Midcoast Symphony Orchestra opens 25th season with Vive la Musique!
Posted: 10/7/14
The 25th anniversary season of the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra will open with performances of two of the most popular works in symphonic literature: the Brahms Symphony No.2 in D Major and the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3, with soloist Lise de la Salle of Paris, France. Music Director Rohan Smith will conduct both performances, on Saturday and Sunday, October 25 and 26, in Lewiston and Topsham.
In just a few years, through her international concert appearances and her award-winning Naïve recordings, 26 year-old Lise de la Salle has established a reputation as one of today's most exciting young artists, and as a musician of uncommon sensibility and maturity. Her playing inspired a Washington Post critic to write, “For much of the concert, the audience had to remember to breathe...the exhilaration didn’t let up for a second until her hands came off the keyboard.” The members of the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra are thrilled to accompany such a distinguished young musician in a piece as virtuosic and demanding as the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3.
At the debut of the Rachmaninoff piece in November, 1909, the music critic for The New York Times wrote, “The work grows in impressiveness upon acquaintance and will doubtless take rank among the most interesting piano concertos of recent years, although its great length and extreme difficulties bar it from performances by any but pianists of exceptional technical powers.” And indeed, formidable virtuosity is perhaps the feature that strikes listeners the most, along with Rachmaninoff’s special gift for lush melodies over rich accompaniments. Ms. de la Salle is sure to deliver an amazing performance of this delicious piece.
A native of France, now living in Paris, Ms. de la Salle first came to international attention in 2005, at the age of 16, with a Bach/Liszt recording that was selected as "Recording of the Month" by Gramophone Magazine. Ms. de la Salle, who records exclusively with the label Naïve, was then similarly recognized in 2008 for her recording of Liszt’s, Prokofiev’s and Shostakovich’s first concertos – a remarkable feat for someone only 20 years old (at that time). Her most recent recording offers works of Schumann, including Kinderszenen and the C Major Fantasy, which was released in 2014.
Lise de la Salle has played with many of the world's leading orchestras and conductors. She most recently made her London Symphony Orchestra debut with Fabio Luisi, who had invited her to become the first Artist-in-Residence of the Zurich Opera in 2014. In this country, Ms. de la Salle has played with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival, San Francisco Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, among others.
The overall mood of Brahms’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major work is serene, and particularly pleasing to both play and hear (it’s a favorite symphony for many musicians). The melodic opening with basses and cellos, answered by the horns, and spiced with woodwinds, sets the tone for the full symphony that grows to a glorious conclusion.
Symphony performances are Saturday, October 25, 2014, at 7:30 pm at the Franco Center in Lewiston and Sunday, October 26, 2014, at 2:30pm at the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham. Tickets are $20 and available online, also Gulf of Maine Books in Brunswick, Now You’re Cooking in Bath, or at the concert hall prior to the performance. For additional information or to purchase by phone, please call (207) 846-5378. 18 and younger admitted free.
Season tickets for the full 2014/2015 25th Anniversary concert season are available for $60, which includes tickets for all four concerts at either venue, plus a companion ticket so that season ticket holder can share their love of music with a friend.
More about soloist Lisa de la Salle
During the 2014-2015 season, Ms. de la Salle will be heard with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra and on tour with Sir Neville Marriner and the Staatskapelle Weimar. In the United State she will make her fourth appearance with Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the New Jersey Symphony.
A sought-after recitalist, she has recently been presented to enthusiastic audiences and critics in major series in New York, Boston, Washington DC, San Francisco, Montreal, Toronto, and at the Philharmonie in Berlin, Wigmore Hall in London and the Louvre in Paris. Ms. de la Salle also takes pleasure in educational outreach and conducts master classes in many of the cities in which she performs. For more information, please visit www.lisedelasalle.com.