Violin Virtuoso Pinchas Zukerman Returns to Palm Beach Symphony in January

Following his performance with the Symphony that was livestreamed to remote viewers during the pandemic, violin virtuoso Pinchas Zukerman returns to join maestro Gerard Schwarz as he leads Palm Beach Symphony in a Masterworks Concert on Monday, January 15 at 7:30. 

“Pinchas Zukerman is without question one of the greatest violinists of all time,” said Maestro Schwarz. “His five-decade career coincides with the history of the Palm Beach Symphony and can be traced back to just after the time when he and I went to high school together, if you can imagine. It will be a privilege for the orchestra and for South Floridians to witness his stellar artistry again in these selections by Tchaikovsky and Mozart.”      

Zukerman will perform Tchaikovsky's melodic Sérénade mélancolique and sentimental “Mélodie,” from Souvenir d'un lieu cher, paired with Mozart's buoyant Violin Concerto No. 3, “Strassburg.” 

This uplifting concert on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday opens with Hailstork's inspirational Four Hymns Without Words featuring Palm Beach Symphony Principal Trumpet Craig Morris. The concert culminates with Sibelius' majestic and powerful Symphony No. 2.  

“As part of this 50th anniversary season, it was important to me as a personal gesture to bring to our audience the piece that made me who I am, from boyhood to now, to our audience,” said Maestro Schwarz in his role as the music director of Palm Beach Symphony.  “When I was a young boy of around the age of 12, Sibelius' second symphony was the first serious orchestral piece I played, and it is the piece that convinced me to try to make music my life. It is one of the one of the greatest symphonies of the 20th century.”

With a celebrated career encompassing five decades, Pinchas Zukerman reigns as one of today's most sought after and versatile musicians - violin and viola soloist, conductor and chamber musician.  He is renowned as a virtuoso, admired for the expressive lyricism of his playing, singular beauty of tone and impeccable musicianship, which can be heard throughout his discography of more than 100 albums which garnered two GRAMMY awards and 21 nominations.

This season's highlights include performances with orchestra and in chamber music recitals, including those with the very distinguished Zukerman Trio, in Spain, Denmark, Sweden and France and in his Wolf Trap debut with cellist Amanda Forsyth and pianist Stephen Michael Brown. Orchestral performances abroad include the Adelaide Symphony, Orchestre de Lyon (in France and on tour in Spain), the Bamberg Symphony with Lahav Shani, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (in Rome and Salzburg), the Israel Philharmonic, L'Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto in Italy and the English Chamber Orchestra at Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. 

Internationally recognized for his moving performances, innovative programming and extensive catalogue of recordings, American conductor Gerard Schwarz serves as Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, Palm Beach Symphony, and Mozart Orchestra of New York, and is 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.

Tickets are $25-$95 and may be purchased at PalmBeachSymphony.org and by phone at (561) 281-0145. The Kravis Center is 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL  33401.

To post a comment, you must register and login.