Overture Magazine - 2018-19 Season BSO_Overture_JanFeb_19 | Page 10

LEON FLEISHER PERFORMS MOZART Oundjian was recently named Artistic Advisor for the Colorado Music Festival, and this season he returns to the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Baltimore, Atlanta and NHK symphony orchestras. Few conductors bring such musicianship and engagement to the world’s great podiums —from Berlin, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv, to New York, Chicago and Sydney. He has also appeared at some of the great annual gatherings of music and music-lovers: from the BBC Proms and the Prague Spring Festival, to the Edinburgh Festival and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Mozart Festival, where he was Artistic Director from 2003 to 2005. Oundjian was Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2010 and Artistic Director of the Caramoor International Music Festival in New York between 1997 and 2007. Since 1981, he has been a Visiting Professor at the Yale School of Music and was awarded the university’s Sanford Medal for distinguished service to music in 2013. JOSEPH MEYERHOFF SYMPHONY HALL Friday, January 4, 2019, 8 pm Sunday, January 6, 2019, 3 pm MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE Saturday, January 5, 2019, 8 pm Peter Oundjian, conductor Leon Fleisher, piano Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414 Allegro Andante Allegretto Leon Fleisher INTERMISSION Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 73 Allegro non troppo Adagio non troppo Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) Allegro con spirito The concert will end at approximately 9:45 pm on Friday and Saturday and 4:45 pm on Sunday. Peter Oundjian last appeared with the BSO in March 2018, conducting works of PRESENTING SPONSOR: The appearance of pianist Leon Fleisher is made possible through the major support of the Sidney M. Friedberg Guest Artist Fund. About the Artists Peter Oundjian A dynamic presence in the conducting world, Peter Oundjian is renowned for his probing musicality, collaborative spirit and engaging personality. 2017–18 marked Oundjian’s 14 th and final season as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). His appointment in 2004 reinvigorated the orchestra with recordings, tours and acclaimed innovative programming, as well as extensive audience growth, significantly strengthening the ensemble’s global presence. 8 OV E R T U R E / BSOmusic.org In 2014, he led the TSO on a tour of Europe, which included a sold-out performance at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and the first performance of a North American orchestra at Reykjavík’s Harpa Hall. Previously, Oundjian led the TSO on a major tour of Israel and Europe. Oundjian was appointed music director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) in 2012. Under his baton, the orchestra has enjoyed several successful tours, including one to China, and has continued its relationship with Chandos Records. Oundjian concluded his six-year tenure with the RSNO at the end of the 2017–18 season. Rachmaninoff, Weber and Tchaikovsky. Leon Fleisher As a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007, pianist Leon Fleisher was recognized as a “consummate musician whose career is a testament to the life-affirming power of art.” The child prodigy began to study the piano at the age of four and by the age of nine, the legendary Artur Schnabel invited him to be his student. Fleisher made his debut with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Pierre Monteux when he was 16 years old. Maître Monteux called him “the pianistic find of the century.” Fleisher went on to international renown, becoming the first American to win the prestigious Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Competition in Brussels in 1952. He subsequently enjoyed a prolific recording career. In 1965, Fleisher began