PIANIST BLANCA URIBE WILL JOIN THE AMERICAN SYMPHONY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA BARD-VASSAR SERIES FOR FEBRUARY CONCERTS February 14 and 15 performances feature works by Weber, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.-The February concerts of the American Symphony Chamber Orchestra (ASCO) 2002-03 Bard-Vassar series will feature performances of works by Weber, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn. The Friday, February 14, concert will be held in Olin Hall, Bard College; the Saturday, February 15, concert will be held in Skinner Hall, Vassar College. Both concerts are under the direction of Maestro Leon Botstein. The programs are presented by The Bard Center and begin at 8:00 p.m., with preconcert talks at 7:00 p.m.
Pianist Blanca Uribe will be the featured soloist in the performance of Beethoven's Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, "Emperor." Other works to be performed include Carl Maria von Weber's Oberon Overture and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 in A Major, "Italian."
"What a pleasure it is to play once again with the ASCO and Leon," says pianist Uribe. "Always, I look forward to these occasions with great anticipation, and they are also great fun. 'The Emperor' has been part of my repertoire for so many years, and each time I perform it, it's like coming back to visit a very dear friend. And as with all the great pieces of music, each time you play it you discover something new, hear something new, and, hopefully, always perform it better."
The final concerts of the series, on April 18 and 19, will feature Mozart's Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, "Jeunehomme," with pianist Todd Crow; Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, "Unfinished"; John Woolrich's Ulysses Awakes; and the world premiere of Richard Wilson's Peregrinations for viola and orchestra. The Woolrich and Wilson works will feature violist Paul Silverthorne.
The American Symphony Chamber Orchestra is comprised of many of the best American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) musicians. The ASO was formed in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski with a stated mission to "perform concerts of great music within the means of everyone." Today, under music director Leon Botstein (who assumed the post in 1992), that mission has broadened to include the goal of revitalizing the concertgoing experience as a vibrant force in contemporary culture. Each year, the Bard-Vassar Concerts include several performances of superlative chamber music, featuring works of contemporary composers together with classics of the chamber repertoire.
Leon Botstein
is music director of the ASCO, coartistic director and conductor of the Bard Music Festival, music director of the American Symphony Orchestra, and president of Bard College. He is editor of The Musical Quarterly and has published several books, including The Compleat Brahms and Jefferson's Children: Education and the Promise of American Culture.Fanfare
magazine wrote of Blanca Uribe that she is "a truly great pianist." She was born in Bogotá, Colombia, into a family of many generations of professional musicians. With an extensive repertoire ranging from Scarlatti to contemporary works, she is particularly noted for her interpretations of all 32 Beethoven sonatas and the complete Iberia Suite of Isaac Albéniz. Uribe has appeared with such orchestras as the Philadelphia; the Philharmonia of London; the American Symphony; the OPPL Orchestra in Nantes, France; and the Residentie Orkest in The Hague. As a chamber music performer she has appeared with the Chicago, Brentano, and Orion String Quartets; Ani and Ida Kavafian; and the Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble. Uribe has received many honors, including the General Francisco de Paula Santander Medal, awarded for outstanding contributions to Colombian culture, and the Order of Saint Charles, which she received in 1986 from the president of Colombia. She was also the recipient of the first Dutchess County Artist Award. Uribe's recordings include Iberia Suite by Albéniz, Danzas Fantásticas by Joaquín Turina, Richard Wilson's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston conducted by Leon Botstein, and Beethoven Sonatas Op. 106 and 110. Uribe holds the George Sherman Dickinson Professorship of Music at Vassar College.Single concert tickets are $20; senior citizen and student tickets are $15.
For further information about the ASCO Bard-Vassar concerts, call The Bard Center at 845-758-7425.# # #
(01.06.03)