Including… Joshua Bell * Christopher Parkening * Garrick Ohlsson
* Horacio Gutiérrez * Leila Josefowicz
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Portland, Ore. ... Performances by world-class guest artists that include audience favorites Joshua Bell, Garrick Ohlsson, Christopher Parkening, Leila Josefowicz and Horacio Gutiérrez will highlight the Oregon Symphony's 2002-2003 Classical series, featuring the return of three renowned music director candidates, Carlos Kalmar, Pavel Kogan and Tadaaki Otaka, as the Symphony enters the third year of its music director search. Repertoire highlights include the complete Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle, Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2, Mahler's Symphony No. 1, Ravel's "Bolero," Brahms' Symphony No. 4, the world premiere of Michael Hersch's Piano Concerto, co-commissioned by the Oregon Symphony, and more. Media support for the Classical series is provided by The Oregonian.

Leila Josefowicz, who first appeared with the Symphony at age 18, will return in the season-opening concert performing Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto Sept. 21-23, 2002. In addition to guest artists established as audience favorites, the 2002-2003 season includes the debut performances of some of classical music's rising stars: pianists Piotr Anderzewsky, Max Levinson and Lilya Zilberstein and cellist Alban Gerhardt. The season also features dynamic baritone Nathan Gunn, regarded as one of the leading singers of his generation. Also debuting with the Symphony will be world-renowned guest conductors Yakov Kreizberg, newly named Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic and, from 1995-2001, General Music Director of the Komische Oper Berlin, and Paolo Carignani, General Music Director of the Frankfurt Opera and Chief Conductor of the famous Museum Orchestra of Frankfurt.

Oregon Symphony Concertmaster Michael Foxman, Principal Cello Nancy Ives, Associate Concertmaster Peter Frajola and Principal Viola Joël Belgique will be featured soloists in concerts throughout the season.

REPERTOIRE HIGHLIGHTS

Of the five concertos in Beethoven's piano concerto cycle, music critic Irving Kolodin once said, "They are to the pianist what certain roles of Shakespeare are to the actor - tests of ultimate ability." Five world-class pianists will perform these pieces during the 2002-2003 season: Piotr Anderzewski (March 1-3, 2003); Max Levinson (Feb. 22-24, 2003); Lilya Zilberstein (April 5-7, 2003); Michael Roll (April 26-28, 2003), and Horacio Gutiérrez, performing the beloved "Emperor" concerto (May 17-19, 2003).

Garrick Ohlsson will perform the world premiere of Hersch's Piano Concerto, a work co-commissioned by Ohlsson, the Oregon Symphony and the St. Louis and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras, on Jan 4-6, 2003. The 2002-2003 Classical season also will include Portland's favorite classical guitarist Christopher Parkening performing March 10-12, 2003, in one of Joaquin Rodrigo's most evocative works, "Fantasía para un gentilhombre," an anticipated performance originally scheduled for the 2000-2001 season. Works among DePreist's "signature" pieces also will be performed throughout the season: Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2, Sibelius' Symphony No. 2 and Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique" as well as Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11 (postponed from January 2002), and a personal favorite of DePreist's, Revueltas' "Sensemaya." Mahler's "Kindertotenlieder," last performed by the Symphony in 1952 with legendary contralto Marian Anderson, will be performed Jan 18-20, 2003, with baritone Nathan Gunn.

The Classical season features Barber's beloved Adagio for Strings, the Oregon Symphony premiere of Barber's Cello Concerto, and Blacher's "Variations on a Theme of Paganini," showcasing every section of the orchestra and built on the theme used by Rachmaninoff in his beloved "Variations on a Theme of Paganini." Jan Sandstrom's dramatic and sometimes comic Motorbike Concerto, in which the sounds of a motorcycle and its adventures around the world are depicted with a trombone, will be performed April 26-28, 2003, by Christian Lindberg, who performed the concerto's world premiere in 1989. Kabalevzky's Cello Concerto No. 2 will receive its Oregon Symphony premiere Nov. 23 through 25, 2002, with Principal Cello Nancy Ives as soloist.

MUSIC DIRECTOR SEARCH

In June 2005, DePreist will step down as Music Director and Conductor of the Oregon Symphony after 25 glorious years, during which time the Oregon Symphony has made quantum leaps in artistic quality and community service. The search for his successor began in 2000-2001 and continues this season with three candidates who have been invited to return to conduct rich and varied programs that will stretch the abilities of both the candidates and the orchestra. Carlos Kalmar, Music Director of the Grant Park Music Festival and Vienna Tonkustlerorchester, first performed to rave reviews Oct. 20-22, 2001, and returned by popular demand to conduct Classical concerts Feb. 2-4, 2002. This season he will conduct Schumann, Barber and R. Strauss Dec. 7-9, 2002. Music Director of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra Pavel Kogan, who first appeared with the Symphony Feb. 17-19, 2001, and returned to replace DePreist during his recovery from kidney transplant surgery Jan 5-7, 2002, will conduct Grieg, Beethoven and Mussorgsky/Ravel Feb 22- 24, 2003. Tadaaki Otaka, Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, first performed with the Symphony Dec. 1-3, 2001, and will return April 5-7, 2003, to conduct Beethoven and Elgar. Audience members will again be asked to participate in the music director search, registering their opinions of the candidates by filling out questionnaires provided at the concerts and on the Symphony's Web site (www.orsymphony.org). A full listing of the Classical Series repertoire is in the enclosed 2002-2003 season brochure.

CLASSICAL SERIES

The Symphony's Classical series is its flagship series and core of all the Symphony has to offer. It features a mix of classical works, famous masterpieces and lesser-known works, performed by world-class guest artists. The Classical series is comprised of 14 subscription concerts running from September 2002 through May 2003. Classical concert packages also are available in sets of seven concerts: the "Applause" and "Bravo" series. Performance times are Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. and Mondays at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, located in downtown Portland at the corner of S.W. Main and Broadway. Pre-concert talks, free to ticket holders, are given one hour before each concert. These pre-concert talks feature professional musicians, professors of music, radio personalities and other experts speaking on works to be performed, lives of the composers and relevant historical information.

In addition to the pre-concert talks, Classical concerts regularly provide additional opportunities for listeners to learn more about the music and the orchestra. These activities include:

Saturday: The conductor or guest artist comments on the program during the concert in "Symphony Interactive." Media support for "Symphony Interactive" is provided by KINKfm102.
Sunday: Audience members are invited to stay after the concert for a 15- to 20-minute panel discussion with musicians and/or the conductors. Media support for "Sunday Night Post-Concert Discussion" is provided by KBPS.

Plus, on the Tuesday preceding Classical concerts, a preview can be heard on KBPS All Classical 89.9 FM "Northwest Previews" at 6 p.m.

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

Subscriptions for the full Classical series (14 concerts) range in price from $165 to $815 for adults; $145 to $215 for students and seniors (Upper Balcony and Orchestra Section D). Subscriptions for the "Applause" or "Bravo" series (7 concerts) range in price from $110 to $475 for adults; $100 to $130 for students and seniors (Upper Balcony and Orchestra Section D). Subscriptions may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office in downtown Portland at 923 S.W. Washington, or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343, weekdays (and Saturdays, Sept. through May) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Subscription orders also may be placed online at www.orsymphony.org. Classical subscribers receive full subscription benefits, including flexible ticket exchange and advance purchase for Special Event concerts at a 20 percent discount. Single tickets for Classical and other Symphony concerts will be available to the general public at 9 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 19, 2002.