Las Vegas Philharmonic to Open 2015-16 Season with Beethoven & Brahms, 9/12

The Las Vegas Philharmonic introduces the 2015-2016 concert season with an opening night performance of Beethoven and Brahms on Saturday, September 12th at 7:30 p.m. in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center. Music Director Donato Cabrera will lead the orchestra in a performance featuring Breakdown by young American composer, Dan Visconti, followed by Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 performed by emerging artist Andrew Tyson and Brahms Symphony No. 2.

Prior to the performance, Cabrera will host a Classical Conversation at 6:30 p.m. to share the history and meaning behind the music being performed. After the concert, the Philharmonic will host a cocktail party to toast the new season in The Smith Center.

The evening will open with Breakdown, a work premiered just earlier this year with the California Symphony by their Young American Composer in Residence, Dan Visconti. The music combines the classical tradition with elements of jazz, bluegrass, and rock.

Next, the orchestra performs Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 featuring guest pianist Andrew Tyson. The concerto, composed during the illustrious mid-point of Beethoven's career, shows strong influences from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24, sharing the same signature key of C minor and similar phrasing.

Tyson was born in North Carolina and made his orchestral debut at the age of 15. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music under Claude Frank and received his Master's Degree and Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School where he won the Gina Bachauer Piano Competition and received the Arthur Rubinstein Prize in Piano. In 2012, he won fifth prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition. This year, Tyson captured first prize at the Géza Anda Competition in Zürich. As a result of his win, he will perform close to 100 performances throughout Europe over the next three years. Some of his prior engagements include the North Carolina Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the National Orchestra of Belgium.

To conclude the program, the orchestra will perform Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73. Although Brahms initially refused to write a symphony in the wake of Beethoven's triumphant symphonies, he reluctantly composed his first and then second symphony to much success. This work, also known as a landscape symphony, was inspired by his summer travels in southern Austria.

"I selected this opening night repertoire to demonstrate the dynamic breadth of classical music, from the beloved early nineteenth century works to a new generation of classical music that interweaves established styles yet explores new thematic techniques in composition." "We have the opportunity to perform these innovative works for the very first time," stated Music Director Donato Cabrera.

Single ticket prices for the September 12th performance are $26, $46, $66 & $96. Opening night cocktail party tickets are $50 per person. Concert and party tickets can be purchased through The Smith Center Box Office. Five-concert and 10-concert subscriptions starting at $130 and $260, respectively, are available through The Smith Center Box Office, phone 702.749.2000 or online at lvphil.org.

The Las Vegas Philharmonic offers shuttle buses to The Smith Center from Summerlin (Starbright Theatre, 2215 Thomas Ryan Blvd) and Henderson (Anthem Center at Independence Center 2460 Hampton Road.) Bus passes must be purchased in advance and can be obtained when purchasing concert tickets, or by calling The Smith Center Patron Services at 702.749.2000. Each bus pass costs $15 roundtrip per concert.

PROGRAM:

Beethoven & Brahms: Opening Night
Saturday, September 12, 7:30 PM

Classical Conversation with Music Director Donato Cabrera at 6:30 PM
Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center

Donato Cabrera, conductor
Andrew Tyson, piano

DAN VISCONTI Breakdown
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Opus 37
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Opus 73

The Las Vegas Philharmonic, led by Music Director, Donato Cabrera, established its presence in Southern Nevada in 1998. The mission of the organization is to perform music that enriches and educates, helping to build a vibrant, culturally rich community.

Music education and outreach are the cornerstones of the Philharmonic's commitment to community. Our Youth Concert Series brings more than 16,000 children annually into the concert hall for a vital music education program, and our Young Artists' Concerto Competition recognizes and encourages emerging talent among Nevada youth in the area of music performance.

Our rich offerings of season concerts showcase local talents alongside stellar nationally and internationally known guest artists on the magnificent Reynolds Hall stage. At the orchestra's core are 78 contracted professional musicians, many of whom are esteemed educators who also perform in other professional productions in Las Vegas, bringing depth and variety to the organization.

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