THIBAUDET TO PERFORM RAVEL IN CLASSICAL CONCERT
LED BY RENOWNED CONDUCTOR SERGIU COMISSIONA
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Portland, Ore. … One of the most in-demand pianists of his generation, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, will make his Oregon Symphony debut performing Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand in a Classical Applause concert conducted by Sergiu Comissiona, Conductor Emeritus of the Vancouver Symphony, April 6 through 8 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Comissiona replaces Kees Bakels, who is unable to appear with the Symphony due to visa issues. In addition, Bakels has withdrawn his candidacy in the music director search due to time and travel considerations. An additional performance is scheduled for April 5 at Tacoma's Pantages Theater. "Thibaudet Plays Ravel" is a Classical Applause concert sponsored by Delta Air Lines.

"Thibaudet Plays Ravel" features two works by Ravel written during an explosion of creativity that occurred in the arts during the years following World War I: "La Valse" and the left-hand concerto. Thibaudet will perform Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand, composed for disabled veteran and Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in WWI. According to The New York Times, Thibaudet brings "steely power to the music's primordial rumblings and shimmering delicacy to the passages of wistful musing." Renowned for his elegant playing and poetic interpretations, Thibaudet received a Grammy nomination for his recording of the complete piano works of Ravel.

Ravel's "La Valse," a lush, Viennese waltz whose thematic development mirrors the destruction of elegant pre-war civilization following WWI, will close the program. The concert also includes Haydn's Symphony No. 98, followed by Brahms' Variations on a Theme of Haydn.

Comissiona, Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony from 1991 to 2000, has led virtually all of the worlds' major symphonic ensembles in performances that have been acclaimed for their interpretative fire, musical insight and orchestral discipline. Comissiona is not appearing as a music director candidate.

In addition to pre-concert talks one hour before the concert, Oregon Symphony Classical concerts regularly include additional opportunities for listeners to learn more about the music and the orchestra.

These activities include:
Saturday: The conductor will discuss the program from the podium in "Symphony Interactive." Media support for "Symphony Interactive" is provided by KINKfm102.
Sunday: Audience members will be invited to stay for a 15-20 minute panel discussion with musicians and/or the conductor. Media support for "Sunday Night Post-Concert Discussion" is provided by KBPS.

Performances are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, April 6 and 7, at 7:30 p.m. and Monday, April 8, at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall with an additional performance Friday, April 5, at 8 p.m. at Tacoma's Pantages Theater (901 Broadway). Tickets range in price from $15 to $70 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets (503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony's Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet

An acknowledged master of the piano, Jean-Yves Thibaudet is in demand worldwide for his elegant playing and poetic interpretations. His extensive vocabulary of luminous colors and passionate sound, referred to as the "Thibaudet style," have helped him to forge an international career in both the performance and recording arenas. A versatile and sophisticated musician, he is sought-after by the world's foremost conductors, orchestras and music festivals.

An accomplished performer who is equally at home with chamber music and recitals as he is with orchestral repertoire, Mr. Thibaudet is in great demand as a collaborator. He currently performs and records with such talents as Cecilia Bartoli, Renée Fleming, Angelika Kirchschlager, Yuri Bashmet, and the Rossetti String Quartet.

An exclusive recording artist for Decca with over 30 recordings, Mr. Thibaudet's fall 2001 release is a CD of the Mendelssohn Piano Concerti with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Herbert Blomstedt conducting. In April 2001, Decca released his first collaborative recording with soprano Renée Fleming, a collection of arias entitled "Night Songs," featuring works by Fauré, Debussy, Marx, Strauss and Rachmaninoff. Additional recordings include a Chopin/Grieg disc with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Valery Gergiev (fall 2000) and a two-CD set of Debussy works entitled "Debussy images, etudes: complete works for solo piano, Vol. 2" (spring 2000). Mr. Thibaudet's diverse repertoire includes works by Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Liszt, Messiaen, Chopin, Shostakovich, Gershwin, Brahms, Schumann, D'Indy, Wolf and Ravel, for which his recording of the complete piano works received a Grammy nomination. He has made successful forays into the world of jazz as well, including "Reflections on Duke: Jean-Yves Thibaudet plays the music of Duke Ellington" (1999) and "Conversations with Bill Evans," (1997).

Outside of the traditional concert stage, Mr. Thibaudet's talent has also been recognized. He has an onscreen cameo in the Bruce Beresford feature film on Alma Mahler entitled "Bride of the Wind," (released June 2001), and his playing is showcased throughout the movie soundtrack. His playing can also be heard in the movie soundtrack of the feature film "Portrait of a Lady" for which he played two Schubert Impromptus (1997). He was featured in the 2000 PBS/Smithsonian special, "Piano Grand!," a piano performance television special hosted by Billy Joel to give tribute to the 300th anniversary of the piano.

Of French and German heritage, Jean-Yves Thibaudet was born in Lyon, France, where he began his piano studies at age 5 and made his first public appearance at age 7. At age 12, Thibaudet entered the Paris Conservatory where he studied with Aldo Ciccolini and Lucette Descaves, a friend and collaborator of Ravel. At age 15 he won the premier Prix du Conservatoire, and three years later won the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York. In 2001, the Republic of France awarded Mr. Thibaudet the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Sergiu Comissiona

Comissiona is renowned throughout the world as one of the most dynamic and experienced conductors of our time. A familiar podium figure in more than 25 countries, Comissiona has led virtually all of the world's major symphonic ensembles in performances that have been acclaimed for their interpretative fire, musical insight, and orchestral discipline.

Comissiona currently holds several important musical posts: Music Director Emeritus of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of Israel's Jerusalem Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the Georges Enescu Bucharest Philharmonic, Conductor Laureate of the Baltimore Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the University of Southern California's Thornton Symphony in Los Angeles, and Music Director of the Hong Kong-based Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO). Mr. Comissiona, a native of Romania, remains a national figure in that country for his performance of Paul Constantinescu's "Christmas Oratorio" with the National Radio Orchestra of Romania; he was recently awarded the "Greatest Musical Event of 2000" by the Union of Music Critics of Romania.

In addition to Comissiona's appearances in Vancouver, Baltimore, Jerusalem, Bucharest, Los Angeles, and on tour with the AYO, other engagements in the 2001-2002 season include those as guest conductor of the National Symphony in Washington, D.C.; the China Philharmonic in Beijing, where Comissiona has become a favorite of Chinese audiences; and the RTVE Orchestra in Madrid. Mr. Comissiona was also invited to serve as juror at the Besançon (France) International Conducting Competition.

Critics around the world are unanimous in praising Comissiona's orchestra-building talents and his ability to lead players to new artistic heights and inspire them to exalted levels of performance. He has been hailed by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer as "the man responsible for bringing the Vancouver Symphony back to musical health" and the man who transformed the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra into a truly professional ensemble during his 17 seasons as Music Director. In the words of Stephen Wigler of the Baltimore Sun, "The modern Baltimore Symphony was created by Sergiu Comissiona."

Comissiona's tenure as Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony was characterized by innovative programming, compelling performances, and enthusiastic audience response; he is a highly popular figure in Baltimore to this day. After beginning a collaboration with Madrid's Orquesta Sinfónica RTVE in 1968, Comissiona was the Chief Conductor of that orchestra from 1990 to 1998. He was also Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra for the 1993-94 season, and Music Director of the American Symphony Orchestra from 1978 to 1982. His other previous music directorships include the Haifa Symphony in Israel; the Houston Symphony; the Gothenberg Orchestra in Sweden; and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of Hilversum in the Netherlands.

Comissiona has also led the New York, Berlin, and London Philharmonic orchestras; the orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, San Francisco and Pittsburgh; and l'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande In addition to regular appearances at the world's most prestigious festivals, including Tanglewood, Saratoga, Aspen, and Wolf Trap, Comissiona has led performances at the New York City Opera, both as Music Director and guest conductor.

A prolific recording artist, Comissiona has conducted many acclaimed projects on the CBC, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, London, and Pro Arte labels with the London Symphony, l'Orchestre de Ia Suisse Romande, the Houston and Vancouver symphonies, and the Israel Chamber Orchestra, which he founded. Rick MacMillan, writing in the December 1995 issue of Classical Music Magazine, awarded the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's recent all-Rachmaninoff CD on Canada's CBC Records four stars for both performance and sound, praising the recording as ". . . one of the Vancouver Symphony's most memorable releases, demonstrating a top-notch, virtuoso orchestra led by a dynamic conductor who clearly knows how to extract the best from his forces." Another recording featuring Comissiona, a selection of orchestral rhapsodies with the Vancouver Symphony for the CBC label, drew praise from the London Free Press (November 20, 1996): "The Vancouver Symphony has a winner here. Under music director Sergiu Comissiona, it pulls all the stops in stirring renditions of two symphonic rhapsodies each by Franz Liszt, Antonin Dvorak and Georghe Enescu."

Born in Bucharest, Comissiona hails from a musical family. He began violin studies at the age of five, was hired as a violinist by the Romanian State Ensemble while still in his teens, and made his conducting debut at the tender age of 17 when another conductor had to withdraw. While still in his twenties, Comissiona was named Principal Conductor of the Romanian State Opera.

Comissiona was recently honored as a Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture and Communication, and was awarded an honorary doctorate at Boston's New England Conservatory. A strong proponent of music education, Comissiona is an honorary member of the Swedish Academy of Music and founder of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's national competition for young American conductors. He also served as president of the jury at the first International Conductor Competition sponsored by the Georges Enescu Philharmonic and Constantin Silvestri Foundation held in Bucharest in July 1996. He has also been awarded honorary degrees by the Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Maryland, in recognition of his many contributions to the musical life of Baltimore.

Comissiona and his wife Robinne, born in Romania, became American citizens on July 4, 1976, at a special bi-centennial ceremony at Fort McHenry on the Baltimore harbor.