Ottawa’s own Angela Hewitt performs Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in Hewitt Plays Liszt, the third Ovation Series concert of the season at the National Arts Centre on February 16-17
In the third Ovation Series concert of the NAC’s 2010-2011 season, world-renowned piano superstar Angela Hewitt celebrates the bicentenary of composer Franz Liszt’s birth (1811-1886) with a performance of his extraordinary Piano Concerto No. 1. The Hewitt Plays Liszt concert is at 8 p.m. in Southam Hall on Wednesday February 16 and Thursday February 17, 2011. Ludovic Morlot conducts the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
The program for the evening includes:
BERLIOZ Overture to Les Francs-juges
LISZT Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major
FRANCK Symphony in D minor
Angela Hewitt made her National Arts Centre debut in 1977 performing chamber music, and her first appearance with the NAC Orchestra was in October of that same year. Now back at the NAC after her sold-out recital last season, Ms Hewitt, an Ottawa native, brings her rich artistry and extraordinary interpretive skills to Liszt’s First Piano Concerto. Franz Liszt used this bravura work to showcase his own superstar status, as in the blistering, wildly difficult octave leaps in the first movement.
Franz Liszt composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major – a seamless work in four sections played without a pause -- over a 26-year period. The main themes date from 1830 (when Liszt was nineteen years old) while the final version dates from 1849. Liszt possibly spent so long on the composition because at this point in his career he was fairly new to the realm of orchestration. The concerto premiered in Weimar in February 1855, with Liszt himself at the piano and Hector Berlioz on the conductor’s podium. Béla Bartók wrote of the work as being “…the first perfect realization of cyclic sonata form …” Although not universally well received at its premiere, Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 has since become one of the most popular of all concertos.
"Most piano performances arrive in translation: the inner musician making a decision, then issuing a command that makes its way through the body onto the keyboard and into the ear. … Ms. Hewitt is one of those rare musicians who seem to get something into their heads and hearts and find it at their fingertips instantaneously. To fuel this leap must require a fund of psychic energy beyond the average capacity. Good musicians are good athletes, not in the muscular sense but in the staying power of their imaginations. This pianist’s resolve to imbue every musical moment with an unrelenting sense of theatre would exhaust most of us in 10 minutes."
Bernard Holland, The New York Times, February 2007
PRE-CONCERT CHAT (in English):
“Angela’s Liszt” with CBC Radio Executive Producer Jill LaForty and Angela Hewitt – NAC Fountain Room
Following the concert, Angela Hewitt will sign CDs in the foyer of Southam Hall
Ludovic Morlot says, “The Franck Symphony in D minor is a wonderful piece of music. French in spirit, it is nevertheless firmly rooted in the tradition of the German masters. It has an organ-like quality and unforgettable melodies, both of which make it a good fit with the Liszt concerto.” First heard over a century ago, César Franck’s only symphony ranks as one of the pillars of the repertoire, a masterpiece of flowing melody, brass chorales, and brilliant climaxes. Morlot continues, “The opening work, the overture to Berlioz’s Les Francs-juges, is rarely performed. But it is [bold, stirring, and] powerful -- magically scored and orchestrated. You will have a hard time getting the main tune out of your head.”
Hewitt plays Liszt will be performed in Southam Hall of the National Arts Centre on Wednesday February 16 and Thursday February 17, 2011 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.45, $31.21, $42.51, $53.81, $64.57, $75.33, and $94.17, for adults and $11.38, $16.76, $22.41, $28.06, $33.44, $38.82, and $48.24 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card). Tickets are available at the NAC Box Office (in person) and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111; Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s website www.nac-cna.ca.
Subject to availability, full-time students (aged 13-29) with valid Live Rush™ membership (free registration at www.liverush.ca) may buy up to 2 tickets per performance at the discount price of $12 per ticket. Tickets are available online (www.nac-cna.ca) or at the NAC box office from 10 a.m. on the day before the performance until 6 p.m. on the day of the show or 2 hours before a matinee. Groups of 10 or more save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices to all NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances; to reserve your seats, call 613-947-7000, ext. 634 or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca.
Our latest web offering -- coming soon -- NACmusicbox TIMELINE 200 orchestral works, 80 Canadian compositions, 1 interactive TIMELINE. Explore unlimited music connections and discover Canada's contribution to orchestral history. The interactive TIMELINE includes the addition of 65 Canadian works thanks to financial investment by the Virtual Museum of Canada at the Department of Canadian Heritage. We also acknowledge our partner CBC Radio 2 for providing broadcast-quality recordings of the NAC Orchestra’s archival performances.
For additional information, visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca
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Information:
Gerald Morris
Communications Officer, NAC Music
613-947-7000, ext. 335
[e-mail] gmorris@nac-cna.ca