Gabriela Montero plays Schumann with the Spokane Symphony

Apr 6, 2011

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 464-7071

SPOKANE— The last time piano great Gabriela Montero was scheduled to appear with the Spokane Symphony, she had to postpone her appearance here to join Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman to premiere a piece by John Williams at the Obama inauguration. “It was such a beautiful moment and such an honor to be there,'' she says. This month, she will perform under the baton of Music Director Eckart Preu performing Schumann’s Piano Concerto, on Saturday, April 16, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 17, at 3 p.m. at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox.  Preu and the symphony will round out the program with selections by Janáček and Debussy. There will be a pre-concert lecture in the hall one hour before each performance.

The concert will begin with Sinfonietta by Czech composer Leoš Janáček. The original version, entitled Military Sinfonietta, was written as a fanfare to open national gymnastic games in his hometown of Brno, and took its inspiration from the music of military brass bands. Despite the diminutive “etta” ending, it was scored for a large orchestra, including 12 trumpets; the Spokane Symphony will play a pared down version using only four trumpets, arranged by Joseph Keilberth.  The following year, Janáček published an expanded version describing his native town, with four additional movements: The Castle, The Queen’s Monastery, The Street and The Town Hall.

Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor was unique among the popular piano concertos of his day, in that the parts for piano and orchestra are intertwined with one another. Clara Schumann, for whom the work was written, commented: “The piano part is woven most finely into the orchestral texture: one cannot imagine one existing without the other.” The work was poorly received by critics and public alike – Liszt called it a concerto without a piano – and no doubt survived because of unflagging support from Clara. However, it was the perfect work to satisfy Schumann’s criticism over the condition of the piano concerto in his day: “Surely it would have to be counted a loss if the piano concerto with orchestra were to pass from the scene... so we must await the genius who will show us in a newer and more brilliant way, how orchestra and piano may he combined, how the soloist, dominant at the keyboard, may unfold the wealth of his instrument and his art, while the orchestra, no longer a mere spectator, may interweave its manifold facets into the scene.”

Gabriela Montero’s visionary interpretations and unique improvisational gifts have won her a quickly expanding audience and devoted following around the world. Born in Caracas Venezuela, Gabriela gave her first public performance at the age of five. Aged eight she made her concerto debut with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra conducted by Jose Antonio Abreu and was granted a scholarship from the Venezuelan Government to study in the USA. Gabriela Montero’s 2009-2010 season takes her across continents for performances of her trademark improvisations and with major orchestras. In addition to her orchestral engagements, she will give several recital performances as a soloist and with French cellist Gautier Capucon with whom she frequently collaborates.

In both recital and after performing a concerto, Gabriela often invites her audience to participate in asking for a melody for improvisations. They ask for themes from a Mozart Symphony to Star Wars and at times, even the orchestra have a chance to suggest a theme if they so wish. “When improvising,” Gabriela says, “I connect to my audience in a completely unique way – and they connect with me. Because improvisation is such a huge part of who I am, it is the most natural and spontaneous way I can express myself. I have been improvising since my hands first touched the keyboard, but for many years I kept this aspect of my playing secret. Then Martha Argerich heard me improvising one day and encouraged me to make this part of my concert presentations. It was Martha who persuaded me that it was possible to combine my career as a serious ‘classical’ artist with the side of me that is rather unique.” 

Preu has chosen Claude Debussy’s La Mer to conclude this concert. The work was inspired in part by Debussy’s passion for the sea – he claimed he had been “destined for the fine life of a sailor” before becoming a composer – and in part by a Japanese prints of Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), called The Hollow Wave off Kanagawa, which portrayed three boats with their terrified crews almost swallowed by a giant wave, the curve of the wave breaking into spray and foam.  La Mer is a masterpiece of suggestion and subtlety in its rich depiction of the ocean, combining unusual orchestration with daring impressionistic harmonies. The music is full of color, evoking images of wind, waves and the ambience of the sea, and it has become one of Debussy's most admired and frequently performed orchestral works.

This concert has been underwritten by Mary Jewett Gaiser Endowment Fund. Eckart Preu recommends this concert for participants in Symphony YES!, which is sponsored by STCU.

Tickets for either performance are $22, $32, $40, and $44. Tickets are available in advance at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office, located at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague, or by calling 509-624-1200. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.spokanesymphony.org Tickets are also available at all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT. Symphony YES! tickets at family-friendly prices, are available only through the Ticket Office. 

CALENDAR LISTING:

Gabriela Montero’s Schumann, Eckart Preu conducts the Spokane Symphony, Gabriela Montero, piano, on Saturday, April 16, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 17, at 3 p.m. at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. There will be a pre-concert lecture in the hall one hour before each performance. Tickets are $22, $32, $40 and $44. Tickets are available in advance at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office, located at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague, or by calling 509-624-1200. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.spokanesymphony.org Tickets are also available at all TicketsWest outlets or by calling 1-800-325-SEAT. Symphony YES! tickets at family-friendly prices, are available only through the Ticket Office.