Peter Oundjian Leads Baltimore Symphony in Dvorák’s Cello Concerto, February 26-28

Young cellist Daniel Mueller-Schott makes BSO debut

Baltimore, Md. (January 28, 2009)—Peter Oundjian will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in Dvorák’s Cello Concerto, featuring Daniel Mueller-Schott, on February 26-27, 2009 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The program also includes Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from the opera Peter Grimes and Elgar’s Enigma Variations. The Orchestra will also perform the Dvorák Cello Concerto and Britten’s Four Sea Interludes for a Casual Series concert on Saturday, February 28 at 11:00 a.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Please see below for complete program information.

Widely considered the greatest and the most popular of all cello concertos, Dvorák wrote this concerto in a mere four months, while away from his native Hungary, at The New York National Conservatory of Music. During a period of great homesickness, Dvorák channeled his heartache into his concerto. The first two movements prominently feature the clarinet and paraphrase an earlier composition written for his dying true love (his wife’s older sister). The final movement begins with a faster tempo and reveals several bittersweet moments. The binding element is the human voice-like quality of the cello.

Benjamin Britten based his opera Peter Grimes on his hometown of Aldeburgh, England. Four Sea Interludes are programmatic orchestral works that link the scenes in the opera: “Dawn,” “Sunday Morning,” “Moonlight” and “Storm.” Each movement uses instruments to create realistic sounds, such as seagull cries, church bells, breaking waves and raging winds.

As its title suggests, much mystery surrounds Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations. The work includes fourteen variations on a subtle theme, each representing the personality of his close friends and associates. The “enigma” is the identity of the main theme. Many speculate it is a musical portrait of Elgar himself.

Peter Oundjian, conductor
A dynamic presence in the orchestral world, Peter Oundjian continues to make his mark as one of today’s most exciting faces on the conducting scene. His strong bond with the musicians and community of Toronto continues through his fifth season as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. At the beginning of his tenure, Mr. Oundjian created the now-annual Mozart Festival and the New Creations Festival.

Mr. Oundjian is principal guest conductor of the Detroit Symphony, where he helped to create and launch an innovative multi-disciplinary festival during his tenure as the orchestra’s artistic advisor. He played a major role at the Caramoor International Music Festival in New York for over a decade having served, most recently, as its artistic advisor and principal conductor. From 1998-2003, he was the music director of the Nieuw Sinfonietta in Amsterdam and recorded BIS CD of his own arrangements of the Beethoven Grosse Fugue, Op. 133 and the String Quartet in C Sharp Minor, Op. 131, Grosse Fugue in B Flat Major.

Mr. Oundjian’s 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons feature return visits to many of the orchestras with which he has built ongoing relationships including the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he served as the director of the Absolutely Mozart Festival for the four years of its existence, San Francisco, St. Louis, Houston and Colorado Symphonies, as well as Caramoor, Tanglewood, Aspen and Music Academy of the West summer festivals. Frequent engagements with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and the Radio Philharmonique in Paris, as well as forthcoming appearances with the Royal Scottish National and Budapest Festival orchestras are highlights abroad.

Daniel-Muller-Schott, cello
Daniel Muller-Schott’s steady and remarkable career began after he won first prize at the Moscow International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. Since then he has performed all over the world with such renowned conductors as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mario Venzago, Sakari Oramo and Sir André Previn. He has performed with internationally famous orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre de Paris, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, the BBC Philharmonic and the Philharmonic Orchestra London. Mr. Muller-Schott is also a regular guest at international music festivals.

Mr. Muller-Schott studied under Walter Nothas, Heinrich Schiff and Steven Isserlis through the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation scholarship. Encouraging young people to understand the fascination of music, and helping them to experience the magical moments that music provides, is a matter of course for him, and something he introduces, with enormous delight and commitment, into the “Rhapsody in School” project.

He has made recordings for several well-known labels and has been awarded several prizes such as the Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Strad Selection and the Edison Award Nomination.

COMPLETE PROGRAM INFORMATION
Dvorák’s Cello Concerto
Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. —Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (JMSH)
Friday, February 27, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. —JMSH
Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. —JMSH*

Peter Oundjian, conductor
Daniel Mueller-Schott, cello † 

Britten: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Dvorák: Cello Concerto
Elgar: Enigma Variations 

*Saturday’s concert does not include Elgar’s Enigma Variations.

† Denotes a BSO artist debut.

Tickets for these concerts range from $20 to $60, and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 877.BSO.1444 or 410.783.8000 or www.BSOmusic.org.

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