OTTAWA (Canada) – Indulge in the beauty of the Baroque era’s greatest composers in the magnificent new album by Pinchas Zukerman, a phenomenon on the music scene for over forty years, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Baroque Treasury, released by Analekta.  It also features Amanda Forsyth, one of North America’s most dynamic cellists, and wonderful oboist Charles Hamann.

This recording was made possible by Harvey and Louise Glatt, long-time supporters of the National Arts Centre Foundation. The Glatt’s generous donation also ensured that both the Brahms Symphony no. 4, and Brahms Concerto for Violin and Cello from the NAC Orchestra’s 2014-2015 seasons were also recorded and released on Analekta in November 2015.

This project began when the Glatts first heard Zukerman play the Telemann Viola Concerto a few years ago: they wanted audiences everywhere to have the chance to experience Pinchas’ world renowned sound playing this repertoire. As Harvey Glatt explains, “Pinchas Zukerman has made over 100 recordings as a soloist, covering the entire standard violin and viola repertoire. He is a world-class violinist, violist, conductor and institutional leader and this latest recording is an exceptional masterpiece, audiences can enjoy again and again.”

The album features Pinchas Zukerman leading the orchestra and performing as soloist in the beautiful harmonies of some of the Baroque era’s greatest composers. The recording features Handel’s bright and lively “Entrance of the Queen of Sheba” from the oratorio Solomon and Bach’s famous Air on a G string.

Anchoring the first part of the recording is the Double Concerto in C minor by J.S. Bach for solo oboe and solo violin, pairing Zukerman with the orchestra’s own principal oboe Charles Hamann. Hamann has been NAC Orchestra Principal Oboe for 23 years. He has recently recorded an oboe and piano album of Canadian music to be released in 2017,

The fascinating interplay of colours in Bach’s Concerto in C minor for Oboe and Violin, BWV 1060, are marked by the serene dialogue between the two instruments of the same timbre. “Listeners are rewarded by the ravishing sweetness of the slow movement. We’re very proud to feature the NAC Orchestra artists on this record,” observes Christopher Deacon, Managing Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

The recording also includes the aforementioned, inspirational Telemann’s Concerto in G Major for Viola; a work that offers breathtaking warmth allowing Zukerman to demonstrate why he has come to be regarded as the world’s greatest violist.

Other offerings on the album include Tartini’s Pastorale, set for solo violin and strings by Respighi as well as an exploration of stylistic diversity of the Baroque period with music from J.S. Bach and Vivaldi.

“This was a terrific album to record, and I had a wonderful time collaborating with such fine musicians. I think of it as a painter's palette of sorts where we ‘journey’ through the Baroque era. When one plays a range of repertoire that spans an entire period, the listener gains a greater understanding of both the instruments and the performers,” says Pinchas Zukerman.

On the album Zukerman also performs Vivaldi’s double concerto for violin and cello with his wife, the cellist Amanda Forsyth. “This piece has a beautiful slow movement that has almost no accompaniment, like a conversation between two instruments. When people hear us perform together, they can appreciate our understanding of the music and each other, as well as the content,” Zukerman adds.

The Baroque Treasury album is released by Analekta and available for purchase on the Analekta website, at the National Arts Centre (at Friends of NAC Orchestra CD sales during concerts) and record stores, and will be available on iTunes, Spotify and other digital platforms soon.

“This album features beautiful music, brilliantly played, and I am confident audiences will love this recording,” said Christopher Deacon, Managing Director of the NAC Orchestra. “We are delighted to be partnering again with world renowned classical record label, Montreal-based Analekta.

 

ABOUT THE NAC ORCHESTRA

The NAC Orchestra was formed at the creation of Canada's National Arts Centre in 1969 and gives over 100 performances a year with world-renowned artists. It is noted for the passion and clarity of its performances and recordings, its groundbreaking teaching and outreach programs, and nurturing of Canadian creativity.

In 2015 Alexander Shelley began his tenure as NAC Orchestra Music Director, following Pinchas Zukerman’s 16 seasons at the helm; other Music Directors have included Mario Bernardi and Trevor Pinnock. In addition to a full series of subscription concerts at the National Arts Centre each season, the Orchestra tours throughout Canada and around the world including Northern Canada (2012), China (2013) and UK (2014).

The NAC Orchestra has made over 40 commercial recordings, including Angela Hewitt’s 20154 Juno Award-winning album of Mozart Piano Concertos.

Many more concerts are freely available through NACmusicbox.ca on the NAC's performing arts education website ArtsAlive.ca. These include many of the 80+ new works commissioned by the NAC Orchestra since its inception, most from Canadian composers. In 2001 it inaugurated the National Arts Centre Awards for Canadian Composers.

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 across Canada.

 

PINCHAS ZUKERMAN

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.

 

AMANDA FORSYTH

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. Through tours in Australia, South Africa, South America and Asia, as well as concerto performances in Europe and North America, including Carnegie Hall, she has performed

Herbert Cello Concerto with San Carlo Orchestra in Naples, Italy, Shostakovich Concerto with Gyeonggi Philharmonic in Korea, and Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Israel Philharmonic and Adelaide Symphony.

Brahms Double Concerto performances have taken her to Mumbai and Tel Aviv on live Medici TV with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic, and to Spain and the United Kingdom with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Two works of Malcolm Forsyth, Elektra

Rising and The Swan Sees his Reflection, were performed on tour in South Africa and at Cadogan Hall.

A founding member of the Zukerman ChamberPlayers, she has toured with the Zukerman Trio in concerts around the globe. Ms. Forsyth has several recordings to her credit including Brahms Double Concerto with Pinchas Zukerman on the Analekta label (2015).Amanda Forsyth performs on a rare 1699 Italian cello by Carlo Giuseppe Testore.

 

CHARLES HAMANN

Charles “Chip” Hamann was appointed to the principal oboe chair of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1993 at the age of 22. Mr. Hamann is also Adjunct Professor at the University Of Ottawa School Of Music and the oboe instructor at the National Arts Centre’s Summer Music Institute.

He is a frequent guest principal oboist with some of the world’s finest ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Québec’s Les Violons du Roy. Charles is a member of the National Arts Centre Wind Quintet, comprised of principal players of NACO. Their disc of music for wind instruments by Camille Saint-Saëns with pianist Stéphane Lemelin for the Naxos label was awarded an Editor’s Choice award from Gramophone Magazine.

Mr. Hamann recorded a CD of works for oboe and piano by Canadian composers with pianist Frédéric Lacroix in July, 2016.

Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Charles Hamann pursued his early studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy and National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan. He was awarded a Bachelor of Music and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY in 1993, where he was a student of Richard Killmer.

 

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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