National Symphony Orchestra and Leonard Slatkin to Make Kimmel Center Debut
March 15, 2006
Leonard Slatkin
The National Symphony Orchestra comes to Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center with pianist Emanuel Ax under the direction of Leonard Slatkin on Wednesday, April 5, 2006 at 8pm in Verizon Hall for their debut performance. The program includes Barber’s Medea’s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance; Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3; and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 in A Minor.
This performance is the penultimate concert in Kimmel Center Presents’ Great Orchestras on Tour series. The closing performance in this series will be by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Manfred Honeck on May 25, 2006 in Verizon Hall as part of the Kimmel Center’s Organ Festival.
Tickets for the National Symphony Orchestra are $114, $100, $80, $70, $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.
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.
Leonard Slatkin is a world renowned conductor who has received multiple Grammy Awards as well as more than 50 Grammy nominations. Born into a musical family, Slatkin first pursued music on the violin and piano then later turned to conducting, where his talents blossomed. Before coming to the National Symphony, he held the positions of Music Director at the Saint Louis Symphony, Festival Director at the Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom Festival, Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, and served as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In 2003, he was honored with the National Medal of Arts and the Chavalier of the Legion of Honor, among other distinctions. Today he lives as not only a great ambassador of cultural relations but also an avid advocate of education.
Emanuel Ax began studying the piano at the age of 6 in Warsaw. He studied music at Julliard and French at Columbia, and first received public acclaim for his virtuosic playing in 1974 when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. His devotion to chamber music has led to five Grammy-winning collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma and his solo work has earned him two more Grammys. A brilliant musical poet, Ax seeks to inspire the audience to their feet rather than require it within the frame of etiquette.
This season the National Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 75th anniversary. It was first incorporated in 1931 under the leadership of Hans Kindler. As the orchestra of the capital of the United States, its high musical caliber and dedication to education is fitting. The National Symphony often performs for occasions, such as the presidential inauguration and Independence Day. Today its members work to cultivate the musicians of America’s future and provide general musical education through programs like the Young People’s Concerts and the John and June Hechinger Commissioning Fund.
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
Wednesday, April 5, 2006 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano
Barber, Medea’s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3
Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 2 in A Minor
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