 JoAnn Falletta, conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra |
What: Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Concert featuring School of Music Cello Professor Natasha Farny
When: Friday, October 30, 2009, 8 p.m. (pre-concert talk at 7 p.m.)
Where: King Concert Hall, Rockefeller Arts Center, SUNY Fredonia Campus, Fredonia, N.Y.
Notes: Tickets available at www.fredonia.edu/tickets or by calling 716-673-3501
The SUNY Fredonia School of Music Rosch Musical Art Series will present its fourth annual collaborative concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) on Friday, October 30, at 8 p.m. in King Concert Hall on the SUNY Fredonia campus.
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The world-class symphony will be led under the direction of JoAnn Falletta, acclaimed by The New York Times as “one of the finest conductors of her generation.” The program includes Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto with featured cello soloist, Fredonia professor Natasha Farny and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Mary Wilson, soprano.
Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto is one of the great romantic concertos of all time and is one of his most adventurous works. Schumann wrote it in two weeks in 1850 but it was not premiered until after his death in 1860. Cello soloist Natasha Farny adds, “Many things draw me to the piece . . . it’s more about psyche as the composer Schumann is all about character. We hear these voices here more than in any of his other pieces. One thing about the music of Schumann is you’ll hear happy music, darker music, but it’s all heart-on-his-sleeve, expressing his emotions.”
Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, completed in 1901, features soprano Mary Wilson, and includes four movements. This work is often considered the most accessible of Mahler’s works as it presents in microcosm all the characteristics of his distinctive vision - his love of nature, grotesque humor, scintillating orchestration, integration of song and abstract instrumentals, and a constant search for meaning amid the great questions of life -- only lacking the epic scope that can turn some away from his other symphonic works.
A pre-concert lecture will be held in King Concert Hall at 7pm, presented by conductor JoAnn Falletta, and a post-concert reception will follow in the lobby of the campus’ Art Gallery, adjacent to the concert hall. Concert tickets are $20 for adults and $12 for students and are available at www.fredonia.edu/tickets or by calling the SUNY Fredonia ticket office at 716-673-3501.
Artist Bios:
Fredonia’s own Natasha Farny has been described as an eloquent performer whose "vibrant legatos" and "long lines had beauty and strength" (Buffalo News). She has performed as soloist with orchestras that include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Greeley Symphony Orchestra, The Abilene Philharmonic, The Erie Chamber Orchestra, and the Western New York Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Farny has given sonata recitals in Leipzig's Mendelssohn Haus, live on public radio in Chicago and in Rochester, NY, and in venues across the American northeast and midwest. She has also participated in numerous music festivals around the world.
Soprano Mary Wilson is acknowledged as one of today's most exciting young artists. Cultivating a wide-ranging career singing chamber music, oratorio and operatic repertoire, her “bright soprano seems to know no terrors, wrapping itself seductively around every phrase.” (Dallas Morning News) She was named a 2004 “Emerging Artist” by Symphony Magazine, the publication’s first-ever compilation of up-and-coming classical soloists.
Few artists are as important to the fabric of their communities as JoAnn Falletta. An effervescent and exuberant figure on the podium, she has been praised by The Washington Post as having “Toscanini’s tight control over ensemble, Walter’s affectionate balancing of inner voices, Stokowski’s gutsy showmanship, and a controlled frenzy worthy of Bernstein.” Both on and off the podium, she is a vibrant ambassador for music and an inspiring artistic leader. Since stepping up to the podium as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in the fall of 1999, Maestro Falletta has been credited with bringing the Philharmonic to a new level of national and international prominence.
In 2009, for the first time in its 74-year history, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra won two Grammy awards for the Best Classical Performance and Best Classical Composition for its John Corigliano: Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan; Three Hallucinations CD that was released in 2008. The orchestra was also nominated for a third Grammy in the Best Engineered Album, Classical category for its Respighi: Church Windows recording. Highlights for the 2009 – 10 season include the BPO’s first tour in many years with concerts throughout Florida. Over the decades the BPO has become world renowned, and as Buffalo’s cultural ambassador, has toured widely across the U.S. and Canada, including concerts at New York’s Lincoln Center, Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center, Boston’s Symphony Hall, San Francisco’s Davies Hall, Montreal's Place des Arts, and 22 appearances in New York’s Carnegie Hall.
Coming Up: String Weekend!
SUNY Fredonia is having quite the string weekend! On Sunday following the BPO concert, the School of Music will host the annual String Experience. The day’s events include master classes, free improvisation, reading sessions, and a concert for pre-college string students.
