September 20, 2005 -

Ottawa, Canada -- Music Director Pinchas Zukerman will lead a performance of Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante played by the illustrious American cellist Lynn Harrell, who describes the masterpiece as “unabashedly romantic and lyrical” – on Wednesday, September 28 and Thursday, September 29 at 20:00 in Southam Hall. These Mark Motors Audi Signature Series concerts also feature Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 – his most congenial and voluptuously beautiful symphony – continuing Pinchas Zukerman’s cycle through all the major works by the composer. Zukerman is especially looking forward to how well the Brahms Third will show off the talents of the Orchestra’s principal musicians as they perform the gorgeous orchestral solos within the work. The expanded NAC Orchestra necessary for the two large pieces has been made possible by the National Arts Centre Orchestra Association’s Kilpatrick Fund.

There will be pre-concert talks in French both nights given at 19:00 at the NAC by music critic and professor Jean-Jacques van Vlasselaer entitled “Aimez-vous Prokofiev?”

While Lynn Harrell is in Ottawa, he will give a masterclass to three talented cello students on Tuesday, September 27 from 14:00 to 16:00 in the NAC’s Fourth Stage linked by Broadband to Mount Royal College Conservatory in Calgary. The class is part of the NAC Orchestra’s “International Series” of masterclasses. Tickets are $10 at the door (free to students and staff of the University of Ottawa.)

Lynn Harrell explains how the legendary cellist Rostropovich lived with Prokofiev at the time he was composing the Sinfonia Concertante and that the composer gave the cellist carte blanche on much of the passage work. “The result from the young firebrand was a piece which at the time in the fifties and sixties was virtually unplayable by anyone except him. Some of the cello difficulties are simply diabolical.” The work incorporates virtually the entire catalogue of technical challenges and special effects, including much writing in the violin range, leaps across huge expanses of range, rapid shifts from plucked to bowed strings, continuous double stops (playing two notes together) and almost impossibly fast passage work.  But Prokofiev did not neglect the cello’s pre-eminent capacity for soaring lyricism and warmth of character, and also included several humorous episodes. Says Harrell: “Having not performed the piece for almost 15 years, I am very pleased to get it back in my repertoire. It was, indeed, a challenge!”

Lynn Harrell’s presence is felt throughout the musical world. A consummate soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, conductor and teacher, his work throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia has placed him in the highest echelon of today’s performing artists. The two-time Grammy Award winner is a frequent guest of many of the leading orchestras, and has also toured extensively to Australia and New Zealand as well as the Far East, including a three-week “Lynn Harrell Cello Festival” with the Hong Kong Philharmonic in 1999. Harrell is a good friend of Pinchas Zukerman, and the two appeared live at the Grammy Awards with Itzhak Perlman in 1994, performing an excerpt from their Grammy-nominated recording of the complete Beethoven String Trios (Angel/EMI). A recording of the Schubert Trios with Vladimir Ashkenazy and Pinchas Zukerman (London/Decca) was released in February 2000.

Tickets for these Mark Motors Audi Signature Series concerts on September 28 and 29 are on sale now at $27.00, $47.50, $58.00 and $60.00, with box seats at $79.00 (GST and Facility Fee included) at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111.  Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s web-site at www.nac-cna.ca. 

New for 05-06: Groups of 10 and more save 15% to 20% off the regular price of tickets to NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances.  To reserve your seats call 947-7000 ext. 384 or email grp@nac-cna.ca.  Half-price tickets for students in all sections of the hall are on sale in person at the NAC Box Office upon presentation of a valid student ID card. Subscriptions for the season are also still available by calling the Subscription Office at 613-947-7000, ext. 620.

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For more information please contact:
Jane Morris, Communications Officer,
National Arts Centre Orchestra
(613) 947-7000, ext. 335
jmorris@nac-cna.ca