Conductor Thierry Fischer makes his
Boston Symphony Orchestra debut
Mr. Fischer conducts Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1
and Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 on October 16, 17, 18 & 21
NEW YORK, NY (September 18, 2014) — Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer makes his Boston Symphony Orchestra debut, leading the Orchestra in a program that pairs Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4, The Inextinguishable. Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, a noted interpreter of the Austro-German canon, is the featured soloist in the Brahms concerto. Performances take place at Symphony Hall on October 16, 17, 18, and 21 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets, priced from $30 to $135, are available for purchase through www.bso.org or by calling (888) 266-1200.
Mr. Fischer says of the program, “Carl Nielsen titled his Fourth Symphony The Inextinguishable after he wrote, ‘Music is life, and like it inextinguishable,’ meaning that the feelings and emotions that music evoke in us continue long after the final note is heard. I think the audience will find the playful energy and bold spirit of Nielsen’s symphony to be as surprising as it is moving.”
He continued, “The Fourth Symphony was composed during the First World War and sounds of war are echoed in the music, particularly in a battle between the timpani. It is fitting that, in this year marking the centenary of World War I, we can hear what was heard then, reflect on history, and—as Nielsen would have appreciated— how music transcends time.”
“I am thrilled to make my Boston Symphony Orchestra debut conducting music by a composer I have long admired and championed,” says Mr. Fischer. “The BSO is an orchestra steeped in excellence, tradition, and history, and I am honored to stand on the podium where so many great conductors have stood before.”
Thierry Fischer has been the Music Director of the Utah Symphony since 2009. Since then, the Utah Symphony has been on a steady upward trajectory, attracting younger audiences with fresh repertoire (Mr. Fischer commissions a new work every year) and 30 new musicians, many of them principals. Each season, he has programmed full symphony cycles, including Beethoven’s nine symphonies in the 2011-12 season, Mendelssohn’s five symphonies in the 2012-13 season, and Carl Nielsen’s six symphonies in the 2013-14 season. He has also programmed a multi-season exploration of works by Stravinsky. In the summer of 2014, Mr. Fischer led the Utah Symphony on a tour of Utah’s Mighty 5®, performing free outdoor concerts in Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion National Parks.
This season, Mr. Fischer begins a two-season Mahler symphony cycle, performing the first four symphonies in the 2014-15 season and the last five in the 2015-16 season. Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, Titan, launched the Utah Symphony’s season, as well as the cycle celebration. The performances were recorded live and will be released on Reference Recordings as part of the Utah Symphony’s 75th anniversary celebrations. This marks Mr. Fischer’s first recording with the Symphony, as well as the Symphony’s first recording in Abravanel Hall.
The cycle continues on November 14 and 15 with performances of Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, featuring soprano Celena Shafer (Utah Symphony’s 2014-15 Artist-in-Residence) and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, as well as the Utah Symphony Chorus. On February 6 and 7, Mr. Fischer conducts Symphony No. 3 with mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, and on May 22 and 23, he conducts Symphony No. 4, once again featuring Ms. Shafer.
The Utah Symphony’s two-year Mahler cycle commemorates the legacy of former Music Director Maurice Abravanel, who was known for conducting the works of Mahler throughout his tenure. Mr. Abravanel, who led the Utah Symphony from 1947 to 1979, brought the Utah Symphony to national prominence with his recordings of the complete symphonies of Mahler, and produced the first commercially available recordings of Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8. His recording of Symphony No. 1 was released in 1974 on the Vanguard label.
Thierry Fischer recently extended his contract as Music Director of the Utah Symphony through the 2018-19 season. He has attracted leading young musicians to join the orchestra and top soloists to come to Utah, has refreshed the programming, drawn consistently full houses, and galvanized community support. Mr. Fischer began his performing career as Principal Flute at the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Zurich Opera. His conducting career began in his 30s when he replaced an ailing colleague, subsequently directing his first few concerts with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, where he had been Principal Flute under Claudio Abbado. He was Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales from 2006 to 2012 and returned with them to the BBC Proms in 2014. As guest conductor, he has led the Philharmonia, Czech Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra Chicago, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Sinfonietta, Scottish Chamber, and Swedish Chamber. This season, his guest conducting engagemtns include Oslo Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest (The Hague), BBC Symphony, Salzburg Mozarteumorchester, Madrid RTVE, Aspen Music Festival, Detroit Symphony, Atlanta Symphony.
THIERRY FISCHER CONDUCTS THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.
Friday, October 17, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 18, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Thierry Fischer, conductor
Rudolf Buchbinder, piano
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 1
NIELSEN: Symphony No. 4, The Inextinguishable
Tickets, priced from $30 to $135, are available for purchase through www.bso.org or by calling (888) 266-1200.
