Järvi And Jansen Perform With New York Philharmonic, 2/24 - 3/1

Paavo Järvi will lead the New York Philharmonic in the New York Premiere of ErkkiSven Tüür's Aditus; Britten's Violin Concerto with Janine Jansen as soloist; and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, Thursday, February 24, 2011, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, February 25, at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, February 26, at 8:00 p.m., and Tuesday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. This is Mr. Järvi's first return to the Orchestra since 1999, and Ms. Jansen's, since her Philharmonic debut in 2007.

Pre-Concert Talk
Author Fred Plotkin will introduce the program one hour before each performance in the Helen Hull Room, unless otherwise noted. Pre-Concert Talks are $7; discounts available for multiple concerts, students, and groups. Attendance is limited to 90 people. Information: nyphil.org or (212) 875-5656

On the Music: The New York Philharmonic Podcast
Mark Travis, a producer for the WFMT Radio Network since 1999 and the producer of the 52-week-per-year nationally syndicated radio series, The New York Philharmonic This Week, is the host of this podcast. These award-winning previews of upcoming programs -through musical selections as well as interviews with guest artists, conductors, and Orchestra musicians - are available at nyphil.org/podcast and from iTunes.

National Radio Broadcast
This concert will be broadcast the week of March 7, 2011,* on The New York Philharmonic This Week, a radio concert series syndicated nationally to more than 300 stations by the WFMT Radio Network. The 52-week series, hosted by actor Alec Baldwin, is generously underwritten by The Kaplen Foundation, the Audrey Love Charitable Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Philharmonic's corporate partner, MetLife Foundation. The broadcast will be available on the Philharmonic's Website, nyphil.org. The program is broadcast locally in the New York metropolitan area on Classical 105.9 FM WQXR on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m.
*Check local listings for broadcast and program information.

Artists
Paavo Järvi began his tenure as the seventh music director of the Orchestre de Paris in September 2010. He is also in his tenth and final season as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, where he will leave behind him a legacy of extensive touring and a discography of 16 CDs for Telarc, the most recent releases being Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10 and Holst's The Planets.

As music director of Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi has appeared with the orchestra in China, Taiwan, and Japan, and at major European festivals such as the BBC Proms, Rheingau Musik Festival, and the Robeco Summer series in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. He and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra are currently in the process of recording all of the Bruckner symphonies for Sony, with Symphonies Nos. 7 and 9 already released.

Mr. Järvi has been the artistic director of Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen since 2004, where he recorded all of the Beethoven symphonies, released on Sony. He received the 2010 ECHO Klassik Conductor of the Year award for Symphonies Nos. 2 and 6; the release of the symphonies Nos. 3 and 8 won the prestigious Annual German Record Critics' Prize for 2007. In 2009 he recorded the Beethoven and Britten violin concertos for Decca, with Janine Jansen as soloist.

Since the start of his career, Mr. Järvi has made it a priority to champion works by contemporary Estonian composers, including Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Lepo Sumera, and Eduard Tubin. His latest recording with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (of whom he is artistic adviser) is the world premiere of Tüür's Symphony No. 4 with percussionist Evelyn Glennie.

Paavo Järvi is active as a guest conductor, appearing regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and NHK symphony orchestras, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala. He has also recently conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, as well as the Royal Concertgebouw and Philharmonia orchestras.

Born in Tallinn, Estonia, Paavo Järvi studied percussion and conducting at the Tallinn School of Music, and in 1980, moved to the U.S., where he continued his studies at The Curtis Institute of Music and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute with Leonard Bernstein. Mr. Järvi last appeared with the New York Philharmonic in March 1999.

Janine Jansen performs with the world's most prestigious orchestras in addition to being a devoted recitalist and chamber performer. Highlights of her 2010-11 season include performances with the London Philharmonic and Swedish Radio Symphony orchestras as well as a European recital tour with pianist Itamar Golan. Following subscription concerts with Orchestre de Paris, Ms. Jansen and the orchestra embark on a tour of Spain in January 2011. Tours are also planned with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, and in Japan with Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Ms. Jansen established and curates the annual International Chamber Music Festival each year in Utrecht, and in the 2010-11 season she serves as artist-in-residence at the hr-Sinfonieorchester.

Janine Jansen made her Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra debut in 1997, and her London debut in November 2002, accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. She has an exclusive recording contract with Decca (Universal Music). Her latest release is a French recital disc entitled Beau Soir with Itamar Golan. Each one of her previous albums has been awarded a Platinum Disc for sales in her native Netherlands.

Ms. Jansen studied with Coosje Wijzenbeek, Philipp Hirshhorn, and Boris Belkin. She was a previous BBC New Generation Artist and in September 2003 she received the Dutch Music Prize from the Ministry of Culture - the highest distinction an artist can receive in The Netherlands. She has received numerous awards, including the Edison Classic Public Award three times; an Echo award for her Vivaldi recording in 2006; and the NDR Musikpreis for outstanding artistic achievement in 2007. In May 2009 she was awarded the RPS Instrumentalist Award 2008 for performances in the U.K. during that year. She plays the 1927 -Barrere? Stradivari, Cremona, on extended loan from the Elise Mathilde Fund. Ms. Jansen last performed with the New York Philharmonic in October 2007, playing Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, led by Lorin Maazel.

Repertoire
Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür first wrote his orchestral concert opener, Aditus, in 2000, in memory of his teacher, composer Lepo Sumera, who had just died. The title - which, in the composer's words, means -approach, access, entrance, beginning, chance? - gives a hint that this work, though a memorial, is not mournful in outlook. In fact, the piece is a spectacular and imaginative showcase for the orchestra, including passages that make sophisticated use of Tüür's feeling for rock music; before dedicating himself to classical composition, he was one of Estonia's leading rock musicians. These performances mark the New York Premiere of Aditus.

Early in 1939, when war seemed imminent, a youthful and ardently pacifist Benjamin Britten left England for a three-year stay in the United States. He spent the summer of that year in Canada, and it was there, in St. Jovite, that he wrote his Violin Concerto. Even at age 25, Britten's surplus of compositional technique, instinct, and enthusiasm marked him as a thorough professional, and the work is in every way well conceived and executed. The concerto was given its world premiere by the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall on March 28, 1940, with Antonio Brosa as soloist and John Barbirolli conducting. Mstislav Rostropovich conducted the Orchestra's most recent performance of the work in March 2003, with Maxim Vengerov as soloist.

With its famous opening motif of three short notes and one long, Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 is one of the most recognizable and popular compositions in the orchestral repertoire. As the composer Robert Schumann wrote: "Let us be silent about this work! No matter how frequently heard, whether at home or in the concert hall, this symphony invariably wields its power over people of every age like those great phenomena of nature that fill us with fear and admiration at all times, no matter how frequently we may experience them." Beethoven wrote the symphony under difficult conditions: the realization of his worsening deafness, familial tensions, romantic disappointment, and dismay at political events in Europe. The work, which took four years to write, was finished in 1808, and was premiered in Vienna the following year with the composer conducting. New York Philharmonic founder Ureli Corelli Hill conducted the Fifth Symphony on the very first Philharmonic concert, December 7, 1842. The Orchestra's most recent performance took place in December 2008 led by Lorin Maazel.

Single tickets for these performances start at $35. Tickets for Open Rehearsals are $18. Pre-Concert Talks are $7. Discounts are available for multiple concerts, students, and groups (visit nyphil.org/preconcert for more information). All other tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office or the Alice Tully Hall Box Office at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 65th Street. The Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Box Office closes one-half hour after performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m. A limited number of $12.50 tickets for select concerts may be available through the Internet for students within 10 days of the performance, or in person the day of. Valid identification is required. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic's Customer Relations Department at (212) 875-5656. [Ticket prices subject to change.]

New York Philharmonic
Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, February 24, 2011, 7:30 p.m.
Open Rehearsal - 9:45 a.m.
Friday, February 25, 2011, 11:00 a.m.
Saturday, February 26, 2011, 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 7:30 p.m.
Pre-Concert Talk (one hour before each concert) with author Fred Plotkin
Paavo Järvi, conductor
Janine Jansen
Erkki-Sven TÜÜR Aditus (New York Premiere)
BRITTEN Violin Concerto
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5

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