Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WHO: Mûza Rubackyté with the Austin Symphony Orchestra
WHEN: October 6 & 7, 2006 - 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Bass Concert Hall
TICKETS: $19-$42
CONTACT: Don Hill, Director of Public Relations - 476-6064 x 213

LITHUANIAN PIANIST MAKES RETURN PERFORMANCE

Season Sponsor: JPMorganChase
Concert Sponsors: Bank of America & The Menagerie
Media Sponsors: Time Warner Cable/News 8 Austin, Austin American-Statesman and KVET 98.1 FM

"Clearly a musician of rare talent." - Gramophone

Austin audiences will continue to experience the excellence of the Austin Symphony’s 96th concert season on October 6 & 7 when Maestro Peter Bay and the ASO welcome pianist Mûza Rubackyté for an evening featuring works by Beethoven, Orbón and Brahms. Bank of America and The Menagerie proudly sponsor this concert.

PROGRAM
Orbón - Tres versiones sinfónicas
Beethoven - Symphony No. 1 in C, Op. 21
Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83

Maestro Bay opens the evening with music by Spanish composer Julián Orbón, Tres versiones sinfónicas (Three Symphonic Versions). A student of American composer Aaron Copland, Orbón was awarded a grant to study at the Tanglewood Music Center in 1946. Tres versiones sinfónicas won the Juan de Landaeta Prize at the International Festival of Caracas (Venezuela).

Maestro Bay and the ASO then perform Ludwig von Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major. The Austin Symphony is presenting a two-year festival of the symphonies of Beethoven in anticipation of the opening of the new Long Center for the Performing Arts.

Following a brief intermission, Lithuanian pianist Mûza Rubackyté is welcomed to center stage. Ms. Rubackyté returns to Bass Concert Hall after a three-year absence to perform the Second Piano Concerto of Johannes Brahms. Making her professional debut at age 7, Mûza won Lithuania’s National Young Artist Competition at age 13, allowing her admission to the renowned Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. After winning the Soviet Union’s “All-Union” competition, she became known as “one of the Soviet Union’s best pianists,” traveling the length and breadth of the Union appearing with all levels of orchestras from Uzbekistan to the great ensembles of Moscow and St. Petersburg. But until “perestroika” in 1989, which allowed her to leave Lithuania, she was denied much by the musical powers of the occupying Soviets, unable to attain a visa or passport to fulfill the multitude of contracts offered her. Now a resident of Paris, Ms. Rubackyté has been named a “Les Grand Maitres Francais (Grand Master of France)” and performs orchestral concerts regularly throughout the world.

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 Mûza Rubackyté with the Austin Symphony 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).