OTTAWA  – From the opening downbeat to the final moments of triumphant joy, share in the excitement of Beethoven’s grandest symphony as Pinchas Zukerman conducts the National Arts Centre Orchestra for the last time June 19-20, bringing to a close his 17 year tenure as Music Director.

As part of the CAPP Bravo Series concerts, Maestro Zukerman will lead the orchestra in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 26 “Coronation,” featuring Canadian pianist and wunderkind Jan Lisiecki as soloist. Written in 1788, the concerto begins with a sense of quiet anticipation that builds to impending excitement, as Mozart’s appealing melodic ideas, nimble passages and dainty trills, bring to life harmonic adventure and symphonic beauty.

The evening will conclude with Beethoven’s Ninth symphony. This transcendent creation nobly embodies the composer’s ideals: triumph over adversity on the journey from conflict to harmony.  The words in the final movement, are taken from the "Ode to Joy,” a poem written by Friedrich Schiller, and will be sung by Arianna Zukerman (soprano), Wallis Giunta (mezzo-soprano), Gordon Gietz (tenor), and Robert Gleadow (bass-baritone), along with volunteers from the Ottawa Choral Society, Cantata Singers of Ottawa, Ewashko Singers and Ottawa Festival Chorus, guided by choral master Duain Wolfe and assistant chorus master Laurence Ewashko.

As one of the worlds’ most respected and celebrated musicians and teachers, Saturday evening’s concert will bring to a close Maestro Zukerman’s 17 year tenure as Music Director of the NAC Orchestra. “Pinchas Zukerman’s gift of music has delighted audiences across the country and internationally. Canada’s National Arts Centre has benefitted from his leadership on the podium, his extraordinary artistry as a soloist, and from his deep commitment to music education,” says Peter Herrndorf, President and CEO, of the National Arts Centre.

When he first began as Music Director at the National Arts Centre in 1999, Zukerman had a vision to transform the NAC Orchestra into an even stronger ensemble, by increasing its size and vastly expanding its repertoire. Reshaping an orchestra would have been task enough for most music directors, but Zukerman was able to realize another lifelong dream—educating the next generation of artists.

He founded the NAC Young Artists Program in 1999, as part of the wider NAC Summer Music Institute, which provides elite training to talented young musicians. Under his leadership he also developed distance learning initiatives, affording students from all over the world the opportunity to take master classes via videoconferencing at the NAC's cutting-edge Hexagon Studio.

“...in his teaching, conducting and advocacy, he represents a vision, but most especially a sound, of a more beautiful, hospitable world,” says Adrian Anantawan, Canadian Violinist and Summer Music Institute Alumnus.

Please join us at 7 p.m. on June 19, 20 for the pre-concert chat, “Monuments For All Time,” with Eric Friesen, writer and broadcaster.

 

PINCHAS ZUKERMAN BIOGRAPHY

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.

2014-15 marks Pinchas Zukerman`s 16th season 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.

 

ABOUT THE NAC ORCHESTRA

Under the inspiring leadership of Pinchas Zukerman, Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra is noted for the passion and clarity of its performances and recordings, ground-breaking teaching and outreach programs, and nurturing of Canadian creativity. This vibrant orchestra draws accolades from home and abroad.

The NAC Orchestra was formed in 1969 at the opening of Canada's National Arts Centre, and gives over 100 performances a year with renowned artists including Itzhak Perlman, Renée Fleming, James Ehnes, Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma.

Previous Music Directors included Mario Bernardi and Trevor Pinnock. Alexander Shelley takes on this mantle from Pinchas Zukerman in 2015-16, and John Storgårds will be Principal Guest Conductor beginning the same season. Principal Youth and Family Conductor Alain Trudel, and Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly complete the strong artistic leadership 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 MusicBox on the NAC's Arts Alive wide-reaching education website. These include many of the 100 new Canadian works commissioned by the NAC Orchestra in its 45 year history.

TO BOOK AN INTERVIEW, PLEASE CONTACT:

 

Andrea Ruttan

Communications Officer, NAC Orchestra
National Arts Centre
(613) 947-7000, ext. 335
Andrea.Ruttan@nac-cna.ca