From TOLEDO ALLIANCE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Van Cliburn gold medalist Olga Kern returns to Toledo to perform with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alain Trudel on Friday, Jan. 17 and Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 8 p.m at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Peristyle Theater. Kern will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, a work known to be a true testament of musical technicality and artistry that was featured in the Oscar-winning movie Shine (1996).
“Rachmaninoff’s Third is considered to be the Mt. Everest of piano concertos,” says Zak Vassar, President & CEO of the Toledo Symphony. “It’s earned the reputation as one of the most beautiful, virtuosic, and technically challenging works ever written. It’s also one of those pieces that has fascinated me since I was a kid. I’ve probably listened to it a thousand times and am still inspired by moments that I’ve never noticed before. Olga Kern is an internationally renowned pianist, and I can’t wait to hear her interpretation of this magnificent work.”
The program opens with Italian composer Francesco Geminiani’s Concerto Grosso in G Minor, featuring the TSO’s Concertmaster Kirk Toth on violin. Geminiani’s baroque Concerto Grosso is an arrangement of a Violin Sonata composed by his teacher, Arcangelo Corelli that was written for a group of solo instruments to be accompanied by the entire orchestra.
The second piece on the program is Concerto for Orchestra, a five-movement work written by American composer Jennifer Higdon that was premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2002. Like Geminiani, Higdon’s Concerto for Orchestra was inspired by various musicians and sections of the orchestra. Each movement highlights principal players, groups of players, and the entire ensemble.
“This program is all about highlighting the virtuosity of the orchestra and the soloist,” says Merwin Siu, Artistic Administrator for the TSO. “The first half of the program features two TSO premieres, both concertos that showcase our musicians. In the second half, we switch gears and give our soloist a chance to shine. ‘Rach 3’ is incredibly challenging, brilliant, and the perfect climax to conclude the evening.”
Russian-American pianist Olga Kern is regarded as one of her generation’s great pianists. In 2001, Kern became the first woman in over thirty years to win the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. A Steinway Artist and First Prize winner of the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition at the age of seventeen, Kern makes her third appearance with the TSO to perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, written in 1909.
The first movement opens with a subtle, quiet dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra that eventually transforms into a wave of contrasting themes. The expressive second movement is the calm before the storm. It begins with slow, song-like passages that later become more turbulent. The finale, which ties the entire work together by referencing the first and second movements, is full of intricate passagework, beautiful melodies, and showcases the pianist’s virtuosity and skill. The TSO last performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor with former Music Director Stefan Sanderling and pianist Phillipe Bianconi in 2013.
Two performances of Rachmaninoff’s Third will take place on Friday, January 17 and Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 8 PM at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Peristyle Theater. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased online at toledosymphony.com, by calling 419.246.8000, or by stopping by the box office at 1838 Parkwood Avenue.
