Conductor

ANTON BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8 in C Minor

Tickets, priced $39-$116, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.

For Carnegie Hall Corporation presentations taking place in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.

In addition, for all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

Photo of Christian Thielemann © Matthias Creutziger.

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