Palm Beach Symphony Ends Season with all Beethoven Program

 Palm Beach Symphony’s 50th Anniversary Season culminates with a program that celebrates Beethoven’s early work followed by one of his greatest works during the season finale at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts on April 25 at 7:30 p.m. with Music Director Gerard Schwarz at the podium and piano virtuoso Ignat Solzhenitsyn. The evening is generously underwritten by Patricia Lambrecht/The Lambrecht Family Foundation.

Solzhenitsyn uncovers the genius of the composer’s first full-length orchestral piece, Piano Concerto No. 2. The finale of this historic season soars to the rafters with Beethoven’s groundbreaking Symphony No. 9 “Choral” with the famous “Ode to Joy” performed by soprano Hayley Lipke, mezzo-soprano Robynne Redmon, tenor Joseph McBrayer, bass-baritone Keith Klein and the Frost Chorale, Frost Bella Voce, Frost Symphonic Choir and Frost Chamber Singers under the direction of Dr. Amanda Quist. The performance comes nearly 200 years after Beethoven’s 9th Symphony premiered in May 1824.

“There's no better way to celebrate the final concert of our 50th-anniversary season than with Beethoven’s Ninth, most people's favorite symphony,” said Maestro Schwarz. “It calls for four excellent vocal soloists, which we have, to join the full orchestra in the famous last movement. And it especially calls for a fantastic chorus — the parts are quite demanding. It's exciting to collaborate with Amanda Quist and with one of the best choirs I've ever heard to bring this choral masterpiece to life.”

Recognized as one of today's most gifted artists and enjoying an active career as both conductor and pianist, Solzhenitsyn's lyrical and poignant interpretations have won him critical acclaim throughout the world. His extensive touring schedule in the United States and Europe has included concerto performances with numerous major orchestras, including those of Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle, Baltimore, Montreal, Toronto, London, Paris, Israel and Sydney, and collaborations with such distinguished conductors as Herbert Blomstedt, James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Valery Gergiev, André Previn, Gerard Schwarz, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Yuri Temirkanov and David Zinman. The New York Times reported, “Solzhenitsyn played the concerto’s solos with simple sincerity and a comfortable command of some monstrously difficult piano writing: never a false gesture, no theatrics. An apt and often-asked question goes: Does music need another young pianist? I think it can make use of this one.”

The GRAMMY®-nominated American conductor Schwarz — internationally recognized for his moving performances, innovative programming, and extensive catalog of recordings — serves as Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, Palm Beach Symphony, and Mozart Orchestra of New York. He is also Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of the Mostly Mozart Festival. Schwarz is the Distinguished Professor of Music, Conducting and Orchestral Studies of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and Music Director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra. In his over five decades as a respected classical musician and conductor, Schwarz has received hundreds of honors and accolades including nine Emmy Awards, 14 GRAMMY nominations, eight ASCAP Awards, and the Ditson Conductor’s Award. He was the first American named Conductor of the Year by Musical America and has received numerous honorary doctorates. The City of Seattle named the street alongside the Benaroya Hall “Gerard Schwarz Place” in his honor. Learn more at gerardschwarz.com.

Soprano Hayley Lipke recently sang the roles of Fiordiligi (Cosífan tutte) and Desire Armfeldt (A Little Night Music) with Quisisana in Maine where she will return this summer to perform as Violetta Valéry in La traviata. The winner of the South Carolina District in the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Lipke received her undergraduate and master’s degrees in vocal performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

American Mezzo-Soprano, Robynne Redmon has the unusual distinction of having achieved operatic success in the Bel Canto, French Grand Opera, and Italian Dramatic Repertoire, as well as having premiered numerous 20th century works.  She has appeared in leading roles at The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra de Marseilles, Teatro Regio di Torino, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Opéra Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and New York City Opera among others.  Her orchestral performances have included appearances with the Detroit, Montreal, Seattle, Atlanta, Nashville and Virginia Symphonies, and the Israel Philharmonic. Her recordings include the Beethoven Missa Solemnis with the Nashville Symphony, Mahler 8th Symphony, and Stravinsky’s Les Noces, both under the baton of JoAnn Falletta with the Virginia Symphony. She is also the director of Frost School of Music’s summer program held in Salzburg, Austria.

Tenor Joseph McBrayer made his Florida Grand Opera debut in that company’s new production of El Matrimonio Secreto and continues to work as one of the Opera’s Studio Artists. He has performed the roles of Sam (Susannah), Goro (Madama Butterfly), Alfredo (La traviata), Ferrando (Cosí fan tutte) and Woz (The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs), among others, and has worked Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Indianapolis Opera, Marble City Opera and the Atlanta Opera.  

Keith Klein is a 28-year-old operatic bass-baritone who began his career winning the 2014 KC Superstar competition and appearing on Season 10 of America's Got Talent. He has performed as a Studio Artist with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, an Artist in Residence with Opera Colorado, a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and as a Studio Artist with Florida Grand Opera. He is the recipient of an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition and the Barbara and Stanley Richman Memorial Award from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

‍Dr. Amanda Quist is the Director of Choral Activities for the First School of Music at the University of Miami. She directs the graduate program in choral conducting and is conductor of the award-winning Frost Chorale. The Chorale performs the entire canon of choral music, gives world premieres, makes acclaimed recordings and travels nationally and abroad.

Tickets to the concert are $25-$95 and may be purchased online at PalmBeachSymphony.org, by phone at (561) 281-0145 and at the Palm Beach Symphony Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at 700 South Dixie Highway, Suite 100, West Palm Beach. The Kravis Center is 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL  33401.

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