Renowned Organist Paul Jacobs to Perform a Program of Franck, Reger, Messiaen and More on The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ February 10
January 30, 2007
Praised for his astounding capacity for memorization and for his virtuoso marathon recitals, organist Paul Jacobs comes to Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center to perform on Verizon Hall’s new Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ on Saturday, February 10, 2007 at 3pm. Chicago Tribune has hailed Jacobs as "one of the most supremely gifted young organists of his generation" after he performed the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen in a series of nine-hour, one-day marathons in six cities including Chicago and Los Angeles. Most recently Jacobs was awarded The Juilliard School’s 2007 William Schuman Scholars Chair, an honor bestowed annually to an artist and educator who has made significant contributions to the intellectual and artistic life of the Juilliard community. He is currently among the youngest faculty appointments at Juilliard, where he was named chairman of the organ department in 2004. His program will include Franck’s Prelude, Fugue, et Variation, Op. 18; Weaver’s "Fantasia for Organ," Messiaen’s "L’Ascension;" Reger’s "Fantasia and Fugue on Bach, Op. 26;" and Reubke’s "Sonata on the 94th Psalm."
A pre-concert Artist Chat will take place on the stage of Verizon Hall at 2:15pm with Paul Jacobs and Michael Barone, host of American Public Media's "Pipedreams."
This performance is the second in the Kimmel Center’s Organ Recital Series. The next guest organist in this series is Wayne Marshall on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 at 8pm.
Tickets for Paul Jacobs are $19 and $28 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 curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Paul Jacobs came to national attention as a concert organist in 2000 when he twice performed the complete organ works of J.S. Bach in 14 consecutive evenings in New York City and Philadelphia. Later in the year he trumped that achievement by performing the complete works again in a spectacular 18-hour non-stop marathon in Pittsburgh on the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death. This season, Jacobs will crisscross the continent giving recitals and master classes in cities large and small throughout the United States and Canada. Among them are Atlanta, Denver, Edmonton, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Toronto, and Washington D.C.
Known for his "charismatic showmanship and unflagging exuberance" (Wall Street Journal), Jacobs possesses a vast repertoire spanning from the 16th century through contemporary times. He has memorized the complete organ works of Brahms, Franck, and Durufle, much Messiaen, most of Bach, and a vast range of other organ literature. In 2002 he performed the complete organ works of Messiaen in a series of nine-hour one-day marathons in six American cities: Chicago, Washington D.C., Atlanta, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Seattle, and has more recently repeated the extraordinary performance in New York City. He has performed throughout the United States as well as in South America, Australia, Canada, and Europe.
Jacobs began studying the piano at the age of six and the organ at age 13. He received a full scholarship to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and graduated as a double major in organ and harpsichord. He subsequently received the Master of Music degree and Artist Diploma from Yale. In 2005, he was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Yale School of Music. Jacobs has captured first prizes in numerous competitions, including the 1999 Fort Wayne National Organ Competition, and the 1998 Albert Schweitzer National Organ Competition. He is the first organist ever to be honored with the Harvard Musical Association's prestigious Arthur W. Foote Award. At Yale University, he was awarded numerous honors including the Dean's Prize and the Faculty Prize of the Institute of Sacred Music.
Kimmel Center Presents' 2006/2007 season is supported by: Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, National Endowment for the Arts, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, ARC Wheeler, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, The Presser Foundation, Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents. The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com are media sponsors for the Great Orchestras on Tour series.
FREE AT THE KIMMEL events are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Saturday, February 10, 2007 | 3pm
Verizon Hall, The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ
Paul Jacobs, organ
WEAVER: Fantasia for Organ
FRANCK: Prelude, Fugue, et Variation, Op. 18
REGER: Fantasia and Fugue on Bach, Op. 46
MESSIAEN: L’Ascension
REUBKE: Sonata on the 94th Psalm
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FREE AT THE KIMMEL EVENT:
Saturday, February 10, 2007 | 1pm
Commonwealth Plaza
Svitanya
Svitanya, a female a cappella ensemble, celebrates the timbres, rhythms, and harmonies indigenous to Eastern Europe, and performs a diverse repertoire of traditional Eastern European songs with modern arrangements—ranging from strong and strident-filled working songs to traditional dance tunes to lush and emotive arrangements. Prior to the ticketed Paul Jacobs performance in Verizon Hall.
UPCOMING FREE AT THE KIMMEL EVENT:
Saturday, February 17, 2007 | Post-Show
Perelman Theater
Artist Chat
Join us for an Artist Chat with eighth blackbird and the Kimmel Center’s Director of Programming Thomas Warner.
Sunday, February 25, 2007 | 6pm
Commonwealth Plaza
Magauwane Mahloele
Accomplished in the making and playing of a wide range of traditional instruments, Magauwane Mahloele performed at the Philadelphia Live Arts Fringe Festival in September 2004. His style ranges from African to avante garde, and his art is a unique style of world music using instruments such as the kora, the mbira, and the djembe drum.
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