Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth return to the NAC stage in Baroque Treasury Nov 5-6
OTTAWA (Canada) –Share in the excitement on November 5-6 when world renowned Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth return to Southam Hall to join the NAC Orchestra in the Air Canada Ovation Series concert “Baroque Treasury,” featuring the beautiful harmonies of the Baroque era’s greatest composers.
Pinchas Zukerman leads the orchestra and performs as soloist in a masterful concert that will be recorded live. This recording was made possible thanks to the generosity of Harvey and Louise Glatt.
The concert opens with Handel’s bright and lively “Entrance of the Queen of Sheba” from the oratario Solomon. Anchoring the first part of the concert is the Double Concerto in C minor by J.S. Bach for solo oboe and solo violin, pairing violinist Pinchas Zukerman with the orchestra’s own principal oboe Charles Hamann.
“The combination of two treble solo instruments with very different tone colours and capabilities makes for a brilliant, original dialogue at almost every moment of the piece,” explains Hamann.
“The interplay is perhaps best on display in the serene second movement, when the oboe and violin are at their most intimate and soulful,” he adds.
The first half of the evening concludes with Telemann’s Concerto in G Major for Viola; a work that offers breathtaking warmth allowing Zukerman to demonstrate why he is regarded as the world’s greatest violist.
The second half of the concert will open with Tartini’s Pastorale, set for solo violin and strings by Respighi, a work the NAC Orchestra and Pinchas are visiting for the first time. This is followed by an exploration of stylistic diversity of the Baroque period with music from J.S. Bach and Vivaldi.
Zukerman and Forsyth perform Vivaldi’s double concerto for violin and cello, “...this is a piece we come back to again and again,” explains Forsyth. “Although simple, it is a technically challenging piece in typical Vivaldi style, with a beautiful slow movement that has almost no accompaniment, like a conversation between two instruments,” she adds.
Don’t miss the one and only chance to see Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth perform this year with the NAC Orchestra! A fascinating pre-concert talk with writer and broadcaster Eric Friesen “Pinchas Goes Baroque” will be held in the Panorama Room at 7:00 p.m. before the show on November 5 and 6.
Pinchas Zukerman has remained a phenomenon in the world of music for over four decades. His musical genius, prodigious technique and unwavering artistic standards are a marvel to audiences and critics. Devoted to the next generation of musicians, he has inspired younger artists with his magnetism and passion. His enthusiasm for teaching has resulted in innovative programs in London, New York, China, Israel and Ottawa. The name Pinchas Zukerman is equally respected as violinist, violist, conductor, pedagogue and chamber musician.
Pinchas Zukerman spent 16 seasons as Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. A devoted and innovative pedagogue, Mr. Zukerman chairs the Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, where he has pioneered the use of distance-learning technology. In Canada, he has established the NAC Institute for Orchestra Studies and the Summer Music Institute encompassing the Young Artists, Conductors and Composers Programs.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1948, Pinchas Zukerman came to America in 1962 where he studied at The Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian. Pinchas Zukerman's discography contains over 100 titles, and has earned him 2 GRAMMY Awards and 21 nominations.
Canadian JUNO Award-winning Amanda Forsyth is considered one of North America’s most dynamic cellists. Her intense richness of tone, remarkable technique and exceptional musicality combine to enthrall audiences and critics alike.
Ms. Forsyth has achieved an international reputation as soloist and chamber musician. Her 2015-2016 season began with concerts in Australia followed by a South American tour to Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Orchestral highlights include the Royal, Israel and Gyonggi Philharmonic Orchestras, Calgary Civic and Greensboro Symphonies as well as the San Carlo Orchestra. A founding member of the Zukerman ChamberPlayers, she tours with the Zukerman Trio to Korea, Italy and Japan, as well as to the 92nd Street Y’s Distinguished Artist Series.
Ms. Forsyth’s recordings appear on the Sony Classics, Naxos, Altara, Fanfare, Marquis, Pro Arte and CBC labels. A recording of Brahms’s Double Concerto with Pinchas Zukerman and the NAC Orchestra is to be released this fall by Analekta Records. She performs on a rare 1699 Italian cello by Carlo Giuseppe Testore.
Charles “Chip” Hamann was born in Lincoln, Nebraska and was appointed to the principal oboe chair of the NAC Orchestra in 1993 at the age of 22. He studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy and later at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. where he was a student of Richard Killmer.
Mr. Hamann is on the faculty of the University of Ottawa and the NAC Summer Music Institute. He regularly teaches at Canadian summer festivals and has given clinics throughout Canada, the U.S., Mexico, China and Japan.
Chip Hamann is a member of the renowned NAC wind Quintet. Their recording of music for winds and piano by Camille Saint- Saens with pianists Stephane Lemlin.
Formed in 1969 at the opening of Canada's National Arts Centre, the NAC Orchestra gives over 100 performances a year with renowned artists including Itzhak Perlman, Renée Fleming, James Ehnes, Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma. It is noted for the passion and clarity of its performances and recordings, its ground-breaking teaching and outreach programs, and nurturing of Canadian creativity.
In September 2015 Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director with the National Arts Centre’s Orchestra. Shelley has an unwavering reputation as one of Europe’s leading young conductors, notably as Chief conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and most recently as the Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since its inception the Orchestra has commissioned 80 works, mostly from Canadian composers. In 2001 it inaugurated the National Arts Centre Awards for Canadian Composers and the recipients thus far have been Denys Bouliane, John Estacio, Peter Paul Koprowski, Gary Kulesha, Alexina Louie and Ana Sokolovic.
Previous NAC Orchestra Music Directors include Pinchas Zukerman, Mario Bernardi and Trevor Pinnock. The 2015-16 season features Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds , Alain Trudel as Principal Youth and Family Conductor and Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly completing the strong artistic team.
In addition to a full series of subscription concerts at the National Arts Centre each season, tours are undertaken to regions throughout Canada and around the world, most recently to China (2013) and the UK (2014). The latter commemorated the start of the First World War and explored themes of remembrance and healing through music in over 50 education and performance events. Following the footsteps of Canadian troops 100 years ago, it showcased the brilliant work of Canadian composers and the NAC Orchestra's musicians, both as performers and as educators, and received standing ovations in packed halls throughout the UK.
In 1999, Pinchas Zukerman founded the NAC Young Artists Program, part of the wider NAC Summer Music Institute, which provides elite training to talented young musicians. Students all over the world are also taught via videoconferencing in the NAC's cutting-edge Hexagon Studio. The Orchestra also created and continues to pioneer education work locally and in indigenous communities in northern Canada.
The NAC Orchestra has made over 40 commercial recordings, including Angela Hewitt’s 2014 Juno Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos conducted by Hannu Lintu. Many more concerts are freely available through NACmusicbox.ca on the NAC's performing arts education website ArtsAlive.ca. These include many of the 100 new Canadian works commissioned by the NAC Orchestra in its 45 year history.
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Andrea Ruttan
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National Arts Centre
(613) 947-7000, ext. 335
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