December 5, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … An afternoon of French favorites with guest conductor Hannu Lintu and Principal Trombone Aaron LaVere are featured at the Oregon Symphony’s next Sundays at Two concert on Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Sundays at Two is sponsored by Southwest Airlines.
Lintu is one of Scandinavia’s rising young talents. He is currently the music director of the Helsingborg Symphony in Sweden and is known especially for his contributions to contemporary music. He has premiered dozens of works (including compositions by Per Norgård, Marc Anthony Turnage, Jouni Kaipainen and Kaija Saariaho) at several Finnish and international festivals. He has also appeared at the Golden Autumn Festival in Beijing, the Flanders and Adelaide festivals and NYYD contemporary music festival in Tallinn, Estonia and conducted the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Dortmund Philharmonic, Johannesburg Philharmonic and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Principal Trombone Aaron LaVere is emerging as one of the leading brass players of his generation. Previously Principal Trombone of the Atlanta Symphony under Yoel Levi and Robert Spano, Mr. LaVere has also worked with the Detroit Symphony under Neeme Jarvi, and as a member of the New World Symphony he performed under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, Don Runnicles, Hans Vonk, Sergiu Comissiona, Vladimir Spivakov, and Hugh Wolff. He solos frequently throughout the Oregon and the Midwest, performing the Grondahl Concerto, the David Concerto, and the Jacob Concerto, and also maintains an active career as a chamber musician.
The concert opens with Berlioz’ overture to “Le Corsaire” and continues with Debussy’s perennial audience favorite, “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,” originally commissioned as a ballet and first performed by the legendary dancer Nijinsky in the leading role. LaVere takes the stage next with Eugène Bozza’s “Ballade for Trombone and Orchestra.” Bozza, who died in 1991, was known primarily for his chamber music for winds and brasses. LaVere describes the Ballade as “jazz-influenced. Overall it’s a pretty piece; it has some rich and lush harmonies. It ends with a lighthearted militaristic type of march.” Lintu and the orchestra conclude the afternoon with Bizet’s ever-popular “Carmen” suite.
The Sundays at Two series features shorter concerts (no more than 80 minutes in length) and a unique opportunity to connect with both the music and the musicians. Each concert also includes a Symphony musician as the featured soloist who talks from stage about his/her background and passion for making music.
The performance is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets are $14 for students and seniors, $20 general admission 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 www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.
Hannu Lintu was born in Finland in 1967. He studied piano and cello first at the Conservatory in Turku and later at the Sibelius-Academy in Helsinki, Finland. He began studying orchestral conducting with Atso Almila and became 1992 a student of professor Jorma Panula’s world famous conducting class. He has also studied with Ilja Musin and Eri Klas at the Sibelius Academy and in Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy, with Myung Whun Chung.
In 1994 Lintu won the Nordic Conductor's Competition in Bergen, Norway. From 1995 through 1997 he was the Artistic Director of the Bergen Collegium Musicum chamber orchestra in Norway. Lintu is also a frequent guest conductor of Avanti! Chamber Orchestra. From 1998 to 2001 Lintu was engaged as Music Director of Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. His work in Turku included a number of recordings to Naxos, the first of which was released in late summer 1999 (Sibelius: “King Kristian II,” Debussy’s “Pelleas & Melisande” and “Belsassar’s Feast”).
Hannu Lintu has also recorded a CD of Einojuhani Rautavaara’s music with Royal Scottish National Orchestra to Naxos including Cantus Arcticus, Piano Concerto No. 1 (with Laura Mikkola) and Symphony No. 3. This CD was released in December 1998 and received excellent reviews both home and abroad. The first recording of Kaija Saariaho’s works (vocal music) with Avanti! Orchestra was released in the fall of 2000 by the Ondine label. It will be followed by orchestral music, including a violin concerto with John Storgårds, in 2002.
During the 1999-2001 seasons, Lintu visited the Golden Autumn Festival in Beijing, the Flanders and Adelaide festivals and NYYD contemporary music festival in Tallinn, Estonia and conducted the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Dortmund Philharmonics, Johannesburg Philharmonics, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and in Finland Lahti Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Beginning in August 2002 Lintu accepted a three-year contract as Artistic Director of Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, which includes recordings and concerts 8-10 weeks per year.
Mr. Lintu is known in Scandinavia especially for his contributions to contemporary music and he has premiered dozens of works (including compositions by Per Norgård, Marc Anthony Turnage, Jouni Kaipainen and Kaija Saariaho) at several Finnish and international festivals. In autumn 2000 Lintu conducted Aulis Sallinen’s new opera “King Lear” at the Finnish National Opera together with Okko Kamu and in Autumn 2001 he conducted Kalevi Aho’s new opera at the National Opera as well.
Recently appointed Principal Trombone of the Oregon Symphony, Aaron LaVere is emerging as one of the leading brass players of his generation. Previously Principal Trombone of the Atlanta Symphony under Yoel Levi and Robert Spano, Mr. LaVere has also worked with the Detroit Symphony under Neeme Jarvi, the San Antonio Symphony under Christopher Wilkins, the Kalamazoo Symphony, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Ann Arbor Symphony, and the Flint Symphony. As a member of the New World Symphony he performed under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, Don Runnicles, Hans Vonk, Sergiu Comissiona, Vladimir Spivakov, and Hugh Wolff.
A frequent soloist, Mr. LaVere has appeared throughout the Oregon and the Midwest, performing the Grondahl Concerto, the David Concerto, and the Jacob Concerto. As a chamber musician, Mr. LaVere has performed with the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Detroit Symphony Brass Quintet, the Michigan Chamber Brass, and the New World Brass Quintet. A native of Flint, Michigan, Mr. LaVere began his musical studies at the age of nine in the public schools. His education took him to Interlochen, and on to the University of Michigan, where he earned both a BM and a MM in performance. He has studied with Jay Friedman, Sam Pilafian, James DeSano, Milt Stevens, Mark Lawrence, Ian Bousefield, and H. Dennis Smith, and received an invitation to the Tanglewood Music Festival. As a member of the Pacific Music Festival, Mr. LaVere toured throughout Asia performing under Christoph Eschenbach. At the National Orchestral Institute in Washington DC, he worked under the batons of Marin Alsop, Maximiano Valdes, and Peter Bay.
