Maestro Gianandrea Noseda Conducts Casella, Prokofiev, Schumann

For Immediate Release
Feb. 7, 2014

MAESTRO GIANANDREA NOSEDA RETURNS TO BNY MELLON GRAND CLASSICS WITH CASELLA, PROKOFIEV & SCHUMANN

PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Victor de Sabata Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda join with multi-award winning pianist, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, for a BNY Mellon Grand Classics program infused with the power of hope, comedy and tragedy. The program runs Feb. 21 and Feb. 23 at Heinz Hall.

Gianandrea Noseda (Photo Credit:  Sussie Ahlberg)

Noseda will lead the Pittsburgh Symphony in a dynamic presentation of three beautifully moving pieces. The concert begins with the exotic, witty and vibrantly scored Symphonic Fragments No. 1 and 2 from Alfredo Casella’s La Donna Serpente. Bavouzet will then perform Sergei Prokofiev’s dauntingly complex Concerto No. 5. In the second half, the symphony will perform Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, a remarkably uplifting piece given the composer’s struggle with illness and depression.

Each BNY Mellon Grand Classics concert is part of the Explore & Engage program, which includes pre-concert talks, exhibits, display boards and interactive activities that illuminate the music, composers and the time in which they created. This weekend, Jim Cunningham of WQED FM will conduct a pre-concert talk one hour before each performance.

The concerts will begin at 8 p.m. on Friday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets ranging in price from $25.75 to $105.75 can be purchased by calling the Heinz Hall box office at 412-392-4900 or by visiting pittsburghsymphony.org

The Pittsburgh Symphony would like to recognize and thank BNY Mellon for its 2013-2014 title sponsorship of BNY Mellon Grand Classics. Fairmont Pittsburgh is the official hotel of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (Photo Credit:  Paul Mitchell)

Multiple-award-winning pianist and ICMA Artist of the Year in 2012, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is renowned for his performances of works by Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Bartók, Beethoven and Haydn. He regularly works with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vasily Petrenko, Pierre Boulez, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kirill Karabits, Andris Nelsons, Krzysztof Urbański, Lawrence Foster and Iván Fischer.

Recent and upcoming highlights include a return to the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, where he opened the 2013 festival with a performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4 under the baton of Louis Langrée, and a return to the BBC Proms with regular collaborators Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and performances with San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Sydney Symphony and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.

Other recent collaborations include appearances with the Boston Symphony and Budapest Festival orchestras, the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestre National de France. In the 2013-14 season, Bavouzet makes his debuts with the Pittsburgh, Seattle and Beijing symphony orchestras, and returns to the Philharmonia Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra (for a Beethoven concerto cycle over two days), Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and Tivoli Symphony Orchestra (in a program directed from the piano). He is artist-in-residence with the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo in 2014, and further ahead, he returns to the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski. A former student of Pierre Sancan at the Paris Conservatoire, Bavouzet won first prize in the International Beethoven Competition in Cologne and made his American debut through Young Concert Artists in New York in 1987. As well as his performing activities, Bavouzet has made a transcription for two pianos of Debussy’s Jeux, published by Durand with a foreword by Pierre Boulez. Bavouzet is artistic director of the Lofoten Piano Festival in Norway. For more information, please visitbavouzet.com

Gianandrea Noseda is among the world’s most sought-after conductors. Since becoming music director of the Teatro Regio Torino in 2007, he has propelled it into the ranks of leading opera houses. Noseda is chief guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic, Victor De Sabata Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Conductor Laureate of the BBC Philharmonic. His career took off in 1997 when he was appointed the first foreign principal guest conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre. In 2002, he became principal conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, a post he held for nearly 10 years. He now visits many of the world’s great orchestras, including regular engagements with the London Symphony Orchestra. In addition to conducting numerous productions in Torino each season, Noseda’s work with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Regio Torino includes major recording projects and international tours and residencies he instituted in Asia (Japan and China) and Europe.

In May he took his Italian forces to perform the Verdi Requiem at the Dresden Music Festival and then to the Vienna Konzerthaus for the first time. The current season has seen successful debuts in Europe at the Vienna State Opera as well as in the United States with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Born in Milan, Noseda is one of the highest profile Italian cultural figures, and regularly speaks publicly about the need to continue investing in culture despite difficult economic conditions. In March 2012, he was able to communicate the message to a massive American TV audience when he was interviewed on the subject on CNBC’s iconic “Closing Bell” with Maria Bartiromo at the New York Stock Exchange. He holds the Honor of “Cavaliere Ufficiale al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.”

Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Symphony, Inc., a non-profit organization, and is the year-round home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The cornerstone of Pittsburgh’s Cultural District, Heinz Hall also hosts many other events that do not feature its world-renowned orchestra, including Broadway shows, comedians, speakers and much more. For a full calendar of upcoming non-symphony events at the hall, visit heinzhall.org.

Editors Please Note:

Friday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2:30 p.m.

Heinz Hall
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
BNY MELLON GRAND CLASSICS
GIANANDREA NOSEDA, conductor
JEAN-EFFLAM BAVOUZET, pianist

Alfredo Casella              Symphonic Fragment No. 2 from “La Donna Serpente”
 Sinfonia
 Preludio Atto III
 Battaglia e Finale

Alfredo Casella              Symphonic Fragment No. 1 from “La Donna Serpente”
 Musica del sogno di Re Altidor
 Interludio
 Marcia guerriera

Sergei Prokofiev             Concerto No. 5 in G major for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 55
 I. Allegro con brio
 II. Moderato ben accentuato
 III. Toccata: Allegro con fuoco (più presto che la prima volta)
 IV. Larghetto
 V. Vivo

Robert Schumann           Symphony No. 2 in C major, Opus 61
 I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo
 II. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
 III. Adagio expressivo
 IV. Allegro molto vivace

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Contact: Louise Sciannameo, Vice President of Public Affairs
Phone: 412.392.4866 | email: lsciannameo@pittsburghsymphony.org
Contact: Joyce DeFrancesco, Director of Media Relations
Phone: 412.392.4827 | email: jdefrancesco@pittsburghsymphony.org
Twitter: @pghsymphony |Facebook: facebook.com/PittsburghSymphonyOrchestra

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Russian Masterpieces with The PSO

For Immediate Release
Oct. 21, 2013

RUSSIAN MASTERPIECES TAKE CENTER STAGE WITH CONDUCTOR YAN PASCAL TORTELIER AND THE PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Young Russian piano virtuoso Daniil Trifonov makes his Pittsburgh Symphony debut

PITTSBURGH—Returning guest conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier and piano virtuoso/winner of the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition Daniil Trifonov will transport the BNY Mellon Grand Classics audience to early 20th-century Russia with the music of Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff on Nov. 1-3.

One of the rising stars of the new generation of pianists, Trifonov tackles Prokofiev’s tumultuous Piano Concerto No. 2, which is known for its impressive technical demands. The concert finishes with the Pittsburgh Symphony performing Rachmaninoff’s passionate and sweeping Symphony No. 2, his answer to the critical failure of his first symphony.

The concerts will begin at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets, ranging from $25.75 to $109.75, can be purchased by calling the Heinz Hall box office at 412-392-4900, or by visiting www.pittsburghsymphony.org.

Each BNY Mellon Grand Classics concert is part of the Explore & Engage program, which includes pre-concert talks, exhibits, display boards and interactive activities that illuminate the music, composers and the time in which they created. This weekend, Pittsburgh Symphony Assistant Conductor Fawzi Haimor and Guest Conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier will conduct a pre-concert talk one hour before each performance. Also, on Sunday, Nov. 3, the PSO Book Club with WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham and Principal Contrabassoon James Rodgers will meet at 1:30 p.m. in the Grand Tier Lounge to discuss “Lina and Serge: The Love and Wars of Lina Prokofiev” by Simon Morrison. The book club session is free to all ticket holders to the Sunday afternoon performance, but availability is limited; advance registration is required. To register, call 412.392.4876 or email explore@pittsburghsymphony.org.

The Pittsburgh Symphony would like to recognize and thank BNY Mellon for its 2013-2014 title sponsorship of BNY Mellon Grand Classics. Fairmont Pittsburgh is the official hotel of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Daniil Trifonov is one of the brightest names of the next generation of pianists. His reputation for outstanding performances, musical insight and expressive intensity has already surpassed the attention he received when, during the 2010-2011 season, he won medals at three of the most prestigious competitions in the music world: the Chopin Competition in Warsaw (Third Prize), the Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv (First Prize) and the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (First Prize and Grand Prix). Trifonov began his musical studies at the age of five. He studied at Moscow Gnesin School of Music (2000-2009), where he also studied composition and has continued to write piano, chamber and orchestral music since. Since 2009, he has studied piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2008, at the age of 17, he received awards at the Scriabin Competition of Moscow and at the San Marino International competition. He also received a Guzik Foundation Career Grant in 2009 and toured the USA and Italy.

Yan Pascal Tortelier enjoys a distinguished career as a guest conductor with the world’s most prestigious orchestras. He began his musical career as a violinist and at 14 won first prize for violin at the Paris Conservatoire and also made his debut as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Following general musical studies, Tortelier studied conducting with Franco Ferrara at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. From 1974 to 1983, he was associate conductor of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. Further positions have included principal conductor and artistic director of the Ulster Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He was principal conductor of the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, and currently holds the position of guest conductor of honour, as which he returns to the orchestra a number of times each season. Following his outstanding work as chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic between 1992 and 2003, he was given the title of conductor emeritus and continues to work with the orchestra regularly. He also holds the position of principal guest conductor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Editors Please Note:

Friday, Nov. 1 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 3 at 2:30 p.m.

Heinz Hall
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
BNY MELLON GRAND CLASSICS
YAN PASCAL TORTELIER, conductor
DANIIL TRIFONOV, piano

Sergei Prokofiev                                     Concerto No. 2 in G minor for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 16
I.          Andantino
II.         Scherzo: Vivace
III.        Moderato
IV.        Finale: Allegro tempestoso

Sergei Rachmaninoff                   Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Opus 27
I.          Largo - Allegro moderato
II.         Allegro molto
III.        Adagio
IV.        Allegro vivace

—30—

Contact: Louise Sciannameo, Vice President of Public Affairs
Phone: 412.392.4866 | email: lsciannameo@pittsburghsymphony.org
Contact: Joyce DeFrancesco, Director of Media Relations
Phone: 412.392.4827 | email: jdefrancesco@pittsburghsymphony.org

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Orchestra, Ballet Performance of Cinderella

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                               March 20, 2013

Contact: Meghan McNamara
Marketing Coordinator
412-454-9117
mmcnamara@pittsburghballet.org

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Presents Cinderella with Live
Orchestra April 19-21 at the Benedum Center in 12-13 Season Finale

(Pittsburgh, PA) – Brimming with enchantment, romance and comedy, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre presents the classic story of Cinderella onstage with the PBT Orchestra April 19-21 at the Benedum Center, in PBT’s 2012-2013 Season finale.

Set to Prokofiev’s grand score and the choreography of Washington Ballet’s Septime Webre, Cinderella stages a spellbinding spectacle with elaborate costumes, classical choreography and distinctive set design. Reimagined across cultures, ages and art forms, Webre’s adaptation of Cinderella roots the timeless fairy tale in honest human emotions of love and longing to match the depth of Prokofiev’s score.
In addition to PBT company dancers, approximately 20 children from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School will dance the roles of enchanted garden creatures, including bumblebees, snow angels, butterflies and other whimsical roles brought to life by Cinderella’s fairy godmother. From  the enchanted pointe shoes to the show-stopping stepsisters, PBT’s Cinderella takes many unexpected twists on this time-honored tale.

Character Transformations: Cinderella….& Her Stepsisters
Following a garden visitation from her fairy godmother — accompanied by fairies of the four seasons— Cinderella transforms from rags to finery to make her mysterious debut at the ball. Behind the scenes, however, the most dramatic transformation occurs for the male dancers cast as Cinderella’s stepsisters. Webre’s Cinderella plays on the theater and ballet tradition of dancing “en travesti,” using a comic gender role reversal to characterize the jealous duo with clownish antics. Costumed in voluminous hoopskirts and garish makeup and wigs, these male dancers add a generous dash of humor to the production.

The Perfect Pointe Shoe
Rather than the typical glass slippers, PBT’s Cinderella dons a pair of dazzling pointe shoes for the ball, leaving her Prince to search all over the world for the maiden who matches her forgotten slipper. In the reality of a professional ballerina, finding the perfect pointe shoe fit is a Cinderella story unto itself. Choosing pointe shoes is an extremely individualized and detailed task to find the fit that offers ultimate foot flexibility, balance and support. At PBT, most ballerinas dance through an average of 75 pairs of pointe shoes each season, and spend countless hours darning, breaking in and padding their shoes for the best fit and  comfort level.  Most pointe shoes are hand-made, and PBT dancers may choose up to 10 style customizations when ordering.  So, whether it’s the Spanish or Tunisian dancer that the Prince visits in Act II, it’s truly unlikely that Cinderella’s pointe shoes would ever fit another ballerina.

Set & Costume Design
Theoretically set in “a faraway kingdom,” the set of Cinderella draws influences from the mid-to-late 18th century prior to the French Revolution. The fairy tale is brought to life through James Kronzer’s set designs, which include Cinderella’s kitchen, a garden full of dancing creatures and flowers, a wintery forest, and a gilded grand ballroom lined with mirrors that multiply the swirling skirts and partnering of the courtesans. At midnight, Kronzer creates a striking vision on stage when clock faces of various sizes fill the ballroom, alerting Cinderella that her gown will soon return to rags. Judanna Lynn’s costume designs showcase the elaborate court dress and powdered wigs of the era as well as Cinderella's ragamuffin dresses and the stepsisters’ humorous frocks.

Music
Considered one of ballet’s most brilliant scores, Prokofiev’s Cinderella score premiered in 1945 with the Bolshoi Ballet, and echoes Cinderella’s inner emotions as well as a variety of unique themes for different characters. Of his approach to the score, Prokofiev wrote of his attempt to "convey the poetic love between Cinderella and the Prince – the birth and flowing of feeling, the obstacles thrown in its path, the realization of the dream...to create a fairy tale to serve merely as a setting for the portrayal of flesh-and-blood human beings with human passions and failings."

Tickets
Tickets for Cinderella start at $25.75 and are available for purchase online at www.pbt.org, by calling412-456-6666 or visiting the Box Office at Theater Square in the Cultural District.


About the Choreographer
Septime Webre was appointed artistic director of The Washington Ballet in June 1999 after six years as artistic director of American Repertory Ballet in New Jersey. Much in demand as a choreographer, he has created works that appear in the repertoires of many companies in North America, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Ballet Austin, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet and Colorado Ballet, among many others. As a dancer, Mr. Webre was featured in works by George Balanchine, Paul Taylor, Antony Tudor, Alvin Ailey, and Merce Cunningham, as well as in principal and solo roles from the classical repertoire. A former member of the board of directors of Dance/USA, Mr. Webre sits on the board of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington, and has been honored by Young Audiences of the District of Columbia and has received a number of fellowships for his choreography. Mr. Webre is the seventh son in a large Cuban-American family, and he graduated from the University of Texas with a B.A. in History/Pre-Law.

Media Note: For interview or photo requests, please contact Meghan McNamara, marketing coordinator, at412-454-9117 or mmcnamara@pittsburghballet.org.
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Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh