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World Renowned Artists Join The Phoenix Symphony for Classics in May
Distinguished Conductor and Violinist Make Their Phoenix Symphony Debuts
(PHOENIX) - The Phoenix Symphony performs two weekends of Classics Concerts in May featuring two acclaimed guest artists. Renowned conductor Günther Herbig brings his decades of international conducting experience to the podium May 1-2 to conduct Schubert's "Great" C-major Symphony while violinist Karen Gomyo performs Khachaturian's fiery Violin Concerto on May 15-17. These concerts will both be performed at Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix.
Guest conductor Günther Herbig opens May Classics at The Phoenix Symphony with concerts May 1-2. Maestro Herbig, former music director of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit and Toronto Symphonies, enjoys a distinguished career spanning North America and Europe with a recording catalogue including more than 100 works. Franz Schubert's "Great" C-major Symphony was not premiered until ten years after the composer's death, but it made quite an impression on Robert Schumann, who called it the greatest instrumental work composed since Beethoven's mighty symphonies. The powerful symphony has since come to be seen as Schubert's masterpiece, and serves as the centerpiece of the weekend's concerts. The overture to Mozart's Don Giovanni opens the program, which also includes Bohuslav Martinu's colorful Symphony No. 6. Thursday evening's concert begins at 7:30 p.m., and Friday's performance begins at 8 p.m.
Internationally acclaimed violinist Karen Gomyo makes her debut with The Phoenix Symphony later in May as she performs Khachaturian's stunning Violin Concerto May 15-17. After winning the 1997 Young Concert Artists International Auditions just a week after her fifteenth birthday, Ms. Gomyo has toured the globe giving recitals at some of the world's most prestigious venues - including the Kennedy Center and the Louvre in Paris - and soloing with the nation's leading orchestras, including Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia. Music Director Michael Christie leads the concerts which feature Brahms' beloved Third Symphony as part of The Phoenix Symphony's Composer Spotlight initiative, as well as a suite of dramatic music Shostakovich wrote for the film Hamlet. Thursday's concert begins at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday evening's performance begins at 8 p.m. Friday morning's Coffee Concert begins at 11 a.m. and includes one hour of music selected from the evening's program.
Tickets to hear Günther Herbig conducting Schubert's "Great" C-major Symphony and violinist Karen Gomyo performing Khachaturian's Violin Concerto with The Phoenix Symphony range from $19-$68 and can be purchased by calling the Phoenix Symphony Box Office at 602.495.1999 or online at www.phoenixsymphony.org.
The concerts are part of The Phoenix Symphony's 2007-08 Classics Season which concludes with "Ainadamar," the Grammy-winning opera by Osvaldo Golijov featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw on May 23 and 24.
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About conductor Günther Herbig: In 1977, Günther Herbig became the General Music Director of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, a post he held until 1983 when he resigned and moved to America. Because of the political situation in East Germany, Mr. Herbig's first opportunity in the West came quite late - in 1979 - when he became the Principal Guest Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He later served as Music Director of the Detroit and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, and has appeared with all the great American orchestras, including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco, and in Europe with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Herbig studied with Hermann Scherchen and Herbert von Karajan, and has recorded more than 100 works.
About violinist Karen Gomyo: Canadian violinist Karen Gomyo won the 1997 Young Concert Artists International Auditions just one week after her fifteenth birthday. The following year she became the youngest artist ever to be presented in the Young Concert Artists Series in New York, in a critically acclaimed debut as recipient of the Summis Auspiciis Prize. Ms. Gomyo has appeared with the major symphony orchestras in the United States, including Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco and across the world with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the symphony orchestras of the City of Birmingham and Tokyo. As a recitalist, she has performed at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Kennedy Center, the Louvre in Paris and on the Ravinia Rising Stars Series in Chicago. Invited to study on full scholarship at The Juilliard School at age ten, Ms. Gomyo continued her studies at the University of Indiana at Bloomington, working with fellow YCA alumnus Mauricio Fuks, and will now begin study with Donald Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory of Music.
About Music Director Michael Christie: Michael Christie begins his third season as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director of The Phoenix Symphony with the 2007-08 season. He also serves as Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival and of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He has appeared with orchestras across the United States, Europe, and Canada, as well as with the Finnish National Opera, Queensland Opera, and Zürich Opera. In 1995, Mr. Christie was awarded a special prize at the First International Sibelius Conductor's Competition. Following the competition, he became an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony. Michael Christie graduated from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music with a bachelor's degree in trumpet performance. His conducting teachers have included Daniel Barenboim, Robert Spano, Eiji Oue, and Peter Jaffe.
About The Phoenix Symphony: Celebrating its 60th Anniversary Season, The Phoenix Symphony has been proudly serving the citizens of the Phoenix metropolitan area and Arizona since 1947. What began as an occasional group of musicians performing a handful of concerts each year (in a city of fewer than 100,000 people) today serves more than 300,000 people annually, with 275 concerts and presentations throughout the greater Phoenix area and beyond.
Under the artistic leadership of Michael Christie as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director and administrative leadership of President Maryellen H. Gleason, the orchestra is overseen by the non-profit Phoenix Symphony Association under Board Chairman Ed Wolf.
The 76-member Phoenix Symphony presents an annual season from September through the beginning of June, featuring full-length Classical and Pops concerts at Symphony Hall in downtown Phoenix, along with a variety of symphonic and community performances in Mesa, Prescott, Scottsdale, and throughout central Arizona. The Symphony performs for more than 50,000 students and children, helping to introduce music to new generations through a variety of education and youth-engagement programs.
SCHUBERT "GREAT" C-MAJOR SYMPHONY Symphony Classics Concert No. 14
May 1 - Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. May 2 - Friday evening at 8:00 p.m. Symphony Hall
THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY Günther Herbig, conductor
MOZART Overture to Don Giovanni MARTINU Symphony No. 6 SCHUBERT Symphony in C major ("The Great")
Filled with gorgeous melodies and stunning harmonies, Schubert's "Great" C-Major has been beloved by audiences since its premiere in 1838 - performed a full ten years after the composer's death. Upon hearing the premiere, composer Robert Schumann declared the piece the greatest instrumental work composed since the mighty symphonies of Beethoven. Hear this stunning masterpiece performed live by The Phoenix Symphony, paired with Mozart's dramatic Overture to Don Giovanni and Martinu's imaginative Symphony No. 6.
TICKETS: $19, $29, $39, $48, $58, $68
BRAHMS THIRD SYMPHONY Symphony Classics Concert No. 15 Friday Morning Coffee Classics No. 8
May 15 - Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. May 16 - Friday morning at 11:00 a.m.* May 17 - Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. Symphony Hall
THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY Michael Christie, conductor Karen Gomyo, violin
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 KHACHATURIAN Violin Concerto SHOSTAKOVICH Hamlet (Suite from the film)
Enchanting audiences with her phenomenal tone and technique, violinist Karen Gomyo makes her Phoenix Symphony debut performing Khachaturian's dramatic Violin Concerto. Gomyo's performance is paired with Spotlight Composer Johannes Brahms' adventurous Symphony No. 3, a masterwork showing a composer at the zenith of his powers. Friday's coffee concert is one hour of music selected from the evening's program.
TICKETS: $19, $29, $39, $48, $58, $68 FRIDAY COFFEE CONCERT: $22, $28, $34
--------------------------------------------------------- The Phoenix Symphony's 2007-08 Media Sponsors are The Arizona Republic and KAET.
