February 16, 2006 -

STEPHEN HOUGH WILL GIVE A MASTERCLASS ON FEB. 21

Ottawa, Canada -- The National Arts Centre Orchestra will continue to celebrate Mozart’s 250th birthday in concerts on Wednesday, February 22 and Thursday, February 23 at 20:00 with a performance of the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 14 by the celebrated British pianist Stephen Hough, winner of the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1983. Carlos Kalmar returns to the podium to lead the Orchestra in these concerts which also feature Dvorák’s intense and passionate Seventh Symphony, considered by many to be his greatest. The concerts will also offer the world premiere of a commissioned work by NAC Award Composer Alexina Louie titled Infinite Sky with Birds.

Alexina Louie will introduce her new composition in free Pre-Concert Talks in the Fountain Room both nights at 19:00. One of Canada’s most renowned and most performed composers, Alexina Louie was named one of the NAC’s Award Composers in 2002 as part of its New Music Programme. Infinite Sky with Birds uses the “vision of a free-wheeling, large flock of birds quickly taking flight” as its inspiration. The virtuosic composition contains many tumbling passages, rapid fragments that pass from one instrument or group of strings to another, and regular bursts of fanfares for the brass. “It is infused with light, motion and speed,” says Louie, who led the NAC’s Young Composers Programme as part of the Summer Music Institute in 2005 and accompanied the Orchestra on its 2004 BC Tour giving a number of composer workshops.

Stephen Hough has emerged as a unique presence on the international concert scene, combining the imagination and pianistic colour of the past with the scholarship of the present, illuminating the very essence of the music he plays. The first classical musician to be awarded a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2001, Hough has performed with most of the major American and European orchestras. His recent engagements include appearances at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center with the Philharmonia Orchestra led by Vladimir Ashkenazy, and recitals at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. An exclusive Hyperion recording artist, Stephen Hough has made over thirty recordings, many of which have won international prizes such as the Diapason d'Or, the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, and Classic CD and Gramophone Awards. In October 2002, Gramophone gave Mr. Hough his second Record of the Year award.

To see another side of this piano soloist, come to Stephen Hough’s masterclass on Tuesday, February 21 at 19:00 at the University of Ottawa as part of the NAC’s International Masterclass Series in Freiman Hall in the Perez Building at 610 Cumberland St. A masterclass is a one-on-one lesson given in front of an audience. A necessary part of any music student’s development as either participant or spectator, a masterclass can also given the general public new insight into performance on the instrument. Admission is $10 (free for U of O students and faculty).

Carlos Kalmar was appointed Music Director of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra in 2003, and is also the Music Director of the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago. Until recently he was also Music Director of Vienna's Tonkunstlerorchester. During his career, he has been Music Director of the Hamburg Symphony, Stuttgart Philharmonic and the Anhaltisches Theater in Dessau, Germany.  During the past two seasons, Kalmar’s guest conducting engagements in North America have included subscription concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, New World Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and the Houston Symphony.

Tickets for these Ovation Series concerts on February 22 and 23 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.

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.

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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