Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WHO: Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg with the Austin Symphony Orchestra
WHEN: January 20 & 21, 2006 - 8:00 p.m.
WHERE:Bass Concert Hall
TICKETS: $19-$42
CONTACT: Don Hill, Director of Public Relations - 476-6064 x 213

VIOLIN SUPERSTAR HEADLINES AUSTIN SYMPHONY CONCERT

Season Sponsor: JPMorganChase
Concert Sponsor: SEMATECH and Vinson & Elkins
Media Sponsors: Time Warner Cable/News 8 Austin, Austin American-Statesman and KVET 98.1 FM

"Pure electricity--pure originality." - The Cincinnati Enquirer

Austin audiences will continue to "Experience the Excellence" of the Austin Symphony's 95th concert season on January 20 & 21. Maestro Peter Bay joins the ASO in welcoming superstar violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg to Bass Concert Hall for the first concert of the New Year as part of the Shostakovich 100: Austin Celebrates festival. SEMATECH and Vinson & Elkins proudly sponsor this concert.

PROGRAM
Shostakovich - Scherzo in f# minor, Op. 1
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 99
Sibelius - Symphony No. 1 in e minor, Op. 39 "Finlandia"

"A master musician at the height of her powers," violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg is celebrated worldwide as one of the most original and fearless artists on the concert stage today. Renowned for her electrifying performances, passionate interpretations and musical depth, she is sought after by today's greatest conductors and orchestras, as well as by fellow arists for collaborations in both classical and other genres. Acclaimed by the press in the performance and recording arenas, she is an artist whose talent "will make you hang breathlessly on every note."

Ms. Sonnenberg appears in the first half of the program with the Austin Symphony to perform Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1, as she will throughout the current season in celebration of the composer's 100th birthday anniversary. This concert is part of the yearlong Shostakovich 100: Austin Celebrates festival. Although begun in 1948, the concerto did not have its premiere until 1955, after the death of Josef Stalin, under whom Shostakovich had been "blacklisted" as one of many "composers who are adherent of a formalistic, anti-people direction."

For the second half of the concert, Maestro Bay conducts Jean Sibelius' "Finlandia" Symphony No. 1. Composed in 1899 and revised in 1900, "Finlandia" catapulted Sibelius into an international career almost immediately, generating a straightforward patriotic style.

Concert goers can enjoy "Concert Conversations" with Bob Buckalew at 7:10 pm in the hall. These discussions provide an in-depth look at the composers and works being performed, including commentary on the social climate in which they were composed. The Philharmonic Orchestra of the Austin Youth Orchestras will also perform Music on the Mezzanine prior to the evening's concert.

Performances for Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg with the Austin Symphony are January 20 & 21, 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).