The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) – performing in the fourth Great Performers concert of the NAC Orchestra’s 2011-2012 season – features TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian on the conductor’s podium and internationally acclaimed Canadian pianist Anton Kuerti as guest artist. The concert is at 8 p.m. in Southam Hall on Friday, June 1, 2012.

As part of an annual exchange program with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra has performed in Southam Hall every year since 2004. The TSO will also be part of the NAC Orchestra Great Performers Series next season, appearing on November 19, 2012. The NAC Orchestra most recently performed at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto on April 21, 2012.

The program includes:
BEETHOVEN  Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor”
VIVIER  Orion
RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

Toronto Symphony Orchestra Music Director Peter Oundjian says, “I am delighted to return to the National Arts Centre with the TSO to conduct this program of the familiar and the exotic. We begin by welcoming my very good friend Anton Kuerti in a performance of Beethoven’s mighty “Emperor” concerto, a work which has been called “the Eroica Symphony with piano.” From the powerful opening cadenza, so daring in its time, through the soaring and ravishingly beautiful slow movement that foreshadows much later Romantic music from composers like Chopin and Schumann, to the bright and dance-like finale, this is one of the greatest of all showpieces. We continue with a work by Canadian composer Claude Vivier, entitled Orion, which features the vivid colours Vivier acquired from his study of Balinese music, wrought through with a vibrant rhythmic variety that is thoroughly engaging. And we conclude with the Symphonic Dances of Rachmaninoff, defiantly Romantic music that blends a broad spectrum of moods and instrumental colours – this is a concerto for orchestra in all but name.”

Founded in 1922, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is one of Canada’s major cultural institutions and is internationally recognized as a leading orchestra. With Peter Oundjian as Music Director since 2004, the TSO is committed to innovative programming and each season presents a roster of distinguished guest artists and conductors. The TSO is currently celebrating its 90th season and highlights have included residencies with Lang Lang, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma. The season culminates in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand with an all-Canadian cast of guest soloists and choirs. The TSO serves the community with one of the largest music education outreach programs in Canada, connecting students throughout Ontario with acclaimed curriculum-based programming both in-school and at Roy Thomson Hall. Each September the Orchestra embarks on a Northern Residency in Ontario, offering evening concerts and in-school educational programs in both English and French. More than 300,000 patrons and 70,000 students visit the TSO at Roy Thomson Hall each year, and the orchestra tours internationally and makes recordings. The TSO has welcomed great international artists and renowned composers, including Henri Dutilleux, R. Murray Schafer, and the late Sir Michael Tippett.

Toronto-born conductor Peter Oundjian, noted for his probing musicality, collaborative spirit, and engaging personality, has been an instrumental figure in the rebirth of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since his appointment as Music Director in 2004. In addition to conducting the orchestra in dynamic performances which have achieved outstanding artistic acclaim, he has been greatly involved in a variety of new initiatives which have strengthened the ensemble’s presence in the community and attracted a young and diverse audience. During his tenure with the TSO, Mr. Oundjian has also released six recordings on the orchestra’s self-produced record label, tsoLIVE. In addition to his post in Toronto, Peter Oundjian has been named the Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, starting in the 2012–2013 season. Mr. Oundjian was Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2010 and has served as a visiting professor at the Yale School of Music since 1981. During the 2012–2013 season, Peter Oundjian will be conducting the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Japan), Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, L’Orchestre de Paris, and the Detroit and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras.

Throughout his prodigiously successful career, pianist Anton Kuerti has been acclaimed for the clarity of his musical vision and the immense technique with which he serves a wide choice of repertoire. He remains among an elite list of pianists performing at the very highest level, through which he extends his vision to a new generation of listeners. Recent concerto performances with the Boston and Detroit Symphony Orcehstras, and return recital engagements at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw are only the latest in a series of performances through which Kuerti’s artistry deepens the human experience. His distinguished performing career has included tours to nearly 40 countries, including Japan, Russia, and most of Europe. He has performed with most major U.S. orchestras and conductors. His vast repertoire includes some 50 concertos, including one he composed himself. Renowned for the force of his understanding of the works of Beethoven, his Beethoven Piano Concerto cycles and all-Beethoven recital programs attract particular attention. In Canada, Kuerti has appeared in 140 communities from coast to coast, and has played with every professional orchestra, including 39 concerts with the TSO. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and is the recipient of several honorary doctorates.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra performs in Southam Hall of the NAC on Friday, June 1, 2012 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.45, $31.21, $42.51, $49.50, $53.81, $64.57, and $75.33, for adults and $11.73, $17.11, $22.76, $26.25, $28.41, $33.79, and $39.17 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 Trinity 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.

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]  gerald.morris@nac-cna.ca