David Cho

Duke Ellington

STRAVINSKY, TCHAIKOWSKY, BRAHMS, DVORAK, RACHMANINOFF FEATURED IN BSO'S 2011-2012 SEASON

The Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2011-2012 season program which showcases 19th and 20th century classics and a Duke Ellington arrangment of Tchaikowsky's iconic "Nutcracker Suite."

"Our longtime artistic director Nicholas Armstrong has selected an exciting and intriguing program of classics and contemporary works," said BSO president Jill Jefferson. "The new season promises thrilling performances for players and audiences alike," she said.

The season kicks off October 30, 3pm, at the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights showcasing pianist Dan Smith who will play Brahms Piano Concert #1 in d minor. Also on the program are Brahms's "Variations on a theme of Haydn" and Haydn's "Feldparthia in B-flat" .

Smith, a resident of New York City, has performed at colleges, universities, museums and concert halls throughout the US and Europe. He has been described as “an incredibly sensitive player” and “a master pianist.” Accolades such as “breathtakingly beautiful,” “technical wizardry,” “brilliant technique and emotional fervor” appear in reviews frequently. Graduated as a piano major from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Smith made his European recital debut in 1997 just outside of Stockholm, Sweden, where he received a standing ovation and rave reviews. The following year he made his European orchestral debut in Stockholm at Sofia Kyrkan and was later featured on Swedish TV. A debut recording with the Gävle Symfoniorkester soon followed, and not long afterward, a recording with the Stuttgart Philharmonic. These premier recordings received outstanding reviews and are broadcast on dozens of classical stations throughout the US.

"We can't wait to perform with Dan Smith again," Armstrong said. "Dan is a wonderful pianist and we're in for a thrilling performance."

The second concert on December 18 features works by Tchaikowsky -- the iconic "1812 Overture" and an innovative arrangement of the "Nutracker Suite" by jazz great Duke Ellington. Ellington recorded the work in 1960 along with his reworking of Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite" and "Suite Thursday" his tribute to John Steinbeck in 1990.

Also on the December program are "The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Dukas and "Dance Rhapsody #1" by Delius.

On February 26, the orchestra takes on Igor Stravinsky's thrilling "Firebird" Suite from the composer's 1910 ballet. Based on Russian folk tales of a magical glowing bird that is both a blessing and a curse to its captor, the ballet has historic significance not only as Stravinsky's breakthrough piece, but also as the beginning of the collaboration between Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev and Stravinsky that would produce "Petrushka" and "The Rite of Spring."

The February program also includes works by Satie, Honegger and Poulenc.

The BSO will feature one of its own, violist and baritone Mark Peters, in the April concert. Peters will sing Mussorgsky's "Songs & Dances of Death." Also on the program is Rachmaninoff's Symphony #2 in e minor.

"In addition to being a mainstay of our viola section, Mark Peters is a wonderful actor and singer, and we're so pleased to showcase another of his talents during our fourth concert," Jefferson said.

The BSO's fifth and final concert of the season on June 3 features the return of cellist David Cho, who will perform Dvorak's Cello Concerto in b minor. Also on the program is Sibelius's Symphony #5.

Cho is active as a freelancer in the Washington, D.C., area. He holds a Master of Music Degree in Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Southern California with additional musical studies at Indiana University in Bloomington. Major teachers were Bernard Greenhouse, Ronald Leonard, Fritz Magg, and Michael Haber. Work at major festivals includes, The Music Festival at Bellingham in Washington state, Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, and fellowships at Sarasota, and Tanglewood.

All concerts are open to the public with a suggested donation of $15.00. The Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity, commonly referred to as St. Ann's Church, is the orchestra's longtime home and is located at the corner of Montague and Clinton Streets, in Brooklyn Heights. An historic landmark, the building contains the first figural stained-glass windows made in the United States.



A Letter From Brooklyn Heights -- The Brooklyn Ink, Nov. 9, 2010