Palm Springs Friends of Philharmonic 2009-10 Series

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra   Wednesday   11-25-09   8pm -   Long Yu, conductor/Yuja Wang, piano soloist - Mussorgsky, Khovantchina: Intro; "Dawn on the Moscow River", Rachmaninoff,  Piano Concerto No. 2, Chen Qigang, Iris devoilee                                                                                                     Pacific Symphony   Wednesday   1-6-2010   8pm -   Carl St. Clair, conductor Tchaikovsky, Suite from Swan Lake; Love Duet Romeo & Juliet; Symphony No. 6 (Pathetique)

Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig  Thur. 2-18-10  8pm

  Riccardo Chailly, conductor/Nikolai Znaider, violin soloist

Beethoven, Lenore Overture No. 3, Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto op. 64; Brahms, Symphony No. 2

The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is the oldest civic concert orchestra in the world.  The orchestra had its origins in the concert society called the "Grand Concert" founded by 16 merchants in 1743.  Following its move into the meeting house of the cloth merchants (the "Gewandhaus") in 1781, the ensemble was named the "Gewandhaus Orchestra."  In 1884, the orchestra moved into a new concert hall that had been built through the sale of endowment shares, which was destroyed during the air raids of 1944.  In 1981, a new Gewandhaus was opened in Augustusplatz.

Few other orchestras have contributed as much to the development of the symphonic music tradition as the Gewandhaus Orchestra.  For example, it performed all of Beethoven's symphonies during the composer's lifetime.  The orchestra also presented the world's first complete Bruckner cycle as well as the first Shostakovich cycle during the 1970's.

Felix Mendelssohn, Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwangler and Bruno Walter number among the most distinguished Gewandhaus Music Directors.  Herbert Blomstedt, who succeeded Kurt Masur in 1998, was the orchestra's 18th Gewandhauskapellmeister (Music Director).  Since September 2005, Riccardo Chailly has held the post of 19th Gewandhauskapellmeister.

Riccardo Chailly devotes himself to both concert and operatic repertoire.  The native of Milan has conducted the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared at the most important opera houses throughout the world: Milan's La Scala (where he made his debut in 1978), the Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, London's Royal Operal House, Covent Garden, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and the Zurich Opera.  He opened the Salzburg Festival in 1984 and appeared as guest conductor at Salzburg's Easter Festival and at the Lucerne Festival. 

Riccardo Chailly was Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1983-86 and Chief Conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1982-1989.  From 1986-1993 he was Music Director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, where he conducted numerous opera productions with resounding success.  

Riccardo chailly has an exclusive contract with Decca and has recorded an extensive repertoire of symphonic works and operas, over 100 CDs all told.  He has received many awards for his recordings, including several Edison Prizes and Gramophone Awards, as well as the Diapason d"Or, the Charles Cross Academy Award, Japan's Unga Konotomo Award, the Toblach Komponierhauschen (Composition Cottage) Award, and numerous Grammy nominations.  The magazines Diapason and Gramophone recently named him "Artist of the Year." 

Nikolaj Znaider is not only celebrated as one of the foremost violinists of today, but is fast becoming one of the most versatile artists of his generation, uniting his talents as soloist, conductor and chamber musician. 

As a soloist, Znaider is regularly invited to work with the world's leading orchestras and conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Valery Gergiev, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, Mariss Jansons, Charles Dutoit, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Ivan Fischer and Gustavo Dudamel.  In the 2008-09 season, the London Symphony Orchestra presented an Artist Portrait of Znaider and in the 20011-12 season he will present a Carte Blanche at the Musikverein in Vienna. 

Nikolaj Znaider plays the "Kreisler" Guarnerius "del Gesu" 1741 on extended loan to him by The Royal Danish Theater through the generosity of the VELUX Foundations and the Knud Hojgaard Foundation.

Moscow State Radio Symphony   Monday   3-15-10   8pm

  Alexei Korniendo, conductor/Alexander Sinchuk, piano soloist

Rimsky-Korsakov, Tsar's Bride Overture, Rachmaninov, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade Symphonic Suite

Los Angeles Philharmonic   Sunday 3-21-10   5pm 

  Robin Ticciati, conductor/ Lars Vogt, piano soloist

Sibelius, King Christian Suite, Grieg, Piano Concerto, Lindberg, Chorale, Elgar, Enigma Variations

St. Louis Symphony   Thursday 4-15-10   8pm

  David Robertson, conductor/Gil Shaham, violin soloist

Rouse, Rapture, Prokofiev, Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Sibelius, Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 105, Adams, Dr. Atomic Symphony

*Programs subject to change without notice.