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Superstar Lang Lang Performs with The Phoenix Symphony
Concert Features US Premiere of Work by Chinese Composer Zhenmin Xu and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5
PHOENIX - Proclaimed by the New York Times as the "hottest artist on the classical music planet," pianist Lang Lang performs Chopin's flowing Piano Concerto No. 1 with The Phoenix Symphony October 26. Led by the Virginia G. Piper Music Director Michael Christie, this concert features both the US premiere of Zhenmin Xu's impressionistic tone poem, Mooring at Night by Maple Bridge, and a performance of one of the most titanic and beloved works in the orchestral repertoire, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The matinee concert begins at 2 p.m. at Symphony Hall.
Lang Lang has played sold out recitals and concerts in every major city in the world and is the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and all the top American orchestras. Most recently he performed during the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Performing publicly since age 5, he broke into stardom at age 17 when he was called upon for a dramatic last-minute substitution at the "Gala of the Century" where he played the Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Chicago Symphony. In addition to his performing schedule, he serves as an International Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and on the Weill Music Institute Advisory Committee; he is also the youngest member of the Carnegie Hall Artistic Advisory Board. An acclaimed recording artist, Lang Lang's release, Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4 with Orchestre de Paris and conductor Christoph Eschenbach debuted at #1 on the Classical Billboard Chart, and 2008 featured a new recording with the Vienna Philharmonic of Chopin's 1st and 2nd Piano Concertos. The Phoenix Symphony will also perform the US premiere of Zhenmin Xu's Mooring at Night by Maple Bridge, a work which won the 1993 Competition of Chinese Works for Orchestra in a Single Movement and the 1994 National Music Competition for Symphonic Works in China. Since then, the work has been performed on nearly every continent and has secured a place in the repertoire of Chinese symphony orchestras.
Tickets to see Lang Lang perform with The Phoenix Symphony range from $22 to $72 and can be purchased by calling the Phoenix Symphony Box Office at 602-495-1999 or by visiting www.phoenixsymphony.org. Other highlights of The Phoenix Symphony's 2008-09 Season include "Handel's Messiah" (December 10-21), Valley-favorite Doc Severinsen in "El Ritmo de la Vida" (January 30-February 1) and "Mahler: Symphony No. 4" (April 9 and 11).
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About Music Director Michael Christie: Michael Christie begins his fourth season as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director of The Phoenix Symphony with the 2008-09 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: 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, as well as concerts in Scottsdale, Mesa, Prescott 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.
LANG LANG Special Event Concert
October 26 - Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Symphony Hall
THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY Michael Christie, conductor Lang Lang, piano
"The hottest artist on the classical music planet may well be the Chinese pianist Lang Lang" (New York Times). Hear this amazing superstar as he returns to Phoenix to perform Chopin's Stunning Piano Concerto No. 1. The program also includes Beethoven's monumental Symphony No. 5.
Tickets: $22, $32, $42, $52, $62, $72 PHOENIX SYMPHONY BOX OFFICE: 602-495-1999 or www.phoenixsymphony.org
--------------------------------------------------------- The Phoenix Symphony's 2007-08 Media Sponsors are The Arizona Republic and KAET.
Sha Na Na Rocks and Rolls with The Phoenix Symphony
"Rock N' Roll is here to stay" as favorite 50's group performs LIVE
PHOENIX - The Phoenix Symphony twists and jives with the 50's nostalgia group Sha Na Na October 24 and 25. Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan leads these fun-filled concerts, featuring the favorite tunes from the 1950s that made Sha Na Na a hit sensation. From "Rockin' Robin" to "Goodnight Sweetheart", Sha Na Na joins the full Phoenix Symphony to perform all their swinging hits as part of the Symphony's "Pops" Season.
Sha Na Na has become an icon of rock 'n' roll, performing in some of the most memorable pop culture events and films of decades past. Today the group has released more than 25 albums generating worldwide sales of over $20 million. The group appeared in the 1979 musical "Grease: The Movie", as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers, and contributed to the original music score with six Sha Na Na versions of rock classics and one original song, "Sandy," co-written by Screamin' Scott Simon for John Travolta to sing. The accompanying "Grease" soundtrack album was Grammy-nominated and certified platinum eight times. The group also hosted the "Sha Na Na" TV series for four years, and still play more than fifty concerts annually. Through the generations of flower power, hard rock, metal music, disco, hip hop, rap and more, Sha Na Na remains true to the original concept: rock 'n' roll is here to stay!
Both Friday and Saturday night concerts begin at 8 p.m. at Symphony Hall, and as part of The Phoenix Symphony Pops season are sponsored by APS. Tickets to Sha Na Na range from $26 to $76 and can be purchased by calling the Phoenix Symphony Box Office at 602-495-1999 or by visiting www.phoenixsymphony.org.
Other highlights of The Phoenix Symphony's 2008-09 Pops Season include the popular "Christmas Pops" (December 5-7), the return of Valley-favorite "Doc Severinsen - El Ritmo de la Vida" (January 30-February 1) and "A Salute to Rodgers & Hammerstein" (May 15-17).
SHA NA NA Pops Concert No. 2
October 24 - Friday evening at 8:00 p.m. October 25 - Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. Symphony Hall
THE PHOENIX SYMPHONY Lawrence Golan, conductor
Rock Around the Clock and head Back to the Fifties as the famed group Sha Na Na joins The Phoenix Symphony and doo-waps their way back to the decade of poodle skirts and sock hops. You'll twist, jive and limbo as Sha Na Na performs all your favorites from the 1950s. It's sure to be a "Goodnight Sweetheart, A Goodnight!"
Tickets: $26, $36, $46, $56, $66, $76 PHOENIX SYMPHONY BOX OFFICE: 602-495-1999 or www.phoenixsymphony.org
About Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan: Lawrence Golan joined the conducting staff of The Phoenix Symphony as Resident Conductor at the start of the 2006-07 season. In this role, he leads concerts in each of the symphony's major series -- including Classics, Pops, and Family presentations. In conjunction with his role as Resident Conductor of The Phoenix Symphony, Mr. Golan leads the Phoenix Youth Symphony, helping to prepare these young musicians for future careers in music. He is also Music Director of Boulder Baroque and the Boulder Bach Festival in Colorado, and of the Portland Ballet Company in Maine. In addition, he continues his work as Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music, where he teaches graduate conducting and leads the Lamont Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre.
