PROGRAM NOTES
PROGRAM NOTES
TCHAIKOVSKY PIANO CONCERTO
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Jonathon Heyward
Jonathon Heyward currently serves as Music Director Designate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and will begin his five-year contract in the 2023 – 24 season . Jonathon ’ s selection was unanimous from the Baltimore Symphony Music Director Search Committee , comprised of BSO musicians , Board Members , staff , and community representatives .
Coined as “ One to Watch ” as a part of the Bloomberg 50 list , and Young Talent Award recipient of the UK Critics ’ Circles Music Awards , this performance will be the first time the BSO ’ s Music Director Designate will take the podium . This debut performance is the first of two concerts during the regular concert season he will appear before officially assuming the role of Music Director .
Raised in Charleston , South Carolina , Jonathon began his musical training as a cellist at the age of ten and started conducting while still at school . In a serendipitous intervention , Jonathon was selected by a substitute teacher to take the podium and lead the school orchestra during a rehearsal . It was evident that the young musician had a bright future as a conductor .
He studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music , where he became assistant conductor of the prestigious institution ’ s opera department and of the Boston Opera Collaborative . He also received postgraduate lessons from Sian Edwards at London ’ s Royal Academy of Music . Before leaving the Academy , he was appointed assistant conductor of the Hallé Orchestra , where he was mentored by Sir Mark Elder , and became Music Director of the Hallé Youth Orchestra . In the 2017 – 2018 season ,
Jonathon was selected as a Los Angeles Philharmonic Dudamel Conducting Fellow .
In March 2022 , Jonathon made his debut with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in three performances that included the first-ever performance of Shostakovich ’ s Symphony No . 15 . Quickly reengaged , he returned in April to lead a Benefit Concert for Ukraine at the Meyerhoff .
Behzod Abduraimov
Born in Tashkent , Uzbekistan , in 1990 , Behzod began the piano at the age of five as a pupil of Tamara Popovich at Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent . In 2009 , he won First Prize at the London International Piano Competition with Prokofiev ’ s Piano Concerto No . 3 . He studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University , Missouri , where he is Artist-in-Residence .
Behzod Abduraimov ’ s performances combine an immense depth of musicality with phenomenal technique and breathtaking delicacy . He performs with renowned orchestras worldwide including Philharmonia Orchestra , Los Angeles Philharmonic , Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin , San Francisco Symphony , The Cleveland Orchestra , Orchestre de Paris and Concertgebouworkest , and with prestigious conductors such as Juraj Valčuha , Vasily Petrenko , Lorenzo Viotti , James Gaffigan , Jakub Hrůša , Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Gustavo Dudamel .
2022 – 23 European performances include concerts with Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia , Czech Philharmonic Orchestra , Wiener Symphoniker , SWR Symphonieorchester , Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin , Philharmonia
Jonathon Heyward
Behzod Abduraimov
Orchestra , Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and as part of Belgian National Orchestra ’ s Rachmaninov Festival . In North America Behzod will return to The Cleveland Orchestra , San Francisco Symphony , Cincinnati Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic amongst others . He will also return to NHK Symphony Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda to perform Prokofiev Piano Concerto No . 2 . Other conductor collaborations include Semyon Bychkov , Karina Canellakis , Constantinos Carydis , Aziz Shokhakimov , and Xian Zhang .
Evgeny Eutykhov Laura Thiesbrummel
Experience the Performance Again A livestream of this program is available for a limited time .
MAY-JUN 2023 / OVERTURE 15