Savannah Music Festival Plays 3/24-4/9

The 2011 Savannah Music Festival (SMF) is an expansive city-wide, multi-venue program showcasing a wide array of internationally acclaimed artists in over one hundred productions from March 24 to April 9. Held annually in historic downtown Savannah, this 22nd season of Georgia's largest festival - described by The Times of London as "one of the best events around the world"- features two premieres, numerous festival debuts, and the return of several audience favorites from the realms of classical, jazz, Americana and world music.

"We invite you to experience our acclaimed blend of the finest jazz, classical and international music traditions alongside indigenous southern genres," remarks SMF Executive & Artistic Director Rob Gibson. "This unparalleled array of performances, combined with the wealth of culture and history that is unique to Savannah, make for an experience never to be forgotten."

The classical music programs of the 2011 season feature internationally renowned artists performing an array of works; from early music and the baroque, to piano sonatas of the romantic era, to 21st century chamber music. A major classical highlight of the season is the world premiere of Death Cell Memoirs of An Extraterrestrial - a chamber work by Marc Neikrug for violins, viola, clarinet, piano, and actor. This premiere is presented as part of the festival's five-part chamber series curated by Associate Artistic Director Daniel Hope, which also features an early music program entitled "Sex, Violins & Tales of the Baroque" and works by Schumann, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Vivaldi, Shostakovich and Joachim.

Grammy® Award-winning soprano Christine Brewer makes her first appearance at the festival in an intimate recital of songs by Gluck, Wagner, Strauss, Britten, Carter, and Horner, and the legendary bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer presents "The Face of Bass" - a recital program featuring works by a diverse array of composers, including a new composition of his own. David Finckel and Wu Han, the superstar power couple of the classical world, return to SMF for the fifth straight year to perform Beethoven's complete Sonatas for Cello & Piano. Louis Lortie's Savannah debut celebrates the bicentennial of Franz Liszt's birth in a performance of the epic "Années de pélerinage" (Years of pilgrimage). The esteemed British early music vocal ensemble Stile Antico chronicles the glorious legacy of English Tudor composers, works of the Flemish and Spanish schools, and music of the early Baroque. The Ebéne Quartet celebrates the music of its native France with a performance of Ravel, Debussy & Fauré - a program that earned them "Recording of the Year" and "Chamber Music Record of the Year" awards in Gramophone Magazine. Award-winning Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky presents his celebrated interpretations of Rachmaninoff and Chopin, Kristian Bezuidenhout gives an all-Mozart recital on the fortepiano, and Simone Dinnerstein makes her Savannah debut performing Schumann, Bach and Schubert.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's annual appearance at the Savannah Music Festival is always met with anticipation, and this year's concert features Brahms' first symphony, Haydn's Symphony No. 89 and SMF Associate Artistic Director Daniel Hope as violin soloist in the Bruch Violin Concerto.

A new series - Music at 11 - provides intimate classical performances in the historic Unitarian Church on Troup Square that will feature the complete cycle of Beethoven's violin sonatas and a wonderful array of recitals. Additional featured classical artists of the festival include: the Synergy Brass Quintet; pianist SebastIan Knauer; Irish violinist Catherine Leonard; cellist Eric Kim; clarinetist Patrick Messina; violinist Benny Kim; and cellist Keith Robinson.

The Savannah Music Festival presents a world-class celebration of the musical arts by creating timeless and adventurous productions that stimulate arts education, foster economic growth, and unite artists and audiences in Savannah, Georgia. The 2011 festival runs from March 24 through April 9, including more than 100 performances of world-class classical, jazz, blues, bluegrass, gospel and other genres of American and international roots music in intimate venues throughout the historic district of Savannah.

The festival takes place in intimate and historic venues throughout Savannah, including the Lucas Theatre for the Arts, Trustees Theater, Telfair Museum of Art, Charles H. Morris Center, Johnny Mercer Theater, Temple Mickve Israel, Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Bull Street Baptist Church, Unitarian Universalist Church, Kennedy Pharmacy, Christ Church and Rousakis Plaza on River Street. Tickets are now on sale for the 2010 Savannah Music Festival (SMF), and are available online at www.savannahmusicfestival.org or by phone at 912-525-5050. Purchases of four concerts or more made before January 8th receive a 10% discount.

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