MOZART PIANO CONCERTO NO. 23
JOSEPH MEYERHOFF SYMPHONY HALL
Friday, November 15, 2019, 8 pm
Sunday, November 17, 2019, 3 pm
MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE
Saturday, November 16, 2019, 8 pm
Ge Xu (Antiphony)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro assai
George Li
INTERMISSION
Sergei Prokofiev
Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, op. 100
Andante
Allegro marcato
Adagio
Allegro giocoso
The intermission will last 20 minutes. The concert will end at approximately
9:45 pm on Friday and Saturday and 4:45 pm on Sunday.
PRESENTING SPONSOR:
OFFICIAL INTERNET PROVIDER OF THE BSO:
The appearance of conductor Xian Zhang is made possible through the major support
of the Alvin and Fanny Blaustein Thalheimer Guest Artist Fund.
About the Artists
Xian Zhang
Xian Zhang is Music
Director of the New
Jersey Symphony
Orchestra and has had her
contract extended until
the 2023–24 season, which will include the
orchestra’s 100 th anniversary in 2022.
Since September 2016, Zhang has held
the position of Principal Guest Conductor
of the BBC National Orchestra and
Chorus of Wales, becoming the first
female conductor to hold a position with
16
OV E R T U R E / BSOmusic.org
a BBC orchestra. She also holds the post
of Conductor Emeritus of Orchestra
Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi,
following her tenure as Music Director
there from 2009 to 2016.
Last season included returns to the Los
Angeles Philharmonic, National Orchestra
of Belgium, Spanish National Orchestra,
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, San
Francisco Symphony and National Arts
Centre Orchestra. The 2018–19 season saw
her debuts with Netherlands Radio, Hong
Kong and Royal philharmonic orchestras;
Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the
orchestra of the Royal Stockholm Opera.
Xian Zhang makes her BSO debut.
Xian Zhang, conductor
George Li, piano
Chen Yi
Born in Dandong, China, Zhang made
her professional conducting debut at the
Central Opera House in Beijing at the
age of 20. She was appointed as the New
York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor
in 2002, subsequently becoming their
Associate Conductor and the first holder
of the Arturo Toscanini Chair.
George Li
Since winning the
Silver Medal at the
2015 International
Tchaikovsky
Competition,
George Li has rapidly established an
international reputation and performs
regularly with some of the world’s
leading conductors such as Dudamel,
Gaffigan, Gergiev, Petrenko, Slatkin,
Temirkanov and Tilson Thomas.
Recent and upcoming highlights
include performances with the Los
Angeles, New York, London, Rotterdam,
Oslo and St. Petersburg philharmonics;
the San Francisco, Tokyo and Montreal
symphonies; as well as the Philharmonia
Orchestra and Deutsches Symphonie-
Orchester Berlin. In recital, Li performs
at venues including Carnegie Hall,
Davies Hall, the Mariinsky Theatre, the
Louvre and Seoul Arts Center, as well as
appearances at major festivals including the
Verbier Festival and Ravinia Festival.
Li is an exclusive Warner Classics
recording artist. His debut recital
album was released in October 2017
and recorded live from the Mariinsky.
His second recording for the label was
recorded live with Vasily Petrenko and
the London Philharmonic and will be
released in fall 2019.
Li gave his first public performance
at Boston’s Steinway Hall at the age of
ten. Recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher
Career Grant, he is currently pursuing
an Artist Diploma at the New England
Conservatory. When not playing piano,
George is an avid reader and photographer,
as well as a sports fanatic.
George Li makes his BSO debut.