MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 4 TO HIGHLIGHT CLASSICAL CONCERT
FEATURING MUSIC DIRECTOR CANDIDATE AND PIANIST VLADIMIR FELTSMAN
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Portland, Ore. … Music Director candidate Tadaaki Otaka, acclaimed Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, will perform Mahler's powerful Symphony No. 4 in an Oregon Symphony Classical concert featuring renowned pianist Vladimir Feltsman Dec. 1 through 3 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Classical Bravo concerts are sponsored by ODS Health Plans.

Feltsman will perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 and collaborate with soprano Frances Lucey on Mozart's "Ch'io mi scordi di te" during the first half of the concert. The second half of the concert will feature Otaka's performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 4, with Lucey as soloist.

Otaka's career has included conducting positions with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sapporo Symphony, the Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo and the Britten-Pears Orchestra. Otaka's appearances in Great Britain and overseas have included BBC NOW tours to Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Russia and the orchestra's first visit to Japan and North America. Of his post with the BBC NOW, the London Times wrote, "In his eight years with the orchestra, Otaka has worked wonders in Wales."

Just prior to his Oregon Symphony appearance, Feltsman will perform as soloist on the United States debut tour of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra appearing at halls throughout the United States, including Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. Acclaimed for his vast repertoire, Feltsman's most recent project, "Masterpieces of the Russian Underground," will unfold a panorama of Russian contemporary music through the unprecedented survey of piano and chamber works of 14 different composers from Shostakovich to the present day.

Performances are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1 and 2, at 7:30 p.m. and Monday, Dec. 3, at 8 p.m. 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 (790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony's Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.

Tadaaki Otaka

Tadaaki Otaka studied conducting at Toho Gakuen School of Music under the famous professor Hideo Saito (who taught such distinguished conductors as Seiji Ozawa and Hiroshi Wakasugi) and also studied composition, theory and French horn. While still at Toho Gakuen he was appointed a student of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Symphony Orchestra in 1968 and worked with such conductors as Joseph Keilberth, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Lovro von Matacic, Jean Fournet and Otmar Suitner. In 1970 he graduated from Toho Gakuen and gained second prize in the Min-On Concert Association of Japan Conducting Competition. Soon after, he achieved great success conducting the Toho Gakuen String Orchestra in many European cities.

His professional broadcasting debut was in 1971 (NHK Symphony Orchestra) and followed by further studies in Vienna with Professor Hans Swarowsky and Professor Spannagel. After 20 years as their Permanent Conductor, he was appointed Conductor Laureate of the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra in March l991. From 1981 to 1986 he was Chief Conductor of the Sapporo Symphony and in May 1998 assumed the position of Music Advisor/Principle Conductor. From 1992 to 1998 he was Chief Conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. His wide-ranging activities include concert, opera, radio and television and also conducting premieres of works by such distinguished composers as Teizo Matsumura, Toru Takemitsu and Akira Miyoshi. In Spring 1984 he led the Tokyo Philharmonic's highly successful European tour and the following February, his New York conducting debut (American Symphony Orchestra) included first performances of several Japanese works.

In April 1987 Mr. Otaka became Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and made his BBC Proms debut with them the following year. London's Sunday Times wrote: "In his eight years with the orchestra Otaka has worked wonders in Wales." His many appearances in the UK and overseas have included BBC NOW tours to Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Russia and the Orchestra's first-ever Japanese and North American visits. Since 1996 he has been the BBC NOW's Conductor Laureate and continues to make frequent appearances with them.

He was appointed the first Music Adviser and Principal Conductor of the Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo and conducted the Orchestra's acclaimed debut in April 1995. Appointed Director of the Britten-Pears Orchestra in 1998, he works regularly with them for opera and concert projects, which have included "Cosi fan Tutti."

Recent seasons have included Australian tours (Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras), London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hallé, Vancouver Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, L'Orchestre National de Lille, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Residentie Orchestra, concerts in North America and BBC Promenade Concerts with both BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1997/98 he conducted the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony's extensive and well-received European tour and the following month, made a highly successful debut with London Symphony Orchestra.

Last season included very successful debuts with Rotterdam Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony and Strasbourg Philharmonic and a spectacularly successful return visit to Rotterdam as well as concerts with City of Birmingham Symphony, Hallé, and BBC Symphony. The first overseas tour of Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo garnered excellent reviews from The Netherlands and Austria. Future engagements include regular projects with BBC NOW, YNSO and Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo, and engagements with National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Bournemouth Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic debut and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He returns to Welsh National Opera for "Tosca" in May 2001. With the Sapporo Symphony he toured the UK in autumn this year as part of their 40th anniversary celebrations.

With BBC NOW, he has made many excellent recordings for Nimbus and also a number of discs for BIS (Firsova, Denisov, Gubaidulina and Takemitsu) and Chandos (Franck). With Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and a cast led by Anthony Rolfe Johnson and Josephine Barstow, he recorded Britten's Peter Grimes in 1998. Further recordings are planned with BBC NOW and Kioi Sinfonietta Tokyo.

Otaka received the prestigious Suntory Music Award, given each year to the most impressive Japanese ensemble or individual musician. In 1993 the Welsh College of Music and Drama conferred an Honorary Fellowship on Otaka and he also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Wales. In 1997, he was awarded the CBE, in recognition of his outstanding contribution over many years to British musical life, and in November 2000 was awarded the Elgar Medal by the Elgar Society to mark a compelling record of conducting the composer's works overseas.

Vladimir Feltsman

An artist of immense range and insight, Vladimir Feltsman is recognized as one of the most imaginative and constantly interesting musicians of our time.

Born in Moscow in 1952, Mr. Feltsman debuted with the Moscow Philharmonic at age 11. In 1969, he entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory of Music to study piano under the guidance of Professor Jacob Flier. He also studied conducting at both the Moscow and the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Conservatories. In 1971, Mr. Feltsman won the Grand Prix at the Marguerite Long International Piano Competition in Paris; this was followed by intensive concert tours throughout the former Soviet Union, Europe and Japan.

In 1979, because of his growing discontent with the official Soviet ideology and rigid governmental control of the arts, Mr. Feltsman made his intention to emigrate from the Soviet Union clear by applying for an exit visa. In reply, he was immediately banned from performing in public. After eight years of struggle and virtual artistic exile, he was finally granted permission to leave the Soviet Union. Upon his arrival in the United States in 1987, Mr. Feltsman was warmly greeted at the White House, where he performed his very first concert in North America. That same year, his debut at Carnegie Hall immediately established him as a major pianist on the American scene.

Mr. Feltsman's vast repertoire encompasses music from the Baroque to 20th century composers. He expressed his lifelong devotion to the music of J.S. Bach in a cycle of concerts which included major clavier works of the composer and spanned four consecutive seasons, 1992-1996, at the Tisch Center for Performing Arts at the 92nd Street Y in New York. His most recent project, "Masterpieces of the Russian Underground," will unfold a panorama of Russian contemporary music through the unprecedented survey of piano and chamber works of fourteen different composers from Shostakovich to the present day.

A regular guest soloist with every leading orchestra in the United States, Mr. Feltsman appears on the most prestigious concert series and music festivals all over the world. The summer of 2000 found Mr. Feltsman returning to the Sintra Festival in Portugal performing two all-Bach recitals: the "Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I," and the "Goldberg Variations." He repeated the Well-Tempered Clavier program at the Aspen Festival in Colorado, and performed an all-Schumann recital there as well (Arabesque, Op. 18, "Kreisleriana," and "Carnaval"). Mr. Feltsman also returned to the Ravinia Festival to play and conduct Bach, appeared at the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, performed with the Vermeer Quartet in Brahms' F minor Quintet at the Caramoor Festival in New York, and played and conducted during "Piano Summer at New Paltz."

Upcoming orchestral engagements for Vladimir Feltsman in the 2001-2002 season include appearances with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (Straus' "Burleske"), Orquesta Filarmonica de la UNAM (Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor) and with the El Paso Symphony (Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini"). October and November sees Mr. Feltsman performing as soloist on the United State Debut Tour of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra appearing at halls throughout the U.S. including Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Kirkland Fine Arts Center at Millikin University and the Kravis Center in Florida. In December, Mr. Feltsman will appear as piano soloist with the Kirov Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, at Carnegie Hall, as well as in Ithaca, NY, and Storrs, CT. Mr. Feltsman will appear in recital with mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer at the Tisch Center in NYC, and will give a solo recital at Michigan State University.

Feltsman holds the Distinguished Chair of Professor of Piano at the State University of New York, New Paltz and teaches at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the International Festival-Institute "Piano Summer at New Paltz," a comprehensive month-long training program for advanced piano students which offers a unique, multifaceted approach to all aspects of piano performance and attracts musicians from all over the world.

Feltsman's extensive discography is released on Sony Classical, Music Masters and Melodiya labels, and includes six albums of clavier works of J.S. Bach, recordings of Beethoven's last five piano sonatas, solo piano works of Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, and Messiaen, as well as concerti by Bach, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev.

Frances Lucey

Renowned for her uncommonly charismatic personality, keen musical intelligence and expressive, highly individual voice, the Irish soprano Frances Lucey's North American recital debut at New York's prestigious Frick Collection earned raves in USA Today, Opera News, The New York Times and New York Post. Since then she has returned here for Philip Glass' "civil war$" with the American Composers Orchestra under Dennis Russell Davies at Carnegie Hall, recitals in New York and Washington, D.C. and Haydn's "Il Ritorno di Tobia, Die Jahreszeiten" and "L'infedeltà delusa" with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra. In the 1998-99 season Ms. Lucey made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut with Handel's "Messiah," gave two recitals in Alice Tully Hall with pianist Charles Wadsworth and mezzo-soprano Suzanne Mentzer, part of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center series, and returned to the Bard Festival for a Schönberg recital and Korngold's operetta "Walzer aus Wien."

Ms. Lucey is the leading soprano of Munich's Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, where her roles included Sandrina in "La Finta Giardiniera," Maria in "West Side Story," Gabrielle in "La vie parisienne," and Gretel in "Hansel und Gretel." Prior to this she was a member of the Bavarian State Opera (at the invitation of Wolfgang Sawallisch), where her roles included Despina ("Così fan tutte"), Oscar ("Un Ballo in Maschera"), Sophie ("Der Rosenkavalier"), Cleopatra ("Giulio Cesare"), Gretel in "Hansel und Gretel," and Atalanta in "Xerxes." She also participated in the world-premiere performances of Hans-Jurgen von Bose's "Slaughterhouse Five." Other opera credits include the Semper Opera Dresden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Stuttgart and Bonn Staatsopers. In addition she has been guest soloist with the Munich Philharmonic, Japan's NHK Symphony, Südwestdeutsche Kammerorchester and Mozarteum Orchestra (the latter for Mahler #4 at the Salzburg Festival under Mto. Davies). Especially esteemed in her native Ireland, she earned particular praise for her performances of Paisiello's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and Marschner's "Der Vampyr" at the Wexford Festival. Her many concerts with Dublin's RTE Orchestra include a televised "Carmina burana" and a much-acclaimed recording of C.V. Standford's "Requiem." Also recently released is her first solo CD "Off to Philadelphia," featuring Irish folksongs, Gershwin, Cole Porter & Spirituals.