UTAH SYMPHONY TO PRESENT BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH IN PARK CITY (Park City: Feb 9)

Media Contact:

Hilarie Ashton | Public Relations Manager

hashton@usuo.org | (801)869-9027

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

UTAH SYMPHONY TO PRESENT BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH IN PARK CITY

USUO President & CEO Melia Tourangeau will announce 2012 Deer Valley Music Festival lineup at concert

PARK CITY, UT— Music Director Thierry Fischer and the Utah Symphony will present the second performance of their first annual Park City Winter Series featuring Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No. 5 and Felix Mendelssohn’s wildly successful Violin Concerto.

Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma, winner of the prestigious ‘HRH Princess Alice’s Prize’ and the ‘Louise Child Prize,’ will join them, soloing on the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, Thursday, February 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Eccles Center (1750 Kearns Boulevard  Park City, UT). The program will also include “Fuga (Ricercata),” arranged by Anton von Webern and inspired by J.S. Bach’s Musical Offering.

Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, the “perfect concerto,” is known today as one of the most frequently performed violin concertos of all time and perhaps the most plagiarized concerto in the history of music. It has also become an essential concerto for aspiring violinists to master, and is typically one of the first Romantic era concertos they learn.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 has a prodigious reputation for its brilliance and influence in pop culture, as well as being a staple in the classical music repertoire. The powerful four-note opening motif has become the most recognized in music history and has been borrowed for everything from television and film to disco and rock. Groundbreaking at the time of its premiere in terms of its technical and emotional impact, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 has also inspired works by such composers as Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, and Berlioz.

Tickets for the evening performances range from $17 to $51 and can be purchased by calling (801) 355-ARTS (2787), in person at the Abravanel Hall ticket office or by visiting www.usuo.org. Students can purchase discounted tickets with a student ID. Season ticket holders and those desiring group discounts should call (801) 533-NOTE (6683). Ticket prices will increase $5 when purchased on the day of the performance.

Prior to the start of the performance, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera President & CEO Melia Tourangeau will announce the 2012 Deer Valley Music Festival Line-up. Season, group and VIP tickets to the festival will go on sale the following morning and can be purchased by calling (801) 355-ARTS or by visiting www.deervalleymusicfestival.org.

Press photos available by logging in at http://www.utahsymphony.org/about/press-and-reviews/itemlist/category/35-media-kit. (Username: usuoimages, Password: media).

About Simone Lamsma, Violin

Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma has been described by conductor Jaap van Zweden as one of the leading violinists in the world. She is rapidly establishing herself as a much sought after soloist and recitalist performing with leading orchestras and conductors worldwide. This season, engagement highlights will include debuts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Walton/Luisi), Orchestre National de France (Bernstein Serenade/van Zweden), Lucerne Symphony (Khachaturian/Gaffigan), Utah Symphony (Mendelssohn/Thierry Fischer), Hong Kong Philharmonic (Britten/van Zweden), Copenhagen Philharmonic (Bernstein Serenade/Mandeal), and São Paolo Symphony (Shostakovich 1/Tortelier). Return engagements include performing twice with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic (Gubaidulina 2/de Leeuw and Korngold/Gaffigan), Dallas Symphony (Mendelssohn/van Zweden), Bournemouth Symphony (Beethoven/Karabits) and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (Bruch and Shostakovich 1/Shelley).

Recent season successes included performances with the Orchestra Suisse Romande (Shostakovich 1/ Janowski), St Louis Symphony (Shostakovich 1/van Zweden), Seoul Philharmonic (Shostakovich 1/Gaffigan), National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Beethoven/Tortelier), Netherlands Radio Philharmonic (Britten/van Zweden and Szymanowksi/Segerstam), Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic (Mendelssohn/van Zweden), Rotterdam Philharmonic (Sibelius/Valcuha and Ravel Tzigane & Massenet Meditation/Nezet-Seguin), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Elgar/Hill and Shostakovich 1/Tortelier), and the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra (play/direct Vivaldi’s Four Seasons).

In the USA, Lamsma made her debut with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra in 2009 and since then has performed regularly throughout the States. Engagement highlights include regular appearances with the Dallas Symphony where she will return for the third time this season, St Louis Symphony (Shostakovich 1/van Zweden) and the Utah Symphony (Mendelssohn/Fischer).

Lamsma started her violin studies at the age of 5 in The Netherlands, and moved to the UK aged 11 to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School with Professor Hu Kun and the Royal Academy of Music in London with Professor Maurice Hasson. As the youngest student ever to enter the Royal Academy of Music’s Bachelor of Music program, Lamsma graduated from the Royal Academy aged 19 with first class honours and several prestigious awards. In 2011, she was made an Associate of the RAM, an honour given to those students who have made significant and distinguished contributions to their field.

Lamsma plays the “ex Chanot-Chardon” Stradivarius (labelled Cremona 1718), on generous loan to her by an anonymous benefactor. Simone Lamsma’s official website is www.simonelamsma.com

Program

Anton von Webern	"Fuga (Ricercata)"  from Musical Offering by J. S. Bach
Felix Mendelssohn	Concerto in E minor for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 64 I.  Allegro molto appassionato II.  Andante III.  Allegretto non troppo - Allegro molto vivace Simone Lamsma, Violin
INTERMISSION
Ludwig Van Beethoven	Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Opus 67 I. Allegro con Brio II. Andante con moto III. Allegro IV. Allegro

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Hilarie Ashton

Public Relations Manager
801.869.9027 office

801.335.9387 cell