AMERICAN SYMPHONY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 1998-1999 BARD-VASSAR CONCERTS SET TO CONTINUE ON FEBRUARY 5 AND 6.

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.-Two compelling performances of twentieth-century and classical chamber orchestra music will carry forward the American Symphony Chamber Orchestra's 1998-1999 Bard-Vassar Concerts. This season's second pair of performances, conducted by Bard College President Leon Botstein, will feature Vítezslav Novák's Slovak Suite, Op. 32; Franz Liszt's Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, with Vassar professor Todd Crow, piano; Robert Fuchs's Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 9; and Richard Strauss's Oboe Concerto in D Major, with Laura Ahlbeck, oboe.

On Friday, February 5, the orchestra will perform at Bard College in Olin Hall and on Saturday, February 6, at Vassar College in Skinner Hall. The performances are at 8:00 p.m., following preconcert talks at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15.

About the Soloists

Todd Crow's piano playing has been called "heroic" by The New York Times and "spine-chilling" and "exhilarating" by The Times of London. Classical Pulse! magazine chose his compact disc of various works by Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, Schumann, and others as a Critic's Choice for 1997. His CDs of the complete music for cello and piano by Mendelssohn, Liszt's transcription of Belioz's Symphonie fantastique, and music by Sergei Taneyev will be released in 1999. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras in the United States, Europe, and Latin America, and with various chamber ensembles in this country and abroad. In addition to appearing at the Mt. Desert Festival of Chamber Music in Northeast Harbor, Maine, where he is music director, Crow has made annual appearances at the Bard Music Festival, the Casals Festival, Music Mountain, and Maverick Concerts.

Laura Ahlbeck, oboe, is the principle oboist for the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and is frequently heard with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera. She has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Simfónica de Maracaibo, and the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra. Ahlbeck teaches oboe at Boston University, the New England Conservatory of Music, and the Boston Conservatory. Laura Ahlbeck, oboe, is the principle oboist for the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra and is frequently heard with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera. She has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Simfónica de Maracaibo, and the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra. Ahlbeck teaches oboe at Boston University, the New England Conservatory of Music, and the Boston Conservatory.

On Friday, April 30, and Saturday, May 1, Maestro Botstein will conduct the last performances in the 1998-1999 Bard-Vassar Concerts. The season finale will include Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9, by Arnold Schoenberg; Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16, by Edvard Grieg, with Blanca Uribe, piano; and "Czech" Suite in D Major, Op. 39, by Antonin Dvorak.

For information, tickets, and reservations, call the Bard College concert manager at 914-758-7425.

This event was last updated on 03-02-2001

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