Vasily Petrenko Conducts A Night of Russian Masterpieces, October 28-30

Featuring Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medalist Barry Douglas

Baltimore, Md. (October 17, 2011) - Vasily Petrenko, the superstar maestro of the St. Petersburg classical music scene, returns to the BSO following "one of the most memorable concerts of the season" (Baltimore Sun) from his 2009 debut. He draws on his heritage with two masterpieces of the Russian repertoire by Rimsky-Korsakov and Rachmaninoff, performing Friday, October 28 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, October 30 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and Saturday, October 29 at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore. He is joined by Tchaikovsky Competition gold medalist Barry Douglas in Liszt's fiery Piano Concerto No. 1.  Please see below for complete program details.

Rimsky-Korsakov originally conceived of his Capriccio Espagnol as a virtuoso piece for violin and orchestra. However, it eventually morphed into a brilliant adaptation of Spanish folk-melodies for full orchestra. Inspired by the sparkling sunshine of the Iberian peninsula, the composer expressed that the piece "was to glitter with dazzling colors." Its initial premiere in 1887 in St. Petersburg-far from the warm landscapes of Spain, in the chilly homeland of the composer-was received so enthusiastically, the audience demanded a full repetition immediately after the last note sounded.

International award-winning pianist Barry Douglas has the "sensitivity of a poet and fingers of a magician" (The Los Angeles Times) and he joins the BSO this fall to showcase Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1.  A true reflection of Liszt's style as a performer, his first piano concerto is all but inconspicuous in granting the soloist opportunity to display dazzling technique, singing lyricism, and drama.

The program will conclude with Rachmaninoff's Third Symphony, considered to be one of his finest symphonic works and a masterpiece for its intricate use of Russian melodies and rhythms.  In addition, the symphony provides a glimpse into what Rachmaninoff had been experiencing at the time as a financially-struggling U.S. emigrant during the Russian Revolution. Though he had initially felt that when he left Russia he left his inspiration, this piece offers deeper, more candid insight to the composer's artistic voice.

Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Vasily Petrenko was born in 1976 and started his music education at the St Petersburg Capella Boys Music School - the oldest music school in Russia. He then studied at the St Petersburg Conservatoire and has also participated in masterclasses with such major figures as Ilya Musin, Mariss Jansons, Yuri Temirkanov and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Between 1994 and 1997, Petrenko was Resident Conductor at the St Petersburg State Opera and Ballet Theatre in the Mussorgsky Memorial Theatre. Following considerable success in a number of international conducting competitions including the Fourth Prokofiev Conducting Competition in St Petersburg (2003), First Prize in the Shostakovich Choral Conducting Competition in St Petersburg (1997) and First Prize in the Sixth Cadaques International Conducting Competition in Spain, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the State Academy Orchestra of St Petersburg from 2004 to 2007. During recent seasons Petrenko has conducted many key orchestras in Russia including the St Petersburg Philharmonic and the Moscow Philharmonic.

He commenced his position as Principal Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in September 2006 and six months into his first season this contract was extended to 2012. In 2009, the contract was again extended to 2015, and he also assumed the title of Chief Conductor. Also in 2009, following his tremendous debut with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, which for the Guardian "deliver[ed] a clarity of expression that sounds as if he has been at the helm of the NYO for years", he was appointed their Principal Conductor to work with the orchestra each season.

Equally at home in the opera house, and with over thirty operas in his repertoire, Petrenko made a debut at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2010 with Verdi's Macbeth, and has conducted three productions in recent seasons at the Netherlands Reisopera (Puccini's Le Villi and Messa da Gloria, I due Foscari and Boris Godounov) and Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame at Hamburg State Opera. Future plans include his debuts at the Opera de Paris (Eugene Onegin), and Zurich Opera (Carmen).

Recordings with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra include a rare double bill of Fleishman's Rothschild's Violin and Shostakovich's The Gamblers, Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances and Isle of the Dead, and a critically acclaimed series of recordings for Naxos including Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony (winner of the 2009 Gramophone Award for Best Orchestral Recording), the Liszt Piano Concertos, and the first discs of an ongoing Shostakovich cycle (Symphonies 5, 8, 9 and 11). In October 2007 Vasily Petrenko was named Young Artist of the Year at the annual Gramophone Awards, and in 2010 he won the Male Artist of the Year at the Classical Brit Awards. In 2009 he was awarded Honorary Doctorates by both the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University, in recognition of the immense impact he has had on the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the city's cultural scene.

Barry Douglas, piano
Barry Douglas has established a major international career since winning the Gold Medal at the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, Moscow. He has since appeared as soloist with many of the world's foremost orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic and Leipzig Gewandhaus in Germany, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland and Los Angeles in the US, the NHK and Tokyo Symphonies in Japan, the Israel Philharmonic and all the major London orchestras. He has collaborated with many eminent conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Colin Davis, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel, Yuri Temirkanov, Michael Tilson Thomas and Mariss Jansons.

In 1999, he formed Camerata Ireland, an all-Irish chamber orchestra, with players from both Northern and Southern Ireland to celebrate "the wealth of Irish musical talent" where he remains Artistic Director. He is also the Artistic Director of the International Piano Festival held at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, the Clandeboye International Festival and the Camerata Ireland at Castletown Series Festival in Ireland.

In recent seasons, Barry Douglas has given concerts on four continents, including concerto appearances with the Seattle Symphony, Halle, Radio Sinfonie Orchestra, Berlin, Melbourne Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Brussels Philharmonic, China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic and Dresden Philharmonic amongst others.

Barry Douglas has recorded extensively throughout his career and has recorded all the Beethoven Concertos with Camerata Ireland. His growing discography includes works of Beethoven, Brahms, Britten, Corigliano, Debussy, Liszt, Penderecki, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Reger and Tchaikovsky. In 2008; Sony/BMG released his recording of Rachmaninov 1 and 3 with the Russian National Orchestra and Svetlanov which was immediately hailed by Classical Source as an "unmissable release". His BMG recording of the Reger Concerto and Strauss Burleske with Marek Janowski and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France was awarded the Diapson d'Or. Current recording projects are the Penderecki Piano Concerto with Warsaw Philharmonic and Maestro Antoni Wit for the Naxos label and Nina Rota's Concerto Soirée Per Pianoforte e Orchestra with the Filarmonica 900 del Teatro Regio and Maestro Gianandrea Noseda for the Chandos label. Future recording plans with Chandos include the complete piano works of Brahms and Schubert.

COMPLETE PROGRAM DETAILS
BSO Classical Concert: Rachmaninoff's Third Symphony
Friday, October 28, 2011 at 8 p.m. - Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (JMSH)
Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 8 p.m. - Music Center at Strathmore
Sunday, October 30, 2011 at 3 p.m. - JMSH

Vasily Petrenko, conductor
Barry Douglas, piano

Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3

Tickets range from $28 to $88 and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.