Brahms Blast Equals Free T-shirts and Landmark Concertos

Sep 27, 2006

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 326-3136

SPOKANE: The Brahms Blast will shake the Spokane Opera House Friday, Oct. 6, at 8 p.m.
when the orchestra and two renowned soloists present two outstanding concertos Brahms' Violin and Piano Concertos.

Free Brahms Blast T-shirts for everyone under 30 and a night of wonderful music from Music Director Eckart Preu and the Spokane Symphony orchestra will celebrate the famous German Romanic composer. This concert also marks the first night of our Symphony Yes! Series Youth Exploration Series. The youth will get a backstage tour before the concert and meet the conductor and musicians along the way!

At first glance, this seems to be a program that combines two composers who were at opposite extremes of the musical spectrum: Anton Webern, the fearsome pioneer of prickly twelve-tone music and Johannes Brahms, the master of lush German Romanticism. But in fact they fit very well together here, for the Webern piece is from his early, pre-twelve-tone career when his music in fact sounded very Romantic and very Brahmsian. The two magnificent Brahms concertos offer formidable musical and technical tests for respectively a violinist and a pianist.

Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient violinist Jennifer Frauschi is gaining acclaim as an adventurous performer with a wide-ranging repertoire. As the Chicago Tribune recently wrote, "the young violinist Jennifer Frautschi is molding a career with smart interpretations of both warhorses and rarities." Frautschi has created a sensation in recent seasons with appearances as soloist with Pierre Boulez and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Christoph Eschenbach and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival, and Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony.
Selected by Carnegie Hall for its Distinctive Debuts series, she made her New York recital debut in April 2004. As part of the European Concert Hall Organization's Rising Stars series, she also made debuts at 10 of Europe's most celebrated concert venues, in concertos ranging from Sibelius and Brahms to Khatchaturian, Glazunov, and Beethoven's Triple.
Born in Pasadena, California, Frautschi began the violin at age three. She attended Harvard, the New England Conservatory of Music, and The Juilliard School. She performs on a 1722 Antonio Stradivarius violin known as the "ex-Cadiz," on generous loan to her from a private American foundation.
Brazilian-born pianist Arnaldo Cohen, has long had a reputation for astonishing his audiences with the musical authority and blistering virtuosity of his performances. He is regularly invited to appear as soloist with major orchestras, notably with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

After winning First Prize at the 1972 Busoni International Festival, Cohen scored a triumph at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Soon after he moved to London and went on to build a repertoire of some 50 concertos.
An artist of diverse interests and talents, Cohen began his musical studies at the age of five, graduating from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro with an honors degree in both piano and violin, while also studying for an engineering degree. He went on to become a professional violinist in the Rio de Janeiro Opera House Orchestra to earn a livelihood while continuing piano studies.

Cohen is the recipient of a fellowship awarded by the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and until recently held a professorship at the Royal Academy of Music in London. After living in London for 23 years, Cohen recently relocated to the United States with his American wife Ann, and now holds a piano professorship with tenure at Indiana University in Bloomington where, upon his appointment, he was cited as one of the world's greatest living pianists.

Tickets range from $15 to $35 and are available at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office, 818 W. Riverside, Suite 100 or 509-624-1200; all Ticketswest Outlets; 509-325-SEAT; 1-800-325-SEAT and at www.spokanesymphony.org

This concert is underwritten by the Don Herak and Family on behalf of Gonzaga University. In conjunction with the Brahms Blast, Gonzaga University will present a series of Brahms events to make this a month long celebration.

Brahms Chamber Music Sunday, Oct 15, 3 p.m.
Administration Building, Room 101; free admission
Brahms String Quartet No. 2 and Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1
Tracy Dunlop and Chari Bickford, violins; Jeanette Wee-Yang, viola; Kevin Hekmatpanah, cello; John Pickett, piano

Gonzaga Symphony Orchestra Monday, Oct. 23 7:30 p.m.
Metropolitan Performing Arts Center; General Admission $7; Students & Seniors $5; free to GU community
Waters; St Aloysius Overture (World Premiere); Brahms Hungarian Dances; Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1
John Pickett, piano soloist

Brahms Cello Sonatas Sunday, Oct. 29 4 p.m.
Administration Building @ G.U., Room 101; free admission
Kevin Hekmatpanah, cello; Steve Radcliffe, piano

The Spokane Symphony will also continue the Brahms celebration with a presentation of the Brahms Requiem on Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. featuring Baritone Frank Hernandez and Soprano Charlotte Pistor.