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Santiago Rodríguez
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lancaster Symphony Orchestra Closing its 2008-2009 Season May 22-24, 2009 with Flamboyance and Dazzle.
LANCASTER, PA -- On May 22, 23 and 24, 2009, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra will close its 2008-2009 Classic Concert Series in a classic “Only in Lancaster” style. Showcasing a masterwork, a piece that showcases the talents of the Orchestra and a globally acclaimed soloist, “Rachmaninoff & 1001 Arabian Nights” is sure to delight its audiences.
The flamboyant, playful side of Sergei Rachmaninoff, infused with warmth and sophistication, will be on display in Piano Concerto No. 1. Internationally distinguished pianist Santiago Rodríguez will showcase his own immense talents in a climactic signature of the Russian master.
The Orchestra and its principal players will have their own opportunities to dazzle audiences with virtuosity in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. This colorfully orchestrated work will evoke haunting images of Arabian nights of adventure, magic and raw human emotion.
A new addition to the concert weekend’s repertoire will be Bright Sheng’s Black Swan. The soundtrack composer of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” Sheng beautifully arranged an orchestral setting for Brahms’ Intermezzo piano work. No doubt it is the lovely sonorities of the work that made it the favorite piece of work of Maestro Stephen Gunzenhauser’s wife, Shelly. He offers it at the Symphony’s closing concert as his gift to her.
The guest pianist for the May 22-24 concert weekend is one of today’s foremost interpreters of Rachmaninoff’s music. Cuban-born Santiago Rodríguez began studying piano when he was only four. After immigrating to the United States, he made his concert debut with the New Orleans Philharmonic at the age of 10. The Juilliard School
Music graduate launched his international career in 1981 when he won the silver medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
Charles Kuralt introduced Rodríguez to a broader world in 1993 when he profiled Santiago Rodríguez on “CBS Sunday Morning.” Through performances with leading orchestras and recitals, he has become known around the world.
The New York Times proclaimed Rodríguez a “subtle and careful musician with a broad tonal palette.” Of his musical relationship with Rachmaninoff, The Times wrote that he “approached [Rachmaninoff] with both nobility and insight.”
The opening night performance of ‘Rachmaninoff & 1001 Arabian Nights” on Friday, May 22 will begin at 8 pm. The Saturday concerts commence at 3 pm and 8 pm. The Sunday concert will be performed at 7:30 pm.
The Fulton Opera House, the Symphony’s home for its Classic Concert Series, is located at 12 North Prince Street in Downtown Lancaster. Ample parking is available adjacent to the Fulton and at the Prince Street garage.
A free “Meet the Music” preconcert talk will be held an hour before each performance at
the Fulton. Elizabeth Pfaffle, DMA, who is assistant director and theory instructor at Indiana University and horn instructor at Franklin & Marshall College and West Chester
University, will preview the May 22-24 concerts.
A “Meet the Musicians” reception will follow the Friday night concert in the Fulton lobby. Complimentary refreshments will be served, and a cash bar will be open.
Tickets may be reserved by calling the Fulton box office at (717) 397-7425. Single
ticket prices range from $25 to $62. Special discounts are offered to groups of 10 or
more concertgoers except Sunday evening concerts.
Classic Concert Series ticket prices include a $2 surcharge for the Fulton Historic
Preservation Fund. These dollars are paid directly to the Fulton Opera House to repay funds loaned by the City of Lancaster to help with the 1995 renovation of the National Historic Landmark.
Underwriting the Lancaster Symphony’s 2008-2009 season are Willow Valley Associates and Willow Valley Retirement Communities as season sponsors. Season travel sponsor is Travel Time.
Sound Discovery community engagement partners are Highmark Blue Shield and Lancaster General. Sponsoring its Classic Concert Series are Clermont Wealth
Strategies at Fulton Bank, Electron Energy Corporation, Elizabethtown College, Franklin& Marshall College, Millersville University, TriStarr Staffing and PNC.
Encore hospitality sponsor will be Fenz Restaurant. First Look hospitality sponsor will be Carr’s Restaurant. Willow Valley Associates also sponsored the 2008
New Year’s Eve Celebration. Ticket sponsor is Wiley’s Pharmacy.
Guest artist sponsor is Benecon.
This is Stephen Gunzenhauser’s 28th season as the creative leader of the Symphony,
taking the Symphony’s baton in 1980. The Grammy-nominated musician also led principal conductor for the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra. He maintains a regular guest conducting schedule in Bogota and with symphony orchestras all over the world. The prolific conductor has made 66 recordings and sold over 2 million CDs.
Now in its 61st season, the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra has evolved from a community orchestra into an organization of professional musicians serving 52,000 music enthusiasts with 24 yearly subscription concerts, a holiday concert, a New Year’s Eve gala celebration, a spring “Audience Requests” concert weekend and a free, outdoor community patriotic concert.
The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra is a 75-member, professional orchestra that was founded in 1947 by Frederick S. Klein and John H. Peifer, Jr. of Franklin & Marshall College.
The orchestra is a non-profit organization, governed by a board of 30 community volunteers and managed by a professional staff under the direction of president and chief executive officer M. Scott Robinson.
Ticket sales revenues and donations from hundreds of corporate and private benefactors underwrite the Symphony’s invaluable contribution to the quality of life in south central Pennsylvania.