ymphony Opens Season with Blockbuster Piano Concerto

Sym mphony Opens O Se eason with w Blockbuster
Piano Concerto
Hamp pton Roads, , VA… The Virginia
Symp phony openss
its 2011‐20012
season wwith
a piano
cconcerto
som me consider the most difficult
in the e repertoire. Internationnal
pianist Phhilippe
Biancconi
wwill
present three t perfor rmances with
the orches stra of Rachmaninoff’s
PPiano
Conceerto
No. 3 ( tthe
infamous
“Ra ach Three”) Friday, Sept tember 16, 8pm, 8 Fergusson
Center, Newport Neews;
Saturday,
SSeptember
17, 1 8pm, Chr rysler Hall, Norfolk; N and d Sunday, Seeptember
188,
2:30pm, SSandler
Centter,
VVirginia
Beac ch. The even ning’s repert toire is rounded
out by tthe
Intermezzo
from Nootre
Dame byy
Franz
SSchmidt
and d Symphony No N 3 by Joha annes Brahm ms, providingg
an ample pperspective
on the vocabulary
oof
Romantici ism.
“Phili ippe Biancon ni has a luminous
international
repuutation,”
notted
VSO Music
Director JoAnn
FFalletta.
“He will give exh hilarating pe erformances s of this conccerto.
Rachmmaninoff’s
mmusic
has a ddark
bbeauty
that perfectly p ref flects the las st decade of the Czars inn
Russia,” addded
Fallettaa,
“with meloodies
oonly
Rachma aninoff could d have writte en. He had enormous e haands
and noot
every piannist
will play this
wwork.
This will w be a real treat t for our r audiences. ”
One hour h prior to o each Classics
performa ance at all veenues
(7pm or 1:30pm), , maestro Faalletta
ttakes
to the stage to eng gage with co oncert goers about the mmusic
they are
about to hear. Knownn
as
BBehind
the Notes, N her 30 0 minute cha ats put the music m in histtorical
and cultural
context,
and shee
gives
insights
into what to liste en for in the e music. Behind
the Notees
is free to ticket holdeers
at all venues.
DDonna
Hudgin ns, Director of
Public Relat tions
NNorfolk,
VA 23 3502
Phil lippe Bianconi
Performs the “Mountt
Everest” of f Concertos
“Rach Th hree” Blazes with Pianisttic
Pyrotechnnics
‐more‐
FOR IMMMEDIATE
RELEASEE
Date: AAugust
31, 22011
Contactt:
Donna Huudgins
Phone: 757-213-14428
Cell: 7577-650-29755
tel: 7557-213-1428
• fax: 757-4666-3046
www.virginiasymphoony.org

Season Opener Rach 3 Page 2 of 2
This year’s Classics season is one spotlighting piano keys and strings. World renowned
pianists, in addition to Philippe Bianconi, include Fabio Bidini, Natasha Paremski and William
Wolfram showcasing works by Liszt, Grieg and Tchaikovsky; Gil Shaham caressing the strings of his
violin performing Barber’s Violin Concerto; and guitarists Michael Newman and Laura Oltman
ramping up the concert hall with the Latin rhythms of Bizet, Binelli and Del Aguila.
Additional Concerts Announced
More sparkle has been added to the Symphony season with the announcement of a casual Coffee
and Classics morning series at the Ferguson Center’s intimate Music and Theatre Hall sponsored by
Christopher Newport University. The series includes two morning concerts and a third concert of
your choice at the Ferguson Center Concert Hall. The Coffee Concert series begins December 9 at
11am with a Holiday Brass performance conducted by VSO Conducting Associate Akiko Fujimoto.
Concertgoers are invited to come early for coffee and pastries. To purchase subscriptions to the
Coffee series, call the VSO Box Office 757‐892‐6366 or visit www.virginiasymphony.org
The VSO also announced that a second performance of Messiah will be done December 7,
8pm at Phi Beta Kappa Hall. The added concert is to accommodate single ticket buyers since the
December 8 performance of Messiah is part of the PBK subscription series and subscriptions are
nearly sold out. Single tickets to the new Messiah performance are available from the Virginia
Symphony. Call the VSO Box Office 757‐892‐6366 or visit www.virginiasymphony.org
Tickets begin at $20. Contact Box Office for information.
The 92 year old Virginia Symphony Orchestra has a complement of over seventy‐five professional musicians and
90 Chorus singers and is Virginia’s pre‐eminent professional symphony orchestra. It is ranked in the top 10 percent of
professional orchestras nationwide and performs Classics, Pops and Family concerts in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport
News, Williamsburg, North Carolina and the Eastern Shore reaching more than 200,000 concert goers every year.
Dedicated to engaging children, students and adults with the power of classical music, Symphony education and
community programs reach more than 63,000 children, students and lifelong learning adults each year. Under the
leadership of Grammy‐winning Music Director JoAnn Falletta, the Symphony has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy
Center and has a discography of thirteen national recordings. The cornerstone of the Performing Arts in Southeastern
Virginia, the VSO provides orchestral support for Virginia Opera, Virginia Arts Festival, the Ballet and Todd Rosenlieb
Dance.
Donna Hudgins, Director of Public Relations tel: 757-213-1428 • fax: 757-466-3060
Norfolk, VA 23502 www.virginiasymphony.org
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