In its final Carnegie concert of the season on Saturday, April 11, Orpheus performs the New York premiere of a newly commissioned work for chamber orchestra by Fazıl Say, who also plays Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major with Orpheus in the same program. Making a rare U.S. appearance in his Orpheus debut this season, Mr. Say has an active international career as a composer and pianist with frequent engagements in Europe. A graduate of the Berlin Conservatory of Music, Mr. Say was awarded first prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York in 1995. At this concert, the chamber orchestra also performs two other Orpheus favorites and signature works from its Deutsche Grammophon recording catalog—Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and Haydn’s Symphony No. 80 in D Minor. The world premiere performance of Mr. Say’s work takes place at Lafayette College on April 8. Mr. Thiagarajan says, “The Mozart piano concerto is well-suited for Fazıl Say because he is very much like a young Mozart, or an excellent pianist-composer who is outspoken and energetic. Fazıl likes to try things out, mix genres in his compositional style, and use cultural influences from the Middle East, specifically Turkey, in ways similar to Bartók with Hungarian references or Kodály with Czech ones. We haven’t seen the Turkish influence in classical music publically at this high level of art form until now. In our changing, globalizing world, he is a very important musician and composer to bring to a New York stage, and the perfect collaborator with Orpheus. Following this Carnegie concert is Orpheus’ major international tour this season in Europe. Orpheus tours to Germany, Austria, and Hungary from April 16 to 24, performing with Mr. Say in Cologne, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Berlin, St. Pölten, and Innsbruck. Orpheus also performs a concert in Budapest, replacing the Mozart concerto with Bartók’s Divertimento. Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 09:21:56 +0000