"PRINCE OF POPS" ERICH KUNZEL TO OPEN
2001-2002 BANK OF AMERICA POPS CONCERT
____________________________________________________________________________________

Portland, Ore. … The man responsible for making the Cincinnati Pops one of the most-televised and widely recorded orchestras in America, Erich Kunzel, will conduct music from blockbuster movies including "Exodus" and "Shine" at the first Bank of America Pops concert of the season Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall with an additional performance in Salem Oct. 2. Tickets range from $22 to $60. Oregon Symphony Pops concerts are sponsored by Bank of America. Media support is provided by KPTV-Oregon's 12, News Talk 750 KXL and Media America.

Known as "The Prince of Pops" (Chicago Tribune), Kunzel's concerts have also broken attendance records at the Cleveland Blossom Music Festival, and he is the most successful Billboard Classical Crossover recording artist in history. According to the Washington Post, Kunzel is "America's premier conductor of pops."

Kunzel will conduct music from "Exodus," "Shine," "Titanic," "Star Wars" and "Lawrence of Arabia" accompanied by pianist Michael Chertock, whose youthful approach to programming and sensitive, elegant styling have made him a favorite soloist among conductors such as Keith Lockhart and Erich Kunzel. Well-known for his interpretation of movie scores, Chertock released a collection of piano music from movies entitled "Cinematic Piano" in 1994. The Cincinnati Enquirer called it "one of the most gorgeous discs of the summer," citing his "elegant techniques,...just the right poetic tone."

Performances are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29, at 8 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 30, at 3 and 8 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m. in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, as well as Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 8 p.m. in Salem's Smith Auditorium. Tickets range from $22 to $60 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (and Saturdays starting in September) 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.

Erich Kunzel

Kunzel's first conducting appearance with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in October 1965, was a sold-out 8 O'Clock Pops concert at Music Hall. It was the beginning of a relationship with concert audiences the Cincinnati Enquirer described as "a musical love affair that works." When the CSO Board of Trustees officially established the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in 1977, Kunzel was named the orchestra's conductor. He has since led the ensemble to unprecedented success with music lovers worldwide who have discovered the CPO through tour performances and best-selling Telarc recordings.

The 1999-2000 season, the 22nd for the Pops, was highlighted first by the orchestra's fifth national PBS program, "A Family Thanksgiving," which was taped in October and broadcast in November 1999. The Pops' sixty-sixth CD, Route 66: "That Nelson Riddle Sound," was released in January 1999. Their next CD, Magical Musicals, was released in September 1999 and features the music of recent Disney movies. Among the Pops' other recent recordings is On Broadway, a compilation of hits from Smokey Joe's Cafe, Miss Saigon, The Lion King, The Secret Garden, Rent, Titanic and other modern Broadway blockbusters.

Kunzel is the most successful Billboard Classical Crossover recording artist in history. In 1991, Billboard named him the Classical Crossover Artist of the Year for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year. Of the CPO's sixty-six Telarc releases, fifty have appeared on either the Classical Crossover or Classical Billboard charts. The CPO won their first Grammy Award in 1998 for "Copland: Music of America," and four other Pops recordings have earned Grammy nominations, including "Copland: Lincoln Portrait," "A Disney Spectacular," "The Music Man" and "Amen! A Gospel Celebration." "American Jubilee" was awarded France's Grand Prix du Disque in 1989.

Dubbed "The Prince of Pops" by the Chicago Tribune, Kunzel is a regular guest conductor with orchestras across the country, appearing in more than 100 performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival. His concerts have also broken attendance records at the Cleveland Blossom Music Festival. He also conducts Pops concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and the Philadelphia Orchestra at Mann Music Center and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Each year, Kunzel conducts the National Symphony on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol in PBS-TV's nationally televised Memorial Day and Fourth of July concerts. Kunzel also leads sold-out Pops concerts with the orchestras of Indianapolis, Minnesota, Naples and Toronto.

Educated at Dartmouth, Harvard and Brown universities, Kunzel studied with and was personal assistant to French conductor Pierre Monteux. He was invited by then Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Director Max Rudolf to join the CSO in 1965, and asked to take over the 8 O'clock Pops series. By 1970, when Arthur Fiedler invited him to conduct the Boston Pops, Kunzel's commitment to Pops was assured. He has led the Boston Pops annually ever since.

Additionally, Kunzel served on the faculties of Brown University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He made his professional debut in 1957, conducting the Santa Fe Opera Company and has conducted many productions there and with the Canadian Opera Company and Cincinnati Opera.

In 1995, the Cincinnati MacDowell Society honored Kunzel's contributions to the arts community by awarding him the MacDowell Medal. He received the 1987 Post-Corbett Award, as well as the 1989 Sony Tiffany Walkman Award for his "visionary recording activities over the past ten years." He was named by the Ohio Arts Council as a special recipient of the 1991 Governor's Awards for the Arts in Ohio, recognizing his distinguished service and creative accomplishments in the arts. He has also received the 1994 Presidential Medal for Outstanding Leadership and Achievement from Dartmouth College, and the 1995 Salvation Army "Others" Award in recognition of his contributions to the City of Cincinnati. He has also received honorary doctorates from Northern Kentucky University and The College of Mount St. Joseph in Ohio.

Michael Chertock

Claude Gingras of La Presse, Montreal, recently said of pianist Michael Chertock: "Chertock revealed himself as a first-rate pianist and an interpreter of noticeable interest through the freshness that he brought to these familiar scores....(he) displayed the sensitivity of a Chopin interpreter."

Chertock's orchestral appearances include concerto performances with l'Orchestre Symphonique du Montreal, the Boston Pops, the Toronto Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony, the Utah Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Indianapolis Symphony. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1999 with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, performing Duke Ellington's New World A'Comin'.

Chertock has toured Asia with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops, Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and violinist Alyssa Park.

The Boston Globe has called his playing "unmannered, zestful, and lovely." The Cincinnati Enquirer has described the Virginia native as "intelligent and disciplined...noble...finely finished...expressive and well-controlled." The Salt Lake City Deseret News said "Chertock... is a musical performer with an immense technical command of the piano."

Chertock's elegant musical interpretation of contemporary American composers like Gershwin, Bernstein and Anderson, and his gift for programming traditional piano repertoire with popular standards and music from contemporary idioms, have made him popular as a recitalist throughout the United States, resulting in an innovative discography.

In 1994, Chertock released his first CD on the Telarc label, a collection of piano music from movies entitled Cinematic Piano. Cincinnati Enquirer critic Janelle Gelfand called it "one of the most gorgeous discs of the summer," citing his "elegant techniques,...just the right poetic tone." American Record Guide said "(Chertock) plays beautifully, and Telarc's lush sonics bathe the listener in an intoxicating wash of piano sonorities." The recording has sold more than 30,000 units worldwide. Telarc released Chertock's second recording, Palace of the Winds, in 1997. It features music from movies such as Shine, The English Patient and Immortal Beloved. The Cincinnati Enquirer praised its "luminous touch, mesmerizing sonorities and sonic splendor," as well as Chertock's "knack for ringing melody and transparency of texture." Chertock's third recording, Christmas at the Movies, has been praised for its lush, original arrangements and exquisite technical facility. Chertock released his fourth disc on Telarc in 2000, an album of songs from classic romantic films called Love At the Movies.

Chertock's credits include a 1991 Cincinnati premiere of the Liszt Third Piano Concerto in E Flat, the Boston premiere of the Leroy Anderson Piano Concerto in 1993 under the direction of Erich Kunzel, and the Cincinnati premiere of the Lutoslawski Piano Concerto in 1996. In New York City in 1994, he performed, with Cincinnati pianist Frank Weinstock, the world premiere of Notta Sonata by Jonathan Kramer, a piece for two pianos and percussion. Kyle Gann of The Village Voice hailed Weinstock and Chertock as "a fantastically well-rehearsed ensemble; they could break into the trickiest, most exposed unison attacks in perfect timing without even looking at each other."

Chertock first performed publicly at the age of 11, and at age 14 he performed on live television in Guam. At 17, he performed the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 with Andrew Litton and the Arlington Symphony Orchestra.

Chertock holds a Master's degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Frank Weinstock. He has garnered numerous awards at major competitions, among them the top prize in the 1989 Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition (Brahms Division,) and the grand prize in the 1993 St. Charles International Piano Competition. He also shared the silver medal in the 1991 World Piano Competition of the American Music Scholarship Association. He received the Rildia B. O'Bryon Cliburn Scholarship in 1986.

Chertock is a regular performer at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Blossom Music Center in Cleveland, and the Grand Tetons Music Festival in Wyoming. His upcoming plans include performances with the Oregon Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Chertock will make his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra this August, and will perform the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Ravinia Festival in September 2001.