August 26, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Guest conductor Yakov Kreizberg returns for a third consecutive year to lead the Oregon Symphony in two monumental orchestral works, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra” on Oct. 1, 2 and 3 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Media support is provided by The Oregonian. Lufthansa is the exclusive airline sponsor for the Symphony’s Classical series.
Kreizberg, a conductor of rising international stature, is Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Netherlands Philharmonic and Netherlands Chamber Orchestras and Principal Guest Conductor to the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. With this concert he conducts the opening of the Classical “B” series and leads the orchestra in two significant pieces of the orchestral repertoire. “Kreizberg is in great demand around the world, and we feel very privileged to have him here for a third year,” says Artistic Administrator Charles Calmer.
Kreizberg and the orchestra open the concert with Bartók’s transcendent “Concerto for Orchestra,” commissioned in 1943 by Koussevitzky when the composer was gravely ill with leukemia. Its five movements showcase the different families of the orchestra as soloists. The music parallels Bartók’s state of mind regarding his illness as it progresses through various stages of grief, anger, denial and despair and concludes with a tremendous life-affirming finale. “Even people that are a little frightened of Bartók really love this piece,” says Calmer. “It has a very liquid sound, with absolutely brilliant writing for the orchestra.”
After intermission Kreizberg and the orchestra present Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major, written in 1811-12 when Beethoven had become almost totally deaf. Within the energetic joy of its four movements Beethoven explores the rhythms and essence of dance forms, infusing each movement with his vibrant passion. The famous second movement was encored at its premiere and has become an audience favorite. The irrepressible energy of this symphony can be heard as Beethoven’s defiant assertion of his will and musical ability against his encroaching deafness.
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: Historian Robert Kingston and KBPS host Pat McElroy 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 KINKfm102.
Performances are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets range in price from $20 to $85 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.
The Russian-born American conductor Yakov Kreizberg currently holds the posts of Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Netherlands Philharmonic and Netherlands Chamber Orchestras and Principal Guest Conductor to the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. He relinquished the post of Generalmusikdirector of the Komische Oper Berlin at the end of the 2000/01 season, and from 1995 to 2000 was Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Both positions attracted much international critical acclaim.
Yakov Kreizberg’s career has taken on international breadth with a wide range of engagements as guest conductor with orchestras in Europe and elsewhere, including the Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, WDR Köln, NDR Hamburg, Bamberger Symphoniker, Staatskapelle Dresden and London Symphony Orchestras, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Czech Philharmonic, Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Russian National Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Bayerische Rundfunk, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Swedish Radio Symphony, Gothenburg Symphony, Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, NHK Symphony and he has been a regular guest at the BBC Proms. During this season Mr. Kreizberg will tour Germany with Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and conduct the Vienna Symphony Orchestra on an extensive tour of Japan.
Yakov Kreizberg’s list of North American engagements is impressive and guest conducting engagements include Philadelphia Orchestra (with whom he toured the Americas in 2003), Pittsburgh, Dallas, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, the Minnesota Orchestra, Chicago, San Francisco, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston, St Louis, Boston, Washington National, Toronto and Montreal Symphony Orchestras.
As well as having recorded for Decca and Oehms Classics, Yakov Kreizberg’s collaboration with Pentatone Classics and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra has been extremely successful. Their fourth release, “Tour de France,” featuring the music of Ravel, Debussy and Fauré was released in June 2005. Additionally with Pentatone Classics, Mr. Kreizberg has recorded an award winning disc with debutant Julia Fischer and the Russian National Orchestra, while his first recording with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Bruckner’s Symphony no. 7, will be released in July 2005.
Mr. Kreizberg established a fine reputation at the Komische Oper in a wide variety of repertoire including Berthold Goldschmidt’s “Der gewaltige Hahnrei,” Verdi’s “La Traviata,” Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades,” Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “König Hirsch” by Hans Werner Henze.
Elsewhere, Yakov Kreizberg has conducted for Canadian Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and English National Opera. His outstanding debut at Glyndebourne Festival Opera when he conducted “Jenufa” received great critical acclaim – “one of the most sensational debuts here in living memory” said The Sunday Times – and led to a re-invitation for the 1995 Glyndebourne Festival to conduct Don Giovanni and a return in Summer 1998 to conduct “Katya Kabanová.” Last season Mr. Kreizberg conducted “Iolanthe” with Netherlands Opera, Weill’s “Der Protagonist” and “ Royal Palace” with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra as part of the Bregenz Festival and in 2006 will conduct a production of “Macbeth” at the Royal Opera House.
Born in St Petersburg, Yakov Kreizberg started taking piano lessons at the age of five. He studied conducting privately with Ilya A. Musin, (the renowned Professor of Conducting from the St. Petersburg Conservatory) before emigrating to the United States in 1976. There he was awarded conducting fellowships at Tanglewood with Bernstein, Ozawa and Leinsdorf, and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute. Rapidly establishing a strong reputation in the United States, Mr. Kreizberg won the Eugene Ormandy prize from the University of Michigan and in 1986 was awarded first prize in the Leopold Stokowski Conducting Competition in New York. From 1985 to 1988 he was Music Director of Mannes College Orchestra in New York, and from 1988 to 1994 held a highly successful tenure as General Music Director of Krefeld/Mönchengladbach Opera House and the Niederrheinische Sinfoniker.
