Dvorak and Brahms Conclude Utah Symphony's 2012-13 Season Tonight and Tomorrow

Utah Symphony Associate Conductor Vladimir Kulenovic brings the Utah Symphony's 2012-13 Masterwork Series to a spectacular close by conducting two master composers' stunning works.

Vladimir Kulenovic has led the Utah Symphony in many education, family, and pops concerts throughout the state of Utah but will for the first time lead the orchestra in a performance on the Masterworks Series in Abravanel Hall. Tonight's May 24th and tomorrow's May 25th performances will begin at 8:00 p.m. with the sophisticated Symphony No. 2 by Johannes Brahms. The concert will also include two exciting works by Brahms' Czech contemporary, Antonín Dvorák. These include his "Slavonic Dances" op. 72 nos. 2 and 3 as well as the Violin Concerto in A minor with international soloist Augustin Hadelich.

Repertoire:

After finishing the momentous task of writing his first symphony, Brahms produced his second symphony with ease. Brahms's Symphony No. 2 is almost pastoral in its light-hearted passages and careful structuring. The symphony is often compared to Beethoven's "Pastoral" because of its form and its sophistication of melodic and harmonic writing.

The vivid and colorful "Slavonic Dances" brought Dvo?ák international recognition and launched his world-wide career. His original set of "Slavonic Dances" was written in response to Brahms's "Hungarian Dances." The second set was written at the request of Dvo?ák's publisher, who insisted on more due to the success of the first set. Both sets of dances are now among his most beloved works.

Dvo?ák's Violin Concerto in A minor was dedicated to Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, who was also a mutual friend of Brahms. While Dvo?ák was composing the concerto, Joachim wasn't fully pleased and asked for multiple revisions. After the revisions were made, still to Joachim's disapproval, the piece was premiered in Prague by a different violinist. The piece retained the original dedication to Joachim although he never performed it.

Pre-concert Chat: Associate Conductor Vladimir Kulenovic, Vice President of Artistic Planning Toby Tolokan, and guest artist Augustin Hadelich will present a free pre-concert chat each night, one hour prior to the start of the performance on the orchestra level of Abravanel Hall.

In collaboration with the Utah Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, complimentary tickets are available to this performance for those in the community with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. Accompanying tickets for family, friends, and caregivers are available at a 20% discount. Tickets are available by calling 801-869-9047 or in person at the Abravanel Hall ticket office (123 W. South Temple).

Single tickets for the performances range from $18 to $53 and can be purchased by calling 801-355-2787, in person at the Abravanel Hall ticket office (123 W. South Temple) or by visiting www.utahsymphony.org. Season subscribers and those desiring group discounts should call 801-533-6683. $10 tickets are available for youth and patrons 30 or younger through the USUO Upbeat program. All ticket prices are subject to change and availability. Ticket prices increase $5 on the day of the performance.

Guest Artist:

Consistently cited in the press for his "gorgeous tone," "poetic communication" and "fast-fingered brilliance," Augustin Hadelich has confirmed his place in the top echelon of young violinists. After performing a stellar debut with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood in August playing the Barber Violin Concerto, he has recently played an equally impressive subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center playing Lalo's "Symphonie espagnole."

Among Mr. Hadelich's 2012/2013 season highlights are debuts with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, San Francisco Symphony and the Toronto Symphony, as well as re-invitations to the Colorado, Houston and Jacksonville symphonies. This summer he will appear with the Britt Festival Orchestra, Chautauqua Festival Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and the New York Philharmonic at Vail. Among his upcoming worldwide engagements are the BBC Philharmonic, SWR Orchestra/Stuttgart and the Tampere Philharmonic.

In the United States, Augustin Hadelich has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, and the symphonies of Alabama, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Colorado, Columbus, Florida, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Louisville, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Syracuse, Utah, Vancouver and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Festival appearances include Aspen, Blossom, Bravo! Vail Valley, Chautauqua (where he made his American debut in 2001), Hollywood Bowl and Tanglewood.

Worldwide appearances include the Badische Staatskapelle/Karlsruhe, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie/Saarbrücken-Kaiserslautern, Dresden Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, RTE National Symphony Orchestra/Dublin, Tokyo Symphony, and chamber orchestras in Budapest, Cologne, Hamburg, Lucerne and Stuttgart, among others. He has collaborated with such renowned conductors as Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Lionel Bringuier, Justin Brown, Mei-Ann Chen, Karel Mark Chichon, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Alan Gilbert, Hans Graf, Giancarlo Guerrero, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Hannu Lintu, Jun Märkl, Fabio Mechetti, Juanjo Mena, Kazushi Ono, Peter Oundjian, Vasily Petrenko, Christoph Poppen, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Larry Rachleff, Stefan Sanderling, Michael Stern, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Bramwell Tovey, Mario Venzago and Kazuki Yamada.

Also an enthusiastic recitalist, Mr. Hadelich has appeared at Carnegie Hall, The Frick Collection (New York), Kennedy Center, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Kioi Hall (Tokyo), the Louvre, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and the Vancouver Recital Society, to name a few. As chamber musician, he has been a participant at the La Jolla, Marlboro, Ravinia, and Seattle festivals, and has collaborated with Midori at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater.

Mr. Hadelich has recorded two CDs for AVIE: Flying Solo, a CD of masterworks for solo violin (including the Bartók solo sonata); and Echoes of Paris, which features French and Russian repertoire influenced by Parisian culture in the early 20th century. For Naxos, he has recorded Haydn's complete violin concerti with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra and Telemann's complete Fantasies for Solo Violin. A new CD, Histoire du Tango will be released in the spring of 2013.

The 2006 Gold medalist of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, Mr. Hadelich is the recipient of Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award (2012), an Avery Fisher Career Grant (2009) and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in the UK (2011).

Born in Italy in 1984, the son of German parents, Augustin Hadelich holds an artist diploma from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Joel Smirnoff. He plays on the 1723 "Ex-Kiesewetter" Stradivari violin, on loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society.

Program

The Utah Symphony presents
Dvorák and Brahms

Abravanel Hall

Friday, May 24, 2013, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 25, 2013, 8:00 p.m.

Pre-concert Chat one hour before each concert with Associate Conductor Vladimir Kulenovic, Vice President of Artistic Planning Toby Tolokan, and guest artist Augustin Hadelich.

Vladimir Kulenovic, Conductor
Augustin Hadelich, Violin

Antonin Dvo?ák	Slavonic Dances, op. 72 No. 2 in E minor: Allegretto grazioso No. 3 in F major: Allegro
Antonin Dvo?ák	Concerto in A minor for Violin and Orchestra, op. 53 I. Allegro, ma non troppo II. Adagio, ma non troppo III. Finale: Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo Augustin Hadelich, Violin
INTERMISSION
Johannes Brahms	Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 73 I. Allegro non troppo II. Adagio non troppo III. Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) IV. Allegro con spirito

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