Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WHO: Joshua Bell with the Austin Symphony Orchestra
WHEN: September 1 & 3, 2006 - 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Bass Concert Hall
TICKETS: $19-$42
CONTACT: Don Hill, Director of Public Relations - 476-6064 x 213

AUSTIN SYMPHONY OPENS 96th SEASON WITH VIOLIN WUNDERKIND

Season Sponsor: JPMorganChase
Concert Sponsor: Wells Fargo
Media Sponsors: Time Warner Cable/News 8 Austin, Austin American-Statesman and KVET 98.1 FM

"No one stands in Mr. Bell's shadow." - The New York Times

Austin audiences will cheer the opening of the Austin Symphony’s 96th concert season on September 1 & 3. Maestro Peter Bay and the ASO open their Classical Concert season with international violin superstar Joshua Bell for a night featuring works by Beethoven, Schuman and Brahms. Wells Fargo proudly sponsors this concert.

PROGRAM
Schuman - American Festival Overture
Beethoven - Violin Concerto in D, Op. 61
Brahms - Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73

Maestro Peter Bay opens the evening with the American Festival Overture of William Schuman. Composed in 1939, American Festival Overture was one of Schuman’s earliest successes. He had several successful simultaneous careers in music, as composer, educator and administrator. A former president of the Juilliard School of Music, the first president of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and a director of the National Endowment for the Arts, William Schuman was the first person in history to win the Pulitzer Prize in Music.

Violinist Joshua Bell then takes center stage to perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D, opening the orchestra’s two-year Beethoven festival. The festival will culminate in the ASO’s inaugural season at the new Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts in Fall 2008. Joshua Bell, a favorite guest of the Austin Symphony and its patrons, returns to Bass Concert Hall after a nearly twelve year absence, January 1995.

Grammy® Award-winning Bell has been captivating audiences worldwide for over two decades and is known for his poetic musicality. Now in his thirties, Joshua has performed with the world’s leading symphony orchestras and conductors and has recorded 30 albums. His curiosity and multifaceted musical interests have taken him in exciting directions, forging a unique career that has earned him the rare title of classical music superstar.

Maestro Bay closes the gala evening with the Second Symphony of Johannes Brahms. As with the other three symphonies Brahms composed, the Second is massive in structure and the result of long periods of work and revision. Brahms’ blend of classicism in form with a romantic harmonic idiom made him the champion of those opposed to the musical innovations of Wagner and Liszt.

Concertgoers can enjoy "Concert Conversations" with Bob Buckalew at 7:10 pm in the hall. These free discussions provide an in-depth look at the composers and works being performed, including commentary on the social climate in which they were composed.

Performances for Joshua Bell with the Austin Symphony are September 1 & 3, 8:00 p.m. at Bass Concert Hall. Tickets range from $19 to $42. Student rush tickets are also available 20 minutes prior to performance for $5 cash and current student ID. Charge tickets online at www.austinsymphony.org where you will find interactive seating maps, price options and a wealth of concert information. Tickets are also available at the Austin Symphony Box Office, 11th & Red River or call 476-6064 or 1-888-4-MAESTRO (toll-free).