March 5, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Russian conductor Alexander Lazarev leads the Oregon Symphony in a concert that showcases the rich variety of music from his homeland, featuring works by Mussorgsky, Shostakovich and Prokofiev with violinist Stefan Jackiw on April 3, 4 and 5 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Media support provided by The Oregonian.
Lazarev, currently Principal Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, leads the Symphony in this program which highlights the abundant diversity of style and mood that characterizes Russian music, and features Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9, a blithe departure from the composer’s usual ironic idiom in its use of a smaller orchestra, shorter length, and neo-Classical thematic material. Other works and composers include Mussorgsky’s dark and reflective “Night on Bald Mountain,” an audience favorite made famous in Disney’s original animated film, “Fantasia,” and Prokofiev’s brilliantly crafted Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor performed by Jackiw. A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Jackiw has been described as one of the finest violinists of his generation, known for his poise and grace, as well as an artistic sophistication that belies his eighteen years.
Lazarev and the Symphony will also present the some of the best-known orchestral works of Anatoli Liadov, his musical settings of Russian folk tales, including “Baba-Yaga,” “The Enchanted Lake” and “Kikimora.” Liadov’s style closely follows that of his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov in its deft use of orchestral colors and its fascination with musical exoticism.
Oregon Symphony Classical concerts regularly include additional opportunities for listeners to learn more about the music and the orchestra. These activities include:
Pre-concert Talks: KBPS Classical host Patrick McElroy and Linda MaGee, Executive Director of Chamber Music Northwest will lead a discussion one hour before the concert of the works to be performed. Media support for “Pre-Concert Talks” is provided by Classical Millennium.
Saturday: Guest Conductor Alexander Lazarev will speak briefly from the podium in “Saturday Interactive.” Media support for “Saturday Interactive” is provided by KINKfm102.
Performances are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, April 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Monday, April 5 at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets range in price from $17 to $76 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.
Eighteen-year-old violinist Stefan Jackiw is already recognized as one of the most significant artists of his generation. In recent seasons Mr. Jackiw has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Pops, with whom he made his debut in 1997 playing the Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 under Keith Lockhart. He has also made a solo appearance at youth concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
In the spring of 2000 Mr. Jackiw made his European debut in London to great critical acclaim, playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Benjamin Zander. In Europe he has also performed with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, Mr. Jackiw made his debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Yuri Temirkanov followed by a tour of Japan with Baltimore that featured his Tokyo debut at Suntory Hall. In the fall of 2002 he made debuts under Roberto Abbado with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as well as the l’Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Florentino. In April 2003 he made his Chicago Symphony debut, also conducted by Maestro Abbado.
Mr. Jackiw is an active recitalist, having given numerous performances in the Boston area, including the WCRB Copley series and the French Cultural Center. In the summer of 2001 Mr. Jackiw was invited to the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, where Christoph Eschenbach presented him in a collaborative recital. He has performed on the Rising Stars Series of the Ravinia Festival and on the Boston Celebrity Series in recital at Jordan Hall.
Born to physicist parents, Mr. Jackiw began playing the violin at the age of four. He is a graduate of the Roxbury Latin School, and studies violin with Donald Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory. His past teachers include Zinaida Gilels and Michèle Auclair. This year, Mr. Jackiw will enter Harvard University. In 2002 Mr. Jackiw was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant.
Alexander Lazarev is one of Russia’s foremost conductors. He studied with Leo Ginsbourg at the Moscow Conservatory, graduating with first class honors. In 1971 he won first prize in the Soviet Union’s national competition for conductors, and the following year he went on to win first prize and the gold medal in the Karajan Competition in Berlin.
From 1987 to 1995 Lazarev was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Theatre, the first person for over thirty years to hold both positions concurrently. His leadership marked a period of intense activity, with the Bolshoi Opera undertaking an unprecedented program of prestigious foreign touring including Tokyo (1989), La Scala, Milan (1989), the Edinburgh Festival (1990 and 1991) and the Metropolitan Opera in New York (1991). Several of the Theatre’s most successful productions including Glinka’s “A Life for the Tsar,” Tchaikovsky’s “The Maid of Orleans” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Mlada” were filmed for video and the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra made a number of highly acclaimed recordings for Erato including such milestones of the Russian symphonic repertoire as Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8.
In recent years he has worked as a regular guest with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, appearing with them in London, Paris and Vienna. Other orchestras he has conducted include the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell’ Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre National de France, Oslo Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, NHK Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Montreal Symphony and London Philharmonic. He has appeared with opera companies such as the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels, Arena di Verona, Opéra National de Paris, Bastille and Bavarian State Opera.
Lazarev’s repertoire is particularly enterprising in its scope, ranging from the eighteenth century to the avant-garde. In 1978 he founded the Ensemble of Soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre whose most important aim was the programming and wide dissemination of contemporary music by both Soviet and foreign composers.
Lazarev is a prolific recording artist. In addition to his recordings with the Bolshoi Symphony for Erato, he has made over 35 recordings for Melodiya and has also recorded for Virgin Classics, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for Sony Classical, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Hyperion and BMG, and with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for BIS.
