Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WHO: Bach, Beethoven and Bolcom with the Austin Symphony Orchestra
WHEN: November 16 & 17, 2007 - 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Riverbend Centre, 4214 Capital of Texas Hwy.
TICKETS: $19-$42
CONTACT: Don Hill, Director of Public Relations - 476-6064 x 213

AN EVENING OF BACH< BEETHOVEN AND BOLCOM INVITES ASO PATRONS

Season Sponsor: JPMorgan Chase
Concert Sponsors: Cisco and Wachovia Securities
Media Sponsors: Time Warner Cable/News 8 Austin, Austin American-Statesman and Majic 95.5 FM

The Austin Symphony presents its third concert of the 97th concert season on November 16 & 17. Maestro Peter Bay and the ASO present an evening of Bach and Beethoven, with a little Bolcom thrown in for fun. The ASO musicians will be joined onstage by soloists Melissa Givens, soprano; Stefanie Moore, soprano; Stephanie Prewitt, alto; David Stevens, tenor; Brett Barnes, bass and the Choirs of St. David's Episcopal Church. Cisco and Wachovia Securities proudly sponsor this concert.

PROGRAM
Bolcom - Commedia for "Almost" 18th Century Orchestra
Beethoven - Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Op. 60
Bach - Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243

The ASO heads backward on the music history timeline when Maestro Bay begins the evening with a work by 20th & 21st century composer William Bolcom. Bolcom's Commedia for "Almost" 18th Century Orchestra opens the concert. The 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Music-winning composer, Bolcom has developed his own particular musical idiom, influenced by his interest in and performance of popular music-hall and parlour songs.

The ASO continues its two-year journey through the Beethoven Symphonies by presenting his Fourth Symphony on this concert. Beethoven's Fourth Symphony has suffered an unenviable fate, that of obscurity. Standing as it does immediately after his heroic Third and just before his tragic Fifth, it was, in Robert Schumann's words, "a slender Greek maiden between two Norse gods." The comparison is apt; like that Grecian girl, this symphony has been utterly overshadowed by its indomitable neighbors. Yet the piece is no less masterful than its companions. In fact, the Fourth Symphony is in many ways an ideal example of Beethoven's style, for it blends the gracious Classicism of his early years with the hearty orchestrations of his later works.

After a brief intermission, the Riverbend Centre will fill with the sound of voices mingling with instruments when the ASO examines the Magnificat in D Major of Johann Sebastian Bach. The ASO will be joined on stage by the Choirs of St. David's Episcopal Church, as well as the guest soloists. This great masterpiece is written on the text of the Magnificat or Song of Mary, a canticle sung by Mary, the mother of Jesus. She sings to proclaim the glory of God while visiting her cousin Elizabeth after being told by the archangel Gabriel that she is pregnant with the Son of God. Bach takes a literal view of the text in which, for instance, the full five-part choir is used to demonstrate Omnes generationes ("All generations") with soloists used for the more reflective movements. In typical Bachian gesture, the opening material returns for the final movement, Sicut erat in principio ("As it was in the beginning").

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.

Tickets for the Austin Symphony range from $19 to $42. Student Rush tickets are also available 20 minutes prior to performance for $5 cash with a 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).