Virtuoso Pianist Orli Shaham And Portland Symphonic Choir To Perform With Vancouver Symphony USA, February 25-26

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA's 2022/23 season continues with 2022/23 Artist-in-Residence and virtuoso pianist Orli Shaham in a tour-de-force program on February 25-26 at Skyview Concert Hall.

Shaham will perform Robert Schumann's beautiful and expressive Piano Concerto in A minor under the baton of Maestro Salvador Brotons. Shaham has performed with the VSO on several occasions, most recently in April of 2021 in a highly-acclaimed, fully live streamed concert performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2. Also on the program this February is the Intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's 1905 opera Amica and Giacomo Puccini's arresting Messa di Gloria featuring the Portland Symphonic Choir and soloists Katherine Goforth and Anton Belov.

Written for and premiered by the composer's wife Clara Schumann, Piano Concerto in A minor is at turns powerful and lyrical, and is one of the most widely performed and recorded piano concertos of the period. Clara Schumann was a distinguished pianist and composer in her own right and following the premiere she raved about her husband's work, writing "... how rich in invention, how interesting from the beginning to the end, how fresh and what a beautiful coherent whole!"

Puccini's Messa di Gloria¸also called Messa a quattro voci or simply Messa, is a mass written for orchestra and four-part chorus with tenor and baritone soloists. The work had its first performance in 1880 to a favorable reception, but Puccini never published the entire work and it was not performed again until 1952. While Puccini is better known today for his hugely popular operas, Messa has been firmly established as a part of the choral music canon since its publication, full of energy and vitality.

The piano for this program is provided by Steinway & Sons.

Media Available

Tickets are on sale now at vancouversymphony.org or by calling (360)735-7278. Following the continued popularity of the live stream for all symphonic concerts, the VSO will continue to offer the option of viewing the program live from home. Virtual-only tickets are available, and all in person ticket holders will have the option of viewing virtually.

The Saturday performance at Skyview Concert Hall will begin at 7:00pm, with the celebrated VSO pre-concert show Da Capo, hosted by VSO Podcast host Ashley Johnson and VSO trombonist Greg Scholl, airing only on the live stream at 6:30pm. During intermission the live stream will feature special video programming. The Sunday performance will begin at 3:00pm, with the virtual live stream programming beginning at 2:30.

All ticket holders will receive a secure email link in order to access the live stream performances.

A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety, and brilliance, the pianist Orli Shaham is hailed by critics on four continents. The New York Times called her a "brilliant pianist," The Chicago Tribune referred to her as "a first-rate Mozartean," and London's Guardian said Ms. Shaham's playing at the Proms was "perfection."

Orli Shaham has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world, and has appeared in recital internationally, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She is Artistic Director of Pacific Symphony's chamber series Café Ludwig in California since 2007, and Artistic Director of the interactive children's concert series, Orli Shaham's Bach Yard, which she founded in 2010.

Highlights of Ms. Shaham's 2022-2023 concert season include performances with the Finnish Radio Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, and Vancouver Symphony (USA), where she was named VSO's inaugural Artist-In-Residence. In 2022, she released Volumes 2 and 3 of the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas. Her Mozart recording project also includes Volume 1 of the Piano Sonatas, and Piano Concertos with St. Louis Symphony all of which are part of her discography of a dozen titles on Canary Classics, Deutsche Gramophone, Sony, and other labels.

Orli Shaham is a Co-Host and Creative for the national radio program From the Top. She is on the piano and chamber music faculty at The Juilliard School and is chair of the board of trustees at Kaufman Music Center in New York.

American vocalist Katherine Goforth shares her "noble, colorful and iridescent vocal sound" (Magazin Klassik) in strong and heartfelt performances. "Goforth... does not hold back," (The New York Times) offering vivid character portraits sung with the utmost commitment and finesse. Winner of the 2019 Oregon District Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions and the 2019 National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards regional competition, she is a distinctive vocalist, representing the best of next generation operatic talent.

Goforth, who is transgender, excels in a wide-range of roles across the gender spectrum. A member of the International Opera Studio of Oper Köln for the 2018/19 season, Katherine sang Il Conte di Bandiera in Salieri's La Scuola dei Gelosi in the Kammeroper, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte für Kinder and 3rd Jew in Salome on the main stage. Of these performances, The German Stage noted that Katherine was "stunningly charming," the General-Anzeiger wrote that her "tenor projects clearly... (and her) piano passages reveal lyric qualities as well," and Opern Magazin stated that she "rose to the highest form."

A graduate of the Juilliard School and St. Olaf College, Goforth also attended the Franz Schubert Institut, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, Heidelberger Frühling Liedakademie, Georg Solti Accademia, Boston Wagner Institute and participated in masterclasses through the Richard Tucker Foundation.

About Anton Belov

Since winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 2002, baritone Anton Belov has expanded his career to reach major opera houses and concert halls across the United States. His voice has been called rich and mellifluous by the New York Times, while the Florida Weekly compared his performance to casting a mystical spell over the audience.

A graduate of the Juilliard Opera Center, he has appeared with numerous companies and orchestras throughout the United States and has earned critical acclaim for his portrayals of characters as diverse as Count di Luna (Il Trovatore), Don Giovanni, Escamillo (Carmen), Germont (La Traviata), Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Doctor Malatesta (Don Pasquale), and Eugene Onegin. Dr. Belov performed throughout the United States appearing with Boston Lyric Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Boston, Opera Delaware, Connecticut Grand Opera, Tacoma Opera, Opera New Jersey, Anchorage and Eugene Operas among others.

Equally at home with oratorio and concert repertoire, Mr. Belov presented over 100 recitals throughout the United States appearing at such venues as Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Maestro Salvador Brotons returns for his 32nd season as Artistic Director and Conductor of the VSO. In addition to the VSO, he has been the Music Director and Conductor of the Orquestra Simfònica de les Illes Balears "Ciutat de Palma" (1997-2001, 2009-2013) and the Orquestra Sinfónica del Vallés (1997-2002). He is presently the Conductor of the Barcelona Symphonic Band. In 2005, he received the "Arts Council" award by the Clark County and The City of Vancouver as well as the Kiwanis Rose Award. He has guest conducted orchestras in countries such as the U.S., Israel, France, Germany, China, Poland, South Korea, Mexico, Uruguay, and Colombia.

The VSO, now in its 44th season, has been a cornerstone of Southwest Washington's arts community, providing symphonic music of the highest caliber in live performances and through music education in schools, concert halls, and throughout the community. For more information, please visit vancouversymphony.org.

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