Contact: Allison Griffin
Public Relations Associate
503-416-6347
September 22, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Comic strips. Vixens. Symbolist poetry. The Oregon Symphony will present “Unique Collaboration,” a program that intertwines both old and new. Under Music Director Carlos Kalmar, the Symphony will open the concert with Brahms Symphony No. 4, the composer’s last symphony, and one considered by many to be his best work.
“Gigantic, altogether a law unto itself; exudes unparalleled energy from first note to last,” was one of the initial responses to Brahms’ passionate composition. He paid tribute to Bach and Beethoven by combining their musical styles with his creativity. The gentle warmth of the first movement transitions into an exuberant display of harmony by the conclusion.
Featured soloist Jennifer Koh will perform Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Koh recently recorded the concerto with Kalmar at Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival, prompting him to invite her to perform in Portland. She’s been described as a “fearless soloist” by The New York Times, who has a formidable capacity for “living through” the music she performs on stage.
The concerto, inspired by a Symbolist poem, invites the audience into a world of fantasy. The one-movement work evokes an other-worldly theme with an air of mystery. “It’s all about atmosphere,” said Artistic Administrator Charles Calmer. “The music is very ethereal; it’s taking you on a journey but you’re not sure where you’re going to end up.”
The Symphony will also perform Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen. An opera based on a Czechoslovakian comic strip from the 1920s, the piece centers on the vixen Bystrouska and is set in the animal world. Janáček’s love of nature and his idea of “basic unity of all living creatures” led him to compose the opera, “This opera is all about atmosphere with nature sounds,” said Calmer. “Even without the dramatic human action onstage, the audience should be able to recognize what’s going on action-wise.”
Performances are scheduled for Saturday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Monday,
October 16 at 8 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets
are $20 to $88 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office,
located at 923 S.W. Washington. Ticket office hours are Monday through
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased anytime
online at www.orsymphony.org or charged by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800)
228-7343, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Discounted tickets for groups of eight or more are
available through the group sales hotline at (503) 416-6380.
Kuni Lexus is the official automotive sponsor of the 2006-07 Classical Series. Lufthansa is the exclusive airline of the Symphony’s 2006-07 Classical Series. Media support is provided by The Oregonian and KINK fm102.