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Item details

Date

Saturday, September 17, 2016 7:30PM

Location

Boettcher Concert Hall

Name

Opening Weekend: Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 Conducted by Andrew Litton

Description

Andrew Litton, conductor
Jon Kimura Parker, piano

BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83
STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30

Andrew Litton conducts the inaugural Masterworks concert of the 2016/17 season! These performances mark the triumphant return to Boettcher Concert Hall of pianist Jon Kimura Parker who has been friends with Maestro Litton since their days at the Juilliard School. Litton takes the audience through a pair of big and bold works, starting with Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2. This notable concerto is a perfect match for the skills of Parker, who has played for Queen Elizabeth as well as with a who's who of rockers and jazzers. Next on the program is Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra, perhaps best known for its use of the opening measures in Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Strauss' mighty tone poem takes listeners on a musical journey both poignant and philosophical.

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Prelude Information
Don't forget to arrive early for the prelude at 6:30 pm hosted by Colorado Symphony Assistant Principal Violist and Director of Community Education Programs, Catherine Beeson. Preludes are insightful discussions that take place before each Masterworks performance and are included with your concert ticket. For more information about the different types of preludes, CLICK HERE.

Musician picks!
Why some our very own think you should see this performance!

Mike Thornton - Principal Horn
“Opening weekend is always a very special time for all of us. After sharing our talents throughout the country and the world at various music festivals, it is exciting for the musicians to reconvene and make music together again in Boettcher Concert Hall. Adding to the excitement is Strauss’s epic tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra, which has great writing for the brass instruments, and the incomparable talents of Jackie Parker, with whom many of us have collaborated in orchestras and chamber groups frequently. It should be a weekend of musical fireworks!”

Peter Cooper - Principal Oboe
“In my opinion the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto is the greatest concerto ever written for any instrument. It is absolutely perfect in its range of melodies, emotions and contrasts.”

Roger Soren - Bassonist
“Also Sprach Zarathustra has an awesome contrabassoon part. In fact, I play before the trumpets and timpani even enter! Paired with Brahms and Mr. Parker, and Litton at the helm, it will be an amazing kick off to our season.”

John Sipher - Principal Trombone
“Who doesn't love Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey? More than just the opening of one of the greatest movies of all time, Also Sprach Zarathustra is an epic tone poem that runs the whole gamut of human emotion. Strauss allows the brass to play out in a way that most other composers would be scared to even think of.”

Leah Kovach - Viola
“I’m looking forward to more Strauss after the Strauss triple-header we played last year! Also particularly excited about fantastic guest soloist Jon Kimura Parker, who I had the treat to hear many times at Rice University, where he teaches and where almost a dozen of my colleagues studied! He is a force at the piano, and I know we will all be beaming with school pride that weekend!”

Susan Rockey Bowles - Cello
“The opening of the season is always a special time. Brahms Piano Concerto #2 has one of the most beautiful cello solos in the repertoire, weaving in and out of the piano solo. Strauss - splashy, loud, great piece.”

PROGRAM NOTES

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