September 24, 2004 -

Ottawa, Canada -- The concert programme has been announced for the sold-out eighth annual National Arts Centre Gala featuring the stellar combination of cellist Yo-Yo Ma and National Arts Centre Orchestra Music Director Pinchas Zukerman, two of the best known musicians in the world. The concert, which also features violinist Viviane Hagner, a former participant and mentor in the NAC Young Artists Programme, will take place in the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall on Saturday, October 2 at 19:00. There will be a pre-concert reception in the Foyer for all patrons at 18:00, and post-concert supper and dancing on the Southam Hall stage for gala patrons. The Gala has been sold out since last spring.

Yo-Yo Ma and Viviane Hagner with the NAC Orchestra led by Pinchas Zukerman will bring to life the towering strength, sweeping melodies and sublime beauties of Brahms’s “Double” Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op. 102. Yo-Yo Ma will also perform Tchaikovsky’s Andante cantabile – the famous second movement of the String Quartet No. 1 – and Fauré’s Élégie, a favourite of the cello repertoire. Viviane Hagner will present the Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, a work alternating flashy virtuosity and suave lyricism. Pinchas Zukerman will open the programme leading the NAC Orchestra in Glinka’s Overture to Russlan and Ludmilla.

The National Arts Centre Gala takes place under the distinguished patronage of Honorary Chair Sheila Martin. The 21-member Gala Committee is chaired by Kenneth Loeb, President of Capital Box of Ottawa Limited. All proceeds from the National Arts Centre Gala are designated to the National Youth and Education Trust, a primary resource for supporting the artistic development of young Canadians through education, professional training and mentoring programmes and young audience performances.

The National Arts Centre Gala is presented by TELUS, Founding Partner of the National Youth and Education Trust, in association with CGI, Sun Life Financial, Bruce Power, Forest Products Association of Canada and Accenture. Special thanks go to A & E Television Networks, Xerox, Tri-Co Printing, The Ottawa Citizen, LeDroit, The National Post, The Lowe Martin Group, and Biddle McGillvray Advertising.

The NAC Annual Fall Gala will take place on Saturday, October 2 beginning at 18:00 with a pre-concert reception in the Foyer for all concert-goers followed by the concert. There will be post-concert supper featuring a spectacular menu by Executive Chef Kurt Waldele complemented by Beringer wines on the Southam Hall stage for gala patrons, followed by dancing.

One lucky gala patron will be the winner of a $25,000 gold Rolex watch donated by Jubilee Jewellers for a draw that will take place during the post-concert supper.

Yo-Yo Ma last performed with the National Arts Centre Orchestra two years ago, when he and Maestro Zukerman joined forces for a magical night of music-making at the 2001 National Arts Centre Gala. The many-faceted career of cellist Yo-Yo Ma is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. Whether performing a new concerto, revisiting a familiar work from the cello repertoire, coming together with colleagues for chamber music or exploring cultures and musical forms outside of the Western classical tradition, Mr. Ma strives to find connections that stimulate the imagination.  Yo-Yo Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras throughout the world and his recital and chamber music activities. Mr. Ma is an exclusive Sony Classical artist, and his discography of more than 50 albums (including 15 Grammy Award winners) reflects his wide-ranging interests. Obrigado Brazil, his 2003 recording of Brazilian music, recently won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album. In March 2004, Sony Classical released Vivaldi’s Cello, a collaboration with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. In addition to the standard concerto repertoire, Mr. Ma has recorded many of the large body of works that he has commissioned or premiered.

Viviane Hagner was born in Munich and made her debut at the age of twelve with the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Just one year later, she appeared as soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta at the legendary 1990 “Joint Concert” of the Israel and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras. She was a participant and mentor of the 2001 NAC Young Artists Programme, returning in 2002 as a mentor. She subsequently performed as guest soloist with the NAC Orchestra led by Pinchas Zukerman in January 2003 and will return this May to perform the Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto.

Other concerts this season include the West Coast premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Violin Concerto with Kent Nagano, a European tour with Keith Lockhart and the Utah Symphony Orchestra, returns to the Hallé Orchestra Manchester, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra, and debuts with the São Paulo and Lyon Symphony Orchestras, among others.

Pinchas Zukerman has been recognized as a musical phenomenon for four decades. His genius and prodigious technique have long been a marvel to critics and audiences, and his exceptional artistic standards continue to earn him the highest acclaim. He is equally respected as a violinist, violist, conductor, teacher and chamber musician. Pinchas Zukerman’s 2004-2005 schedule away from the National Arts Centre includes conducting the Chicago and Pittsburgh Symphonies, New York Philharmonic and Florida Orchestra.  Concerto appearances include the Knussen Violin Concerto, written for and premiered by Mr. Zukerman in 2003, with the Orchestre de Paris, Berlin Staatskapelle, San Francisco and Toronto Symphonies.  He also appears as soloist this season with the Berlin, Israel, Buffalo and Oklahoma City Philharmonics and Seattle and Austin Symphonies, and helps the National Symphony celebrate Maestro Leonard Slatkin’s 60^th birthday in a special gala performance.  Recitals with longtime collaborator Marc Neikrug take place in the United States, Canada, Spain, France, Ireland and Denmark.