Program Features Works by Shostakovich, Strauss, and Steven Stucky
Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 8 p.m.
Juilliard Cellist James Kim is Soloist
in Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 107
NEW YORK –– David Zinman conducts the Juilliard Orchestra in its only Carnegie Hall appearance of the season on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 8 p.m. The program features Juilliard faculty member and 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky’s Dreamwaltzes (1986); Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 107 with Juilliard cellist James Kim; and Strauss’s tone poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life), Op. 40.
Tickets for $30 (parquet, 1st and 2nd tiers); $15 (dress circle and balcony) are available at events.juilliard.edu, through CarnegieCharge (212) 247-7800, or at the Carnegie Hall Box Office. Tickets are free for Juilliard students; non-Juilliard students may purchase half-price tickets, only at the Carnegie Hall Box Office.
About the Program:
The program opens with Steven Stucky’s Dreamwaltzes, commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra for its “Sommerfest” series. The work was completed in 1986 and first performed in Minneapolis on July 17 of that year, conducted by Juilliard alumnus Leonard Slatkin. Slatkin had been artistic director of the orchestra. The overall theme that was selected for the series that year was Vienna and its links to the New World. Slatkin decided to commission two works: one from an American composer with reference to Vienna; and the other from an Austrian composer with reference to the United States. The Austrian was the Hungarian-born Ivan Eröd, and his work was the Minnesota Sinfonietta, and the American was Steven Stucky and Dreamwaltzes. Mr. Stucky writes: “I found myself daydreaming about the waltz, and about Viennese composers…Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, and Berg, all of whom treated the waltz seriously in their music. Dreamwaltzes is a public version of those daydreams: an orchestral fantasy of about fifteen minutes, based closely on fragments of real Viennese waltz music. “
Shostakovich and renowned cellist Mstislav Rostropovich enjoyed a long friendship and artistic collaboration. Rostropovich asked his friend to compose a concerto. The world premiere of the Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 107 took place on October 4, 1959 with Yevgeny Mravinsky conducting the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra.
Strauss’s tone poem, Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life), Op. 40, was composed in 1897-98 and completed in Berlin on December 27, 1898. The work was dedicated to Willem Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. The world premiere took place on March 3, 1899 with the Frankfurt Museum Orchestra, and the composer conducting.
About James Kim
Born in Seoul, Korea in 1993, James Kim has appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall, Camerata Virtuosi of New Jersey at Zankel Hall, Youth Philharmonic Orchestra of the New England Conservatory at Jordan Hall, and the Korean Broadcasting System Orchestra. He makes his Stern Auditorium debut on this concert with conductor David Zinman and the Juilliard Orchestra. He made his solo recital debut at Weill Hall in 2013. Following his concerto debut at the age of 11 and a first prize at the 2006 International David Popper Cello Competition held in Hungary, he was selected by the Kumho Foundation to give a recital in the Young Prodigy Series at Kumho Hall in Seoul in 2008. Mr. Kim has been presented by Salon de Virtuosi at Weill and Steinway Halls, Sejong Soloists at Zankel Hall and in their 2013 tour of Korea, the Rising Star Series at the Great Mountains Festival, Dvořák American Heritage Society at Bohemian National Hall in New York, and New York Piano Society at Bruno Walter Auditorium and Weill Hall. His performances have aired on Robert Sherman’s Young Artist Showcase on WQXR and National Public Radio’s “From the Top,” live from Jordan Hall. Mr. Kim has won concerto competitions with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and at The Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. He is a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship and Salon de Virtuosi’s Sony-USA Foundation Grant. A participant at the Ravinia Festival Steans Institute, he has studied at the Indiana University String Academy, Walnut Hill School, Yale School of Music, and Juilliard, where his principal teachers have been Susan Moses, Janos Starker, Laurence Lesser, Aldo Parisot, and Joel Krosnick. James Kim’s studies at Juilliard are supported by a Morris and Elfriede Stonzek Memorial Scholarship and a Lois Claire Archbold Smith Scholarship.
About David Zinman
New York-born David Zinman’s career has been distinguished by a wide-ranging repertoire, a commitment to contemporary music and the introduction of historically informed performance practice. He has held positions as music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic and Baltimore Symphony orchestras; principal conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and music director of the Aspen Music Festival, School and American Academy of Conducting. He recently completed his 19-year tenure as music director of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, with his final performance at the 2014 BBC Proms.
A regular guest with the world’s leading orchestras, in recent engagements he has worked with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, London and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic orchestras, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France and the Wiener Symphoniker. He regularly conducts the New York Philharmonic and in summer 2014 appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood and with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. Forthcoming projects include performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra and Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra.
David Zinman’s extensive discography of more than 100 recordings has earned him numerous international honours, including five Grammy awards, two Grand Prix du Disque, two Edison Prizes, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis and a Gramophone Award. Recent releases include a 50 CD box set David Zinman: Great Symphonies – The Zurich Years, which commemorates his recording legacy with the Tonhalle-Orchester.
In 2000 the French Ministry of Culture awarded David Zinman the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in October 2002 the City of Zürich Art Prize was awarded to him for his outstanding artistic efforts, making him the first conductor and first non-Swiss recipient of this award. More recently, Mr. Zinman received the prestigious Thomas Theodore Award in recognition of outstanding achievement and extraordinary service to one’s colleagues in advancing the art and science of conducting. In 2008 he won the Midem Classical Artist of the Year award for his work with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He was also the 1997 recipient of the prestigious Ditson Award from Columbia University in recognition of his exceptional commitment to the performance of works by American composers.
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