Press Release
For Immediate Release:
December 22, 2005
New England Conservatory Celebrates Mozart 250 with Concerts and Opera
Opera Theater Presents Così fan tutte March 11-12, 2006
Violinist/Conductor Joseph Silverstein Leads “Linz” Symphony, Traverses Sonatas and Variations with Pianist Veronica Jochum
New England Conservatory will join the rest of the world in celebrating the 250th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 2006. Throughout the Spring semester, there will be concerts by students and faculty as well as a fully-staged production of the opera, Così fan tutte. The birthday observances kick off January 15 with a faculty recital by Boston Symphony Orchestra wind players Keisuke Wakao, oboe and Richard Ranti, bassoon. Among the highlights of the season is a four-concert traversal beginning February 1 of the Mozart Sonatas and Variations for violin and piano featuring violinist Joseph Silverstein and pianist Veronica Jochum. Silverstein, who is also Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of Orchestras at NEC, will lead the NEC Symphony Orchestra in the “Linz” Symphony, February 8.
In March, the NEC Opera Theater will present a fully staged production of Così fan tutte at the Cutler Majestic Theatre. John Greer, Director and Chair of Opera Studies, will conduct. Patricia-Maria Weinmann directs.
All concerts are free and open to the public with the exception of the opera production. Listeners are encouraged to visit NEC’s Mozart page on the web for updated listings of events.
The schedule follows:
January 15: BSO Winds
3 p.m. NEC’s Williams Hall
NEC's 2006 concert season opens with Mozart for winds: Boston Symphony Orchestra players Keisuke Wakao, oboe, and Richard Ranti, bassoon, joined by guest pianist Edmund Arkus, in excerpts from The Magic Flute as well as Sonata in A Major, K.526.
February 1: Violin and Keyboard
NEC’s Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
Two NEC faculty members, violinist Joseph Silverstein and pianist Veronica Jochum, perform Mozart's works for violin and keyboard in a series of concerts, of which this is the first. Subsequent performances in the series will be announced at a later date. Check the website for updates. Program for Feb. 1:
Sonata in A Major, K.305
Sonata in E Minor, K.304
Variations in G Major, K.359
Sonata in E-flat Major, K.481
Sonata in A Major, K.526
February 8: "Linz" Symphony
NEC’s Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
Joseph Silverstein conducts the NEC Symphony Orchestra in Mozart's Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K.425, "Linz." Also works by John Adams, Smetana and Mendelssohn
February 15: Symphony No. 34
NEC’s Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
John Page conducts the NEC Sinfonietta in Mozart's Symphony No. 34 in C Major, K.338. Also works by Bernstein and Shostakovich
February 28: Gran Partita
Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
Recently retired Boston Symphony Orchestra horn player Richard Mackey leads students and fellow NEC faculty in a concert built around one of Mozart's most mysterious works, the Serenade No. 10 in B-flat, K.361, "Gran Partita."
March 1: Sinfonia Concertante I
NEC’s Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
Both of this season's NEC Chamber Orchestra concerts feature student soloists in a Mozart Sinfonia Concertante. On this concert, the chosen work is Sinfonia Concertante, K.297b, with soloists in oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn. Donald Palma coaches this conductorless ensemble.
March 11-12: Così fan tutte
Cutler Majestic Theatre, March 11 at 8 p.m.; March 12 at 3
One of Mozart's most mischievous operas: the story of two sisters and their education in deception at the hands of men. John Greer, NEC's director and chair of opera studies, conducts; Patricia-Maria Weinmann directs. Tickets are $15/$12 students, seniors. Free with NEC i.d. WGBH members, 2-for-1 with i.d. Tickets available through the Cutler Majestic Theatre Box Office, 219 Tremont Street, Boston, Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm / www.telecharge.com / 800-233-3123.For tickets, visit the Majestic website at: www.telecharge.com
April 3: Divertimento
8 p.m. NEC’s Jordan Hall
"First Monday at Jordan Hall" program includes Mozart's Divertimento in E-flat Major, K.563, with NEC strings faculty members Donald Weilerstein, violin; Kim Kashkashian, viola; and Laurence Lesser, cello.
April 5: Piano Concerto
NEC’s Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
Ludovic Morlot leads the NEC Sinfonietta in a program that includes a student soloist chosen by competition performing a Mozart piano concerto.
April 10: Sinfonia Concertante II
NEC’s Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
NEC Chamber Orchestra performs Sinfonia concertante, K.364, with soloists in violin and viola. Donald Palma coaches this conductorless ensemble.
April 13: Violin Sonata
NEC’s Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
Artist Diploma violinist Susie Park performs Mozart's Sonata in G Major, K.301, with pianist Dina Vainshtein. Also on the program are works of Bach, Debussy, Messiaen, Bartok.
April 24: Ave verum corpus
NEC’s Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
The NEC Concert Choir performs Mozart's Ave verum corpus along with Brahms’ German Requiem. Amy Lieberman, Director of Choral Activities, conducts the chorus and NEC Sinfonietta.
April 30: Keyboard Works
NEC’s Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
On this NEC piano department honors concert, students chosen by audition will perform the full range of Mozart's keyboard works. Expect to hear a set of variations, a sonata, a short work, and a concerto performed with string quartet.
May 23: Piano Trio
NEC’s Jordan Hall at 8 p.m.
The Boston Trio (Irina Muresanu '98 A.D., violin; Allison Eldredge, cello; and Heng-Jin Park '86, '89 M.M., piano) performs Mozart's Trio in B-flat Major.
For more information, call the NEC Concert Line at (617) 585-1122 or visit NEC on the web at http://www.newenglandconservatory.edu/mozart/index.html
ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY
Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 750 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.
The oldest independent school of music in the United States, NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee. Its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions. On the college level, it features training in classical, jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, world and early music. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Collaboration Programs, it provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, adults, and seniors. Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music and jazz.
NEC presents more than 600 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, 100-year old, beautifully restored concert hall. These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz and opera scenes. Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston.
NEC is co-founder and educational partner of “From the Top,” a weekly radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried by more than two hundred stations throughout the United States.