Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos Conducts New York Philharmonic in Carmina Burana, Atlantida, Now thru 6/2

Spanish conductor Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos returns to the New York Philharmonic to conduct music from two secular cantatas: selections from Falla's Atlantida, and Orff's complete Carmina burana - which the Orchestra has not performed since 1995 - tonight, May 31, 2012, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, June 1, at 8:00 p.m., and Saturday, June 2, at 8:00 p.m. The international cast that Mr. Fruhbeck has assembled for these performances features American soprano Erin Morley, American tenor Nicholas Phan (in his Philharmonic debut), South African baritone Jacques Imbrailo (debut), the Spanish chorus Orpheo?n Pamplone?s, Igor Ijurra Ferna?ndez, director (debut), and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Dianne Berkun, director.

The program features works by two composers who together reflect both sides of Mr. Fruhbeck's heritage: he was born in Spain, the homeland of Manuel De Falla (whose music is a specialty of this conductor), and his father's family hailed from Germany, where Carl Orff lived. Atlantida explores Spanish national mythologies, while Carmina burana sets 24 medieval poems on eternal subjects such as the fickleness of fate and the pleasures of Spring, food, drink, and lust. Although composed at roughly the same time, these compositions have had very different histories, with Orff's being so popular as to have become a mainstay of film and commercial sound tracks while Falla's is rarely performed - in fact, these concerts mark the first time that the Philharmonic has ever performed music from Atlantida.

Pre-Concert Talks are $7; discounts available for multiple concerts, students, and groups. They take place one hour before each performance in the Helen Hull Room, unless otherwise noted. Attendance is limited to 90 people. Information: nyphil.org or (212) 875-5656.

Violinist and violist David Wallace, a faculty member of The Juilliard School and a Senior Teaching Artist at the New York Philharmonic, will introduce the program.

On the Music: The New York Philharmonic Podcast New York Philharmonic Audio Producer Mark Travis is the producer and host of this program. Formerly with the WFMT Radio Network, he is the producer of the 52- week-per-year nationally and internationally syndicated radio series, The New York Philharmonic This Week. These award-winning previews of upcoming programs - through musical selections as well as interviews with guest artists, conductors, and Orchestra musicians - are available at nyphil.org/podcast and from iTunes.

This program will be broadcast the week of June 25, 2012,* on The New York Philharmonic This Week, a radio concert series syndicated weekly to more than 300 stations nationally, and to 122 outlets internationally, by the WFMT Radio Network. The 52-week series, hosted by actor Alec Baldwin, is generously underwritten by The Kaplen Foundation, the Audrey Love Charitable Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Philharmonic's corporate partner, MetLife Foundation. The broadcast will be available on the Philharmonic's Website, nyphil.org. The program is broadcast locally in the New York metropolitan area on 105.9 FM WQXR on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. *Check local listings for broadcast and program information.

A regular guest with North America's top orchestras, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos is returning to the New York Philharmonic for the fourth time since 2005. This season he also conducts the Cincinnati, Boston, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Montreal symphony orchestras, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He appears regularly with the National, Chicago, and Toronto symphony orchestras, and at the Tanglewood Music Festival.

Born in Burgos, Spain, in 1933, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos studied violin, piano, music theory, and composition at the conservatories in Bilbao and Madrid, and conducting at Munich's Hochschule fu?r Musik, where he graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the Richard Strauss Prize. From 2004 to 2011 he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Dresden Philharmonic, and in the 2012–13 season will begin his post as chief conductor of the Danish National Orchestra.
Mr. Fruhbeck has toured extensively with such ensembles as the Philharmonia of London, London Symphony Orchestra, National Orchestra of Madrid, and Swedish Radio Orchestra. He has toured North America with the Vienna Symphony, Spanish National Orchestra, and Dresden Philharmonic. He has recorded extensively for EMI, Decca, Deutsche Gramophone, Spanish Columbia, and Orfeo. Several of his recordings are considered to be classics, including his interpretations of Mendelssohn's Elijah and St. Paul, Mozart's Requiem, Orff's Carmina burana, Bizet's Carmen, and the complete works of Manual de Falla.

More Articles by This Author...