January 20, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Music inspired by jazz is the centerpiece of an Oregon Symphony Classical concert led by Music Director Carlos Kalmar featuring pianist Kirill Gerstein performing Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” on Feb. 18 and 19 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, with an additional performance on Feb. 17 at Salem’s Smith Auditorium. The Portland performances are sponsored by Tektronix, with media support provided by The Oregonian. Lufthansa is the exclusive airline sponsor for the Symphony’s Classical series.
“This is literally an entire program of jazz,” says Kalmar. “What is interesting there is the fact that two of the pieces are not by American composers.” In addition to Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” the best-known work on the program, the concert also features Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major and a work by Austrian composer HK Gruber, “Manhattan Broadcasts,” which Kalmar describes as a “light-hearted wacky big band piece.”
Gerstein will perform the piano solo parts for both the Ravel and “Rhapsody in Blue.” He began his career playing jazz and at age 14 received a scholarship to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Gerstein is equally known for his classical ability, having won First Prize at the 2001 Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. He will perform Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, whose outer movements demonstrate the influence of jazz on Ravel’s style with their bluesy atmosphere.
After intermission Gerstein will return to perform in Gershwin’s signature work, “Rhapsody in Blue,” the music that introduced jazz into the classical concert hall. From its instantly recognizable opening clarinet whine through its brilliant finale, “Rhapsody in Blue” is an American classic and its influence can be heard on all the other works on the program. The concert ends with an orchestral suite from Gershwin’s folk opera, “Porgy and Bess,” which features some of its best-known songs, including “Summertime,” “Bess, You is My Woman Now” and “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’.”
Kalmar and the orchestra begin the evening with Gruber’s two-movement homage to New York, “Manhattan Broadcasts.” Written in 1962-64, “Manhattan Broadcasts” demonstrates Gruber’s fondness for the nostalgic music of the swing era, and features jazz instruments, including a drum kit, in addition to the traditional orchestra.
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: Music Director Carlos Kalmar and KBPS host Shaun Yu 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: Music Director Carlos Kalmar will speak briefly from the podium in “Saturday Interactive.” Media support for “Saturday Interactive” is provided by KINK fm102.
Performances are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, with an added performance on Friday, Feb. 17 at Willamette University’s Smith Auditorium in Salem. Tickets range in price from $20 to $85 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Customer Service 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 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Discounted tickets for groups of eight or more are available through the Group Sales hotline at (503) 416-6380. 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.
Russian pianist Kirill Gerstein is quickly proving to be one of today’s most promising and intriguing young artists. Already recognized for his deeply musical interpretations and masterful technique, he was the First Prize winner at the 2001 Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv and was chosen to receive a 2002 Gilmore Young Artist Award, an honor given to young pianists who have demonstrated significant potential to develop outstanding performing careers as concert artists.
Gerstein was born in 1979 in Voronezh, Russia where he attended one of the country’s special music schools for gifted children. He won his first competition—the International Bach Competition in Gorzuw, Poland—at the age of 11 and over the next several years attended jazz workshops after having taught himself to play jazz by listening to his parents’ extensive record collection. It was while participating at a jazz festival in Poland that a faculty member of the Berklee College of Music in Boston noticed his precocious affinity for playing jazz piano. In 1993, following a subsequent meeting in St. Petersburg with the vibraphonist Gary Burton, the Executive Vice President of Berklee, Gerstein attended the college’s summer program and the following fall was invited to attend the college on a full scholarship. He accepted the offer and in May 1994 moved to Boston with his mother (his father was eventually allowed to join them) and at the age of 14 became the youngest college student in the school’s history.
During his years at Berklee, he continued to practice the classical piano repertoire and also attended the Boston University summer program at Tanglewood in 1995 and 1996. It was following his second summer at Tanglewood that he decided that classical music would be his main focus. He moved to New York City to attend the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Solomon Mikowsky and earned both his bachelor’s and master’s of music degrees by the age of 20. Gerstein continued his studies in Madrid with the famed piano pedagogue Dmitri Bashkirov, with whom he still coaches on a regular basis.
Gerstein made his major orchestral debut in September 2000 with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and David Zinman and was immediately re-engaged for the following season. Additional European orchestral appearances include performances with the National Orchestra of Spain, Israel Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and the Deutsche Symphony Orchestra Berlin. He has appeared in recital in Paris, Hamburg, Bonn, Zurich, Prague, Warsaw and throughout Spain, while his summer festival appearances include the Ruhr Piano Festival, Gstaad, the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, the London Proms, Lucerne and Verbier.
In the North America, Gerstein has appeared at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony and Christoph Eschenbach as well as on Ravinia’s Rising Star series; at the 2002 and 2004 Gilmore Keyboard Festivals; with the Houston and Quebec symphonies and the Florida Orchestra; and in recital in Boston, Vancouver, Kansas City, Portland, Ore. and at the Kennedy Center. Highlights of his recent and upcoming engagements include debuts with the San Francisco, Detroit, Baltimore, Oregon and Utah symphonies; a chamber music project with Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall; and a tour of Germany with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra led by Charles Dutoit.
Gerstein has also been chosen by Carnegie Hall to participate in the Rising Star project of the European Concert Hall Organization (ECHO) and during the 2005-2006 season will perform recitals in the major concert halls of Vienna, Amsterdam, Paris, Cologne, Athens, Stockholm, and Birmingham, UK as well as at Carnegie Hall, which is the only non-European member of ECHO.
Gerstein’s debut recording was a recital disc featuring the works of Bach, Beethoven, Scriabin and George Gershwin arrangements by Earl Wild for the Oehms Classic label. He became an American citizen in September 2003.
