PREU AND COMPANY BEGIN 61st SEASON EXPLORING MUSICAL TREASURES

Sep 7, 2006

For Immediate Release

Contact: ANNIE MATLOW (509) 326-3136

SPOKANE - The Spokane Symphony will begin its 61st season with one of the most talented and exciting pianists in the nation. Terrence Wilson will grace the stage of the Inland Northwest Bank Performing Arts Center to showcase music by renowned Russian composers at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, 2006.

A marvelous salute to Russian music, this program features compositions from one of the usual artists but focuses on less-famous works by Alexander Glazunov and Aram Khachaturian. The dreamy score to the ballet Raymonda by Glazunov and Khachaturian's bold Piano Concerto in D-flat Major, will delight symphony stalwarts as well as newcomers.

Glazunov's ballet music from Raymonda echoes that of his countrymen who wrote the definitive ballets of the period and beyond. The imagery conjures visages of fairy-tale romances and happily ever-after endings. Like
the medieval French setting of the ballet, this breathtaking composition moves in and out of reality and romance, forbidden strangers and a resolution of love conquering in the end.

Not to be left out of a program featuring Russian composers, Tchaikovsky was an obvious choice for the opening night festivities. Perhaps the most well-known of all Russian composers, he left an indelible mark on classical music as a whole. His featured composition, the Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Opus 74, Pathtique is considered his last great symphony. I definitely think it is by far the best and in particularthe most sincere of all my pieces. I love it as I have never loved any other of my musical children, Tchaikovsky wrote of this work.

Having established a reputation as a gifted instrumentalist and sought-after soloist, pianist Terrence Wilson appears with the Spokane Symphony at a time of heightened popularity. He has appeared with many prestigious ensembles, as well as the Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, San Francisco symphony orchestras. In addition to this impressive list he has also appeared with the National Symphony in Washington D.C.

Some of his recent endeavors have found Wilson performing the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra in its first subscription concerts of the 2003-04 season, Other highlights of the season included performances of the Barber Piano Concerto with the Charlotte Symphony, the Piano Concerto by John Corigliano with the Rochester Philharmonic, as well as performances of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21, in C (Elvira Madigan) with the Atlanta Symphony and Robert Spano, and a solo recital at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall.

The 2006-2007 concert season will find Wilson returning to the Baltimore and Cincinnati Symphonies as a guest soloist. He will also give the world premiere performance of a new concerto for piano and orchestra by American composer Michael Daughtery.

Wilson is a performer and soloist of impressive stature. His training and performance resume are equally impressive. He has received numerous awards and prizes, including the SONY ES Award for Musical Excellence, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the Juilliard Petschek Award. He has also been featured on several radio and television broadcasts, including NPR's "Performance Today," WQXR radio in New York, and programs on the BRAVO Network, the Arts & Entertainment Network, and public television.

A native of the Bronx, Wilson is a graduate of the Julliard School. He is an avid recitalist, performing at events at the Louvre in Paris and Verbier Festival in Switzerland. Wilson also performs recitals extensively across the US. He resides in Montclair, New Jersey.

The gala evening will include champagne and live music in the lobby of the INB Performing Arts Center. Associate Conductor Morihiko Nakahara will give the pre-concert lecture beginning at 7 p.m.
On Thursday, Sept. 14, the Spokane Arts Commission and the Spokane Symphony will air the first of its series of Classical Chat on City Channel 5 from the City Council Chambers in the lower level of City Hall from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. The program formerly known as Lunch and Learn and held at the Downtown Library will include interviews with guest artist Terrence Wilson and Conductor Eckart Preu. The program will be held on Thursday before each of the Classics concert during the 2006-07 season.
Tickets range from $15 to $34 and are available Monday through Friday from 9:30-5:00 p.m. at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office at 818 West Riverside Avenue or by calling (509) 624-1200. Tickets are also available on weekends and evenings, with a service charge, through Ticketswest at 325-SEAT, 1-800-325-SEAT or www.spokanesymphony.org.

The Classics season opening concert is underwritten by Sterling Savings Bank.