Boston Symphony Orchestra Returns to Verizon Hall Under the Direction of New Music Director, James Levine
February 13, 2006
James Levine
The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s new music director, James Levine will make Verizon Hall debut when the ensemble returns to the Kimmel Center on Friday, March 10, 2006 at 8pm. Soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson will also perform on the program that includes: Richard Strauss' Til' Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche; Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Song; Elliott Carter’s Three Illusions for Orchestra; and Beethoven’s Symphony No.7.
This performance is a part of the Kimmel Presents’ Great Orchestras on Tour series. Upcoming performances include the National Symphony Orchestra with Leonard Slatkin on April 5, 2006; and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Manfred Honeck on May 25, 2006 at 8pm in Verizon Hall.
Tickets for the Boston Symphony Orchestra are $126, $109, $89, $74, $59, and $40 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 215-893-5883.
James Levine is highly respected as both a pianist and a conductor. After making a successful appearance as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1970, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1971 and became the Company’s first Artistic Director in 1986. Levine began as maestro in Boston in October2004, and is an inspiring leader and musician who has been the subject of a cover story in Time Magazine as well as a full-length documentary that has been aired in Europe and the USA. He was named Musician of the Year by the journal Musical America and was the first recipient of the annual cultural award of the City of New York.
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area who began her musical career as a violist. A maverick of sorts, Lieberson did not commit to a career in voice until her viola was stolen in 1988 but her talent for expression is undeniable. She was deemed Vocalist of the Year by Musical America in 2001 and was nominated twice for a Grammy Award, once for her recording of Handel’s Arias and another time for her recording of Britten’s Phaedra. Her strong and supple voice reflects a sophisticated understanding of music across genres, from baroque to contemporary.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) was formed in 1881, fulfilling Henry Lee Higginson’s dream of a great and permanent orchestra in his hometown. Since then, the BSO has gone through a metamorphosis under the direction of conductors such as Arthur Nikisch, Pierre Monteux, and Serge Koussevitzky. The pristine orchestra nurtured a greater public profile under Koussevitzky through regular radio broadcasts and the founding of the Berkshire Music Center. Later, the BSO gave its first overseas performance under Charles Munch and delved into greater emotional expression with Seiji Ozawa. This season, the BSO celebrates a 125 year legacy with James Levine, the first American-born conductor to take the stand.
Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs, works for orchestra and voice set to the poetry of Pablo Neruda, was completed in April 2005 and reflect a different face in love’s mirror. According to Robert Kirzinger of La Fola, “the scoring of the lyrical and passionate “Neruda Songs” is colorful, yet delicate and transparent, always allowing the voice to come to the fore. Peter Lieberson worked with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in parsing the rhythms of the Spanish so that the language falls naturally into its phrasing, with melismatic writing an organic extension of the singer’s (and the poet’s and composer’s sensibility.” The work was co-commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Music Director (underwritten by Marcia and Gary Hollander) and by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, James Levine, Music Director (through the generous support of The New Works Fund established by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency).
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 2.5 hours prior to evening performances and 11:30am for matinees.
Kimmel Center Presents’ 2005/2006 season is supported by: Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Sovereign Bank, The American Express Company, Verizon Foundation, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the National Endowment for the Arts, and The William Penn Foundation. Special Student Matinees at the Kimmel Center are generously supported by Merck & Co., Inc. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte and Southern Wine and Spirit. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Great Orchestras on Tour
Friday, March 10, 2006 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
James Levine, conductor
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, soprano
The Boston Symphony Orchestra
Strauss; Til’ Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche
Lieberson; Neruda Songs
Carter; Three Illusions for Orchestra
Beethoven; Symphony No.7
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