CSO to Perform Works of Tchaikovsky & Sibelius with Guest Conductor Anu Tali

Guest conductor Anu Tali will lead the CSO in an exceptional program showcasing works of Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, and Pärt. In the hands of guest violinist Guy Braunstein, the first concertmaster of the world-renowned Berlin Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky's glorious violin concerto will sparkle and thunder as never before. Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 2 is an epic piece, filled with color, drama, and a sense of sweeping forward momentum. The quiet and moving work of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt pays sincere tribute to Benjamin Britten, one of the twentieth century's most illustrious composers.

The Columbus Symphony presents Tchaikovsky & Sibelius at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.) on Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29, at 8pm. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 228-8600 or (800) 745-3000. The CAPA Ticket Center will also be open two hours prior to each performance. Young people between the ages of 13-25 may purchase $5 PNC Arts Alive All Access tickets while available. For more information, visit www.GoFor5.com.

The 2013-14 Masterworks Series is made possible through the generous support of season sponsors Anne and Noel Melvin.

As one of the most intriguing young conductors on the scene today, Anu Tali belongs to a new generation of artists who are constantly searching for fresh musical ideas. Together with her twin sister Kadri, Tali founded the Nordic Symphony Orchestra in 1997 in order to develop cultural contacts between Estonia and Finland and to unite musicians from around the world. Today the Nordic Symphony Orchestra has members from 15 countries, bringing together musicians from some of the world's leading orchestras. Tali received the 2003 Cultural Award and 2004 Presidential Award of Estonia for her work introducing Estonian music to the world. She was also named 2006 Musician of the Year by the Estonian Broadcasting Corporation. Several broadcasting stations, amongst them ARTE, NHK Japan, YLE Finland, and Deutsche Welle, have produced documentaries about Tali's work.

Violinist Guy Braunstein was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and studied the violin under the guidance of Chaim Taub, and later in New York with Glenn Dicterow and Pinchas Zuckerman. He started performing as an international soloist and a chamber musician at a young age and has since played with the Israel Philharmonic, Tonhalle Zurich, Bamberg Symphony, Copenhagen Radio, and Frankfurt Radio Orchestras, as well as the Philharmonica de la Scalla, Berliner Philharmoniker, and many others.

From 2003-2007, Braunstein held the position of Professor of Music in the University of the Arts (Universitaet der Kunst) in Berlin, and since 2006, has been the Music Director of the Rolandseck festival in Germany. He was the youngest person to be appointed concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2000, a position which heralded his debut as an orchestral member and which he currently retains. Braunstein plays a rare violin made by Francesco Ruggieri in 1679.

Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer whose works included symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, chamber music, and a choral setting of the Russian Orthodox Divine Liturgy. Some of these are among the most popular theatrical music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, which he bolstered with appearances as a guest conductor later in his career in Europe and the US. His Violin Concerto is one of the best known of all violin concertos and considered to be among the most technically difficult works for the violin.

Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. The core of Sibelius' oeuvre is his set of seven symphonies. Like Beethoven, Sibelius used each successive work to further develop his own personal compositional style. Symphony No. 2 was started in winter 1901 in Rapallo, Italy, and finished in 1902 in Finland. It was first performed by the Helsinki Philharmonic Society on March 8, 1902, with the composer conducting. After the first performance, Sibelius made some revisions, and the revised version was given its first performance by Armas Järnefelt on November 10, 1903, in Stockholm.

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