Vienna Philharmonic Returns to the Kimmel Center with Conductor Zubin Mehta and Pianist Lang Lang, February 24
FEBRUARY 3, 2009
Zubin Mehta
"Mehta conducted it all as if it were an immortal masterpiece, and sometimes you could believe it was."
Philadelphia's classical music event of the season arrives on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 8pm when Vienna Philharmonic makes its long-anticipated return to the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall with conductor Zubin Mehta and piano virtuoso Lang Lang. Maestro Mehta made his conducting debut in Vienna in 1958, and has since joined the legion of legendary guest conductors, such as Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler and Hans Richter, to perform with one of the top orchestras of the world. Mehta will guide the orchestra through a program that includes Wagner's Overture to Rienzi; Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2; and Schubert's Symphony No. 9, C Major, "Great," a work written for the Vienna Philharmonic.
"... [Lang Lang's] playing was so raptly beautiful that one was afraid to breathe for fear of missing anything."
This concert is the final performance in the Great Orchestras on Tour Series scheduled for the Kimmel Center Presents 2008-09 season.
A limited number of tickets for Vienna Philharmonic are available for $55, $75, $104, $139, $175 and $225 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning at 5:30pm prior to evening curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
The Vienna Philharmonic encapsulates a history that is over 160 years old in the capital city of music, and is considered Austria's most highly coveted "cultural export" among some of the most pre-eminent musicians and uniquely gifted composers of Europe over the past centuries. Guest conductors include Richard Strauss, Hans Richter, Arturo Toscanini, James Levine, Leonard Bernstein, Riccardo Muti, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, Daniel Barenboim, Simone Young and Valery Gergiev. An ambassador of peace, humanity and reconciliation, the Vienna Philharmonic was named Goodwill Ambassador of the World Health Organization in 2005. The orchestra was also named Ambassador for the Phonak initiative "Hear the World" in 2006.
Born in Bombay in 1936, Zubin Mehta received his first musical education by his father, Mehli Mehta, the founder of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. Mehta has since served as music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (1961-67), the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (1962-78) and the New York Philharmonic (1978-91). He has served as music director and advisor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra since 1969, becoming music director for life in 1981. He has been chief conductor of the Maggio Fiorentino in Florence, Italy. In 2001, he was bestowed the title of "Honorary Conductor" of the Vienna Philharmonic. In 2007, he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic's annual New Year's Day concert, which was televised around the world.
A recipient of numerous awards and honors, Mehta was honored with the Kennedy Center Award in 2006 for his lifetime of artistry and devotion to music. Mehta received a medal from Prince Hitachi, honorary patron of the Japan Art Association, at the awards ceremony of the Praemium Imperiale in October 2008. In April 2008, he was awarded the Maximiliansorden (Order of Maximilian) by the Prime Minister of Bavaria for his outstanding achievements in the artistic field.
At 26 years of age, Curtis Institute graduate Lang Lang is an accomplished pianist who has performed sold-out performances at top music venues throughout the world. Hailed as "the hottest artist on the classical music planet" (New York Times), Lang Lang performed at the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics, seen by a worldwide audience of an estimated 36 million. In June 2008, he also performed with the Vienna Philharmonic in a concert celebrating the end of the 2008 European Soccer Championships in front of Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace. His discography includes recent releases The Magic of Lang Lang (2008), Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4 (2007) and Dragon Songs (2007). The youngest Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, Lang Lang launched the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in October 2008 to raise awareness for educational programs in schools and to provide scholarships to young classical musicians.
The appearance of the Vienna Philharmonic is being generously underwritten by Kimberly V. Strauss. Kimberly V. Strauss is a managing partner of the Geneva based private equity fund Fourragere Ltd., Director of the Strauss Foundation and a contemporary, classical composer who returned to Philadelphia two years ago to write and produce a full-scale symphonic piece with visual installation. A member of the League of American Orchestras and the American Composers Forum, Ms. Strauss and the Strauss Foundation are proud to support the Kimmel Center's presentation of the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic.
Kimmel Center Presents' 2008-09 Season is sponsored by Citi. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by 10 Rittenhouse Square. The Guest Artist Underwriter for Lang Lang is Mont Blanc. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System, American Express, and Interpark. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. NBC-10 is a media partner for Kimmel Center Presents.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.
The Kimmel Center is the recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC "Grow Up Great" initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment in preparing children for success in school and life. Funding gives support to the Kimmel Center's early childhood program "Bop and Swing," an arts program for children 1-5 years old, designed to promote an appreciation for American culture.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
Great Orchestras on Tour Series
Vienna Philharmonic
Zubin Mehta, conductor
Lang Lang, piano
WAGNER: Overture to Rienzi
CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 9, C Major, "Great"
FREE AT THE KIMMEL:
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 | Post-Show
Verizon Hall | Organ Postlude
Peter Richard Conte
This
performance will be followed by a free Organ Postlude on the Fred J.
Cooper Memorial Organ in Verizon Hall with organist Peter Richard Conte.
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