{ program notes
Jo seph M eyer ho f f Sy m pho ny Hall
Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 1
Friday, September 26, 2014 — 8 p.m.
Sunday, September 28, 2014 — 3 p.m.
Marin Alsop, Conductor
James Ehnes, Violin
James Ehnes last performed with the BSO
in November 2011, playing Mozart's Violin
Concerto No. 3 in G with Louis Langrée
conducting.
Jennifer Higdon blue cathedral
Erich Korngold Violin Concerto in D Major, opus 35
Moderato nobile
Romance: Andante
Finale: Allegro assai vivace
JAMES EHNES
About the concert:
John Williams Theme from Schindler’s List
JAMES EHNES
Jennifer Higdon’s poignant yet rapturous blue cathedral was born after
the most traumatic experience of her
life: the death of her beloved younger
brother, Andrew Blue Higdon, from
melanoma in the spring of 1998. She
told Andrew, who was also a musician,
that she would write a piece for him and
that it would have his middle name,
Blue, as part of the title. Her personal
favorite of all her compositions, it has
become perhaps her most popular work
with audiences around the country.
Now a prolific composer in demand
for new works by major orchestras and
ensembles all over America, Higdon
somehow manages to pursue additional
careers as a virtuoso flute player, a conductor and a very popular teacher of composition at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of
Music. Her roots at Curtis run deep, for
she first earned an artist’s diploma in flute
there, before moving on to the University
of Pennsylvania for master’s and doctoral
degrees in composition, studying with
prominent composers George Crumb and
Ned Rorem. Her vividly emotional and
INTERMISSION
Sergei Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 1 in D minor, opus 13
Grave – Allegro ma non troppo
Allegro animato
Larghetto
Allegro con fuoco
The concert will end at approximately 9:50 p.m. on Friday and
Saturday and 4:50 p.m. on Sunday.
Marin Alsop
For Marin Alsop’s bio., please see pg. 8.
James Ehnes
E alovega
recitals in Prague, London, Toronto,
Fort Worth and Montreal. James also
performs with the Ehnes Quartet
across North America and will lead
the winter and summer festivals of the
Seattle Chamber Music Society, where
he is the Artistic Director. His extensive
discography of over 30 reordings has
been honoured with many international
awards and prizes, including a Grammy,
a Gramophone and nine Juno Awards.
James Ehnes plays the “Marsick” Stradivarius of 1715. www.jamesehnes.com
“Playing of phenomenal control, allied to
musicianship of the
highest order.” (The
Times, London)
Known for his virtuosity and probing
20 O v ertur e |
www. bsomusic .org
musicianship, violinist James Ehnes
has performed in over 30 countries on
five continents, appearing regularly in
the world’s great concert halls and with
many of the most celebrated orchestras
and conductors. Upcoming highlights
include concerts with the Royal Philharmonic, Danish National, Melbourne,
Sydney, NHK, Vienna, and Boston
symphony orchestras, with the Chamber
Music Society of Lincoln Center, and
blue cathedral
Jennifer Higdon
Born in Brooklyn, New York, December 31,
1962; now living in Philadelphia