N.C. Symphony to Perform Program of Beethoven & Mozart; Pianist Alessio Bax Guests

The North Carolina Symphony's Classical Season continues Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10, as Music Director Grant Llewellyn and the North Carolina Symphony perform a program of Beethoven and Mozart in Meymandi Concert Hall. The concerts, which begin at 8 p.m. each evening, feature Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21 and Grosse Fuge, in B-flat Major, Op. 133, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Adagio and Fugue in C minor, and Alessio Bax performing Mozart's Concerto No. 24 in C minor for Piano and Orchestra.

Pianist Alessio Bax creates "a ravishing listening experience" (Gramophone) with his lyrical playing, insightful interpretations, and dazzling facility. First Prize winner at the Leeds and Hamamatsu international piano competitions-and a 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient-he has appeared as soloist with over 100 orchestras, including the London and Royal Philharmonic orchestras, the Dallas and Houston symphonies, the NHK Symphony in Japan, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic with Yuri Temirkanov, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle.

Highlights of recent seasons include Beethoven and Rachmaninoff in a UK tour with the Royal Philharmonic under Alexander Shelley, Rachmaninoff and Mozart with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic under Temirkanov, Barber with the Dallas Symphony under van Zweden, Mozart with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra under Hans Graf, Rachmaninoff with London's Southbank Sinfonia led by Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Mozart with the same orchestra under Simon Over. Bax partnered with Joshua Bell for over 30 concerts in Europe and North and South America, and with Lucille Chung in the U.S., Canada, France, and Hong Kong. In 2013, he received the Andrew Wolf Chamber Music Award and Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award, which recognizes young artists of exceptional accomplishment.

At age 14, Bax graduated with top honors from the conservatory of his hometown, Bari, Italy, and after further studies in Europe moved to the United States in 1994. A Steinway artist, he resides in New York City with his wife, pianist Lucille Chung, and their daughter.

Llewellyn, who has served as Music Director since 2004, has led the North Carolina Symphony in innovative performances that include the Blue Skies concerts, two programs that showcased North Carolina traditional music; a staging of the play Amadeus with the PlayMakers Repertory Company; a staging of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in collaboration with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts; and the affecting memorial concert North Carolina Remembers 9/11, in collaboration with WRAL-TV and UNC-TV. He has conducted the North Carolina Symphony in two critically acclaimed recordings for the Swedish label BIS: American Spectrum with Branford Marsalis and a 2010 release with pianist Yevgeny Sudbin. His latest recording with the North Carolina Symphony is 2014's Britten's Cello Symphony & Sonata with cellist Zuill Bailey on the Telarc label, described by CD Hotlist as "recommended to all classical collections."

In addition to stellar performances, North Carolina Symphony concertgoers can enjoy pre-concert talks, post-concert discussions, and "Meet the Artists," which feature interactive conversations with guest artists and select orchestra members, at many Symphony events. Before the Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10 performances, Symphony Associate Conductor David Glover will give pre-concert talks at 7 p.m. in the Swalin Lobby of Meymandi Concert Hall.

Tickets to the Raleigh Classical Series performances on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9-10, range from $18 to $66. Student tickets are $10. Concert tickets at all performances are also available at the door one hour prior to concert start time.

Other 2015-16 season highlights include Music from the Movies, brought to life by Associate Conductor David Glover and the North Carolina Symphony in the opening weekend of the Symphony's Pops Series on Oct. 16-17, A Baroque Christmas featuring music from Bach, and Handel, including the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah, and "Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular" in December, the beautiful Firebird on Valentine's weekend, and Beethoven's Triple and Brahms Double in April, featuring Grant Llewellyn conducting cellist Zuill Bailey, violinist Philippe Quint, and pianist Awadagin Pratt.

Subscriptions to all of the Symphony's concert series are available online at www.ncsymphony.org/subscriptions or by calling the North Carolina Symphony Box Office at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.

Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh.

About the North Carolina Symphony

Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony gives more than 200 performances annually to adults and school children in more than 50 North Carolina counties. An entity of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the orchestra employs 66 professional musicians, under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn, Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, and Associate Conductor David Glover.

Based in downtown Raleigh's spectacular Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and an outdoor summer venue at Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C., the Symphony performs about 60 concerts annually in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary metropolitan area. It holds regular concert series in Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines and Wilmington-as well as individual concerts in many other North Carolina communities throughout the year-and conducts one of the most extensive education programs of any U.S. orchestra.

Oct. 9-10 Concert/Event Listings

North Carolina Symphony

Beethoven and Mozart

Grant Llewellyn, conductor

Alessio Bax, piano

Oct. 9-10 Program Listing

North Carolina Symphony

Grant Llewellyn, conductor

Alessio Bax, piano

Oct. 9-10, 2015, 8 p.m.

Meymandi Concert Hall, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21

I. Adagio molto - Allegro con brio

II. Andante cantabile con moto

III. Menuetto: Allegro molto e vivace

IV. Finale: Adagio - Allegro molto e vivace

MOZART Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K. 546 1788

MOZART Concerto No. 24 in C minor for Piano and Orchestra

I. Allegro

II. Larghetto

III. Allegretto

Alessio Bax, piano

BEETHOVEN Grosse Fuge, in B-flat major, Op. 133

www.ncsymphony.org