Laura D. Soldati, 410.783.8024
[email protected]
Alyssa Porambo, 410.783.8044
[email protected]
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to Perform
Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor” with Acclaimed Pianist Yefim Bronfman
Program also includes BSO premiere of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 12
Baltimore, Md. (April 16, 2014) – World-renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman will join Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) on Friday, May 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 4 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and on Saturday, May 3 at 8 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore. Bronfman, who has toured with the piece as part of his repertoire, will perform Beethoven’s imaginative Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor.” The evening also includes the BSO premiere of Shostakovich’s rarely performed Symphony No. 12. Please see below for complete details.
Beethoven composed his Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor” during Napoleon’s invasion of Vienna. The Fifth Concerto is the last of Beethoven’s piano concertos, though evidence of a Sixth Concerto has been discovered.
Shostakovich composed his Symphony No. 12 for the 22nd Communist Party Congress, during which a celebration of Lenin’s Revolution of 1917 was to be held. Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 12 marked a low point, and the piece greatly contrasted his earlier satirical and anti-communist symphonies. This piece has never been performed on the BSO stage.
Yefim Bronfman, pianist
Grammy Award-winning pianist Yefim (“Fima”) Bronfman has wowed critics and audiences worldwide with his solo recitals, prestigious orchestral engagements, and expanding catalogue of recordings, being especially admired for his performances of modern Russian repertory.
Widely praised for his solo, chamber and orchestral recordings, he was nominated for a GRAMMY® Award in 2009 for his Deutsche Grammophon recording of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s piano concerto with Salonen conducting and with whom he won a GRAMMY® Award in 1997 for his recording of the three Bartók Piano Concerti and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His performance of Beethoven’s fifth piano concerto with Andris Nelsons and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from the 2011 Lucerne Festival is now available on DVD and his performance of Rachmaninoff’s third concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle was released on DVD by the EuroArts label. His most recent CD releases are Magnus Lindberg’s Piano Concerto No. 2 commissioned for him and performed by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert on the Da Capo label, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 with Mariss Jansons and the Bayerischer Rundfunk, a recital disc, ‘Perspectives’, complementing Mr. Bronfman’s designation as a Carnegie Hall ‘Perspectives’ artist for the 2007-08 season, and recordings of all the Beethoven piano concerti as well as the Triple Concerto together with violinist Gil Shaham, cellist Truls Mørk, and the Tönhalle Orchestra Zürich under David Zinman for the Arte Nova/BMG label.
Born in Tashkent in the Soviet Union on 10 April 1958, Yefim Bronfman immigrated to Israel with his family in 1973, where he studied with pianist Arie Vardi, head of the Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. In the United States, he studied at The Juilliard School, Marlboro and the Curtis Institute, and with Rudolf Firkusny, Leon Fleisher and Rudolf Serkin. He became an American citizen in July 1989.
COMPLETE PROGRAM DETAILS
Yefim Bronfman
Friday, May 2 at 8 p.m. – Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (JMSH)
Saturday, May 3 at 8 p.m. – The Music Center at Strathmore
Sunday, May 4 at 3 p.m. – JMSH
Marin Alsop, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 12
Tickets range from $29 to $94 and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.
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