Deborah Voigt, Itzhak Perlman and More Set for 2013-14 Knight Masterworks' Ziff Classical Series

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County announces the extraordinary lineup for the 2013-2014 JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT MASTERWORKS SEASON - SANFORD AND BEATRICE ZIFF CLASSICAL MUSIC SERIES.

The powerhouse season features some of the world's most esteemed orchestras and sought-after soloists, and kicks off with the Arsht Center debut of one of the opera world's true superstars - the popular diva Deborah Voigt tonight, November 15. The American soprano is equally at home as the star of the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Wagner's Ring of the Nibelungs as well as in repertory ranging from Strauss and Puccini heroines to Broadway musicals and intimate cabaret classics.

The beloved musical genius Itzhak Perlman follows on December 19, 2013 with a program of violin jewels. On February 28, 2014, THE DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA will be led by Leonard Slatkin. The season continues with a much-anticipated Arsht Center concert by THE ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS fronted, violin in hand, by its new virtuoso music director Joshua Bell on March 15, 2014.

The grand finale of the 2013-2014 Ziff Classical Music Series features the incomparable ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, led on this very special occasion by its beloved honorary music director ZUBIN MEHTA on March 23, 2014. In addition, Knight Foundation has renewed its inspirational support for the Knight Masterworks Season with a new, two-year grant for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons.

Season ticket prices for the five-concert SANFORD AND BEATRICE ZIFF CLASSICAL MUSIC SERIES range from $225 - $680. Subscriptions can be purchased beginning today, March 11 in person at the Adrienne Arsht Center Box Office, by phone at (305) 949-6722 or online at arshtcenter.org. Priority group seating for 15 or more people may be arranged by calling the Adrienne Arsht Center at (786) 468-2326.

As part of its ongoing mission to make the arts accessible to young people, the Arsht Center will introduce two new FREE ticket programs that offer local youth the opportunity to experience live classical music in the Knight Concert Hall. As an expansion of its ongoing partnership with Miami Music Project, the Center will provide student musicians involved in the Miami Music Project and their families free tickets to 2013-2014 Knight Masterworks Season - Ziff Classical Music Series offerings (based on availability). In addition, the Center will provide a complimentary ticket to anyone between the ages of eight and 18 with the purchase of a subscription or full-priced single ticket by an adult guardian (restrictions may apply). Details are available at arshtcenter.org or by contacting the Arsht Center Box Office.

"Our 2013-2014 Masterworks season celebrates the richness and diversity of our nation's and the world's most widely acclaimed classical musical treasures, building on what is now a new cultural tradition in Miami and further expanding that tradition to a include free opportunities to expose young people to great classical music," said John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. "Made possible with the support those who are our vision, Knight Foundation and Sanford and Beatrice Ziff, the program of revered symphonic ensembles and soloists highlights the Arsht Center's ongoing commitment to presenting extraordinary classical music throughout the season in our acoustically superb Knight Concert Hall."

PROGRAM/ARTIST INFORMATION AND SHOW TIMES:

Deborah Voigt, Solo Recital
November 15, 2013 at 8 p.m.
John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall

Deborah Voigt has been hailed as quite simply "Awesome" by The New York Times, and her recent portrayal of Wagner's Bruenhilde has been seen around the world live in HD "Live from the Met" and now in Blu-Ray. Her searing performance in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of The Ring of the Nibelungs was praised by The Huffington Post for "the emotional intensity of her portrayal...so moving and convincing that tears streamed down the critic's face." A popular hostess as well as star of multiple PBS broadcasts, the irrepressible, immensely likable diva has been hailed not only as today's reigning Wagnerian soprano, but also in a wide range of challenging roles from Puccini's gun-toting Minnie in La fanciulla del West, Strauss' Salome and Ariadne and Berlioz' tragic Cassandre in the epic Les Troyens to Annie Oakley in Irving Berlin's great American musical Annie Get Your Gun. Equally at home in popular song and Broadway, Deborah Voigt "comes to pop-singing naturally," according to Opera News. She has headlined in benefits for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS as well as in sold-out runs at New York's Café Carlyle. Known to Twitter fans as "Dramatic soprano and down-to-earth diva," Deborah Voigt was named by the Los Angeles Times as one of the top 25 cultural tweeters to follow.

Itzhak Perlman, Solo Recital
December 19, 2013 at 8 p.m.
John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall

Born in Israel and trained at Juilliard, Itzhak Perlman is undeniably today's foremost virtuoso of the violin and enjoys a superstar status rarely afforded to classical musicians. His disarming humanity and his charm, his extraordinary artistry and his irrepressible joy in making music also have made him one of the world's most beloved artists. He is a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in recognition of his contribution to the cultural and educational life of the nation. He has also received the National Medal of Arts, along with 15 Grammy Awards and four Emmy Awards. A born educator, he runs his own summer Perlman Music program and also holds a teaching chair in his alma mater, the Juilliard School. He has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and many other of the world's great orchestras. As a soloist, he collaborated with John Williams and Steven Spielberg in the Oscar-winning picture Schindler's List. Itzhak Perlman brings his beloved fiddle for one night only in this anticipated return to the Arsht Center.

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Leonard Slatkin, Music Director
February 28, 2014 at 8 p.m.
John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall

The DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA was founded in 1887 and is the fourth-oldest orchestra in the United States, with a proud tradition of trailblazing performances, visionary maestros, and collaborations with the world's foremost musical artists. Leonard Slatkin, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "America's Music Director," became the DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA's 12th Music Director in 2008, bringing his own international reputation as one of the world's extraordinary conductors. His musicianship and his passion for educating young people has brought the DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA into a new era of revitalized performances and community engagement. Under Maestro Slatkin, the orchestra's innovative, unprecedented webcast series "Live from Orchestra Hall" since 2011 has brought concerts available for free to millions of music lovers on the web.

THE ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
Joshua Bell, Music Director
March 15, 2014 at 8 p.m.
John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall

Perhaps the world's finest chamber orchestra, THE ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS was founded by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958, bringing together London's finest musicians to play among friends without a conductor in the Church of St. Martin in the Fields. What followed was a veritable revolution in the way the music world heard music from across the centuries, with impeccable performance practice married to a disarming humanity that made the orchestra and its hundreds of recordings staples of classical music. A classical superstar in his own right, and one of history's great violinists by any standard, Joshua Bell. is not only the first American but also the first person to hold the post of Music Director of the Academy since Sir Neville founded it. Of Joshua Bell's first tour with THE ACADEMY OF ST. MARTIN IN THE FIELDS, Gramophone reported that "the audience reaction has been nothing short of rock concert enthusiasm." The Academy's first recordings for Sony Classical under its new music director will be a complete cycle of Beethoven's symphonies. The first installment, the Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7, is scheduled for release in the spring of 2013.

THE ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
GIANADREA NOSEDA, Music Director
ZUBIN MEHTA, Conductor
March 23, 2014 at 8 p.m.
John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall

Of Israel's oldest and most influential cultural institutions, THE ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA was founded in 1936 by Bronislaw Huberman, and its inaugural concert that year was conducted by Arturo Toscanini. Then, as now, it is the living fulfillment of the Polish Huberman's dream "to unite the desire of the country for an orchestra with the desire of Jewish musicians for a country." It began, in fact, as an orchestra of soloists, brilliant German and Eastern European exiles from Nazi Germany who emigrated to Palestine and what would become the state of Israel. Today, with concert series in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa as well as across the world, THE ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA is an eloquent voice for peace as well as Israel's powerful, most exquisite cultural ambassador. Its beloved former Music Director ZUBIN MEHTA leads THE ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA in this highly anticipated Arsht Center season finale.

Free pre-concert lectures, co-presented by the Arsht Center and Steinway & Sons, will be held in the Arsht Center's Peacock Education Center at 7:00 p.m. prior to each concert on the classical series.

*All programs, artists, ticket prices, availability, dates and times are subject to change without notice. Visit www.arshtcenter.org for up-to-date information for details and schedules.

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is one of the world's leading performing arts organizations and venues. Made possible by Miami-Dade County's largest ever public/private-sector partnership, the Center is home to the Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet and New World Symphony, America's Orchestral Academy. In addition, numerous South Florida arts organizations perform in its theaters regularly. Since opening in 2006, the Center has emerged as a leader in offering and presenting innovative programming that mirrors South Florida's diversity, as a catalyst for development in Miami, and as a host of impactful community outreach and education programs.

Designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the venue is comprised of the 2,400-seat Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House, the 2,200-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall, the black box Carnival Studio Theater, a restored Carnival Tower, the Peacock Foundation, Inc. Studio, the Peacock Foundation, Inc. Education Center and the outdoor Parker and Vann Thomson Plaza for the Arts. Events impresario and restaurateur Barton G. Weiss brought his signature style to the Center in 2009 with PRELUDE BY BARTON G, a full-service upscale restaurant.

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit KnightFoundation.org.

The Steinway Piano Gallery of Miami is one of only 8 Steinway & Sons factory showrooms in the country. Steinway & Sons is dedicated to the ideal of hand-crafting the finest pianos in the world. As a result, the majority of the world's concert pianists of all genres perform exclusively on Steinway & Sons Pianos. In addition, Steinway & Sons pianos are found in the world's greatest homes and estates. In its 158th year, Steinway & Sons was founded in 1853 by German immigrant Henry Engelhard Steinway in a Manhattan loft on Varick Street. Henry and his sons, C. F. Theodore, Charles, Henry Jr., William, and Albert, developed the modern piano and to this day Steinway continues to perfect their instruments at their famed factory in Astoria, (Queens) New York. They build their pianos one at a time, applying skills that are handed down from master to apprentice, generation after generation. The result is instruments renowned worldwide for their unsurpassed sound and quality. Pianos with such superior sound and responsive touch they enchant not only the most legendary pianists to date, but the most discerning of music lovers.

Photo Credit: Peter Ross

To post a comment, you must register and login.