The Orchestra Now Releases New CD 'Piano Protagonists'

The Orchestra Now (TŌN) has announced the March 19 release of Piano Protagonists: Music for Piano and Orchestra, a new CD on Bridge Records. The new recording features three works for piano and orchestra first performed in concerts at the Bard Music Festival with the "powerful technique and exceptional insight" (The Washington Post) of award-winning American pianist Orion Weiss.

The works were conducted by Leon Botstein and subsequently recorded in January 2020 at the Fisher Center at Bard. The works call for virtuosic pianistic skills and span almost a century of musical Romanticism in which each composer responds to a specific source of inspiration. Korngold was moved by a concert pianist and family friend who suffered a terrible tragedy; Rimsky-Korsakov, inspired by the one-movement concerto form of Liszt, dedicated his concerto to the venerated old master; and Chopin's variation on a duet from Mozart's Don Giovanni-his first work for piano and orchestra-became a stepping stone in the young composer's rise.

Recordings of TŌN's live concerts from the Fisher Center can be heard on Classical WMHT-FM and WWFM The Classical Network, and are featured regularly on Performance Today, broadcast nationwide. TŌN's most recent Bridge recording, Buried Alive, was released in August 2020 and features works by Schoeck, Honegger, and Mitropoulos with baritone Michael Nagy. Full discography and additional details on TŌN's recordings can be found here.

Piano Protagonists: Music for Piano & Orchestra (on Bridge Records) The Orchestra Now Leon Botstein, conductor Orion Weiss, pianist Korngold: Piano Concerto in C-sharp for one hand, Op. 17 Rimsky-Korsakov: Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor, Op. 30 Chopin: Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" for piano and orchestra, Op. 2 Additional Notes on the Works Korngold's Piano Concerto in C-sharp was a 1923 commission from Paul Wittgenstein, who lost an arm in WWI. Wittgenstein premiered the work in Vienna in 1924 with Korngold conducting and held exclusive performing rights until his death in 1961. One of the most notable aspects of Rimsky-Korsakov's seldom-heard C-sharp minor piano concerto is that the composer was not a pianist. Clearly inspired by and dedicated to Liszt, the short work displays Liszt's dazzling pianism and also presents folk song melodies that place it in the Russian nationalist camp. Chopin's variations on Mozart's beloved duet from Don Giovanni was the composer's first work for piano and orchestra, written when he was only 17. Chopin's 1829 Vienna premiere of the work won great acclaim with a performance that moved him into the public spotlight. After hearing the piece in 1831, Robert Schumann-a contemporary and lifelong fan-was famously quoted as saying, "Hats off, gentlemen, a genius."

Digital files of the recording are available on request for press use. Orion Weiss One of the most sought-after soloists in his generation of young American musicians, pianist Orion Weiss has performed to worldwide acclaim with all the major American orchestras, including the Chicago and Boston Symphonies, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, and the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics. Also known for his enthusiasm for chamber music, Weiss performs regularly with such artists as violinists James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, and William Hagen; the pianist Shai Wosner; the Ariel, Parker, and Pacifica Quartets and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. As a recitalist and chamber musician, Weiss has appeared across the U.S. and world at venues and festivals including Lincoln Center, the Ravinia Festival, St. Petersburg White Nights Festival, the Bard Music Festival, Hong Kong Performances, and the Kennedy Center. He has released 15 commercial CDs, among them 5 solo albums. Among his impressive list of honors is a Gilmore Young Artist Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Gina Bachauer Scholarship at the Juilliard School, and a Recording Foundation Young Artist of the Year Award.

For upcoming activities and more detailed information about the musicians, visit theorchestranow.org.

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