Violinist Pinchas Zukerman performs the monumental Elgar Violin Concerto for the first time with the NAC Orchestra on May 15-16 -- Concert to be broadcast live-to-air on CBC Radio Two on May 16
May 07, 2002 -
Ottawa, Canada -- The Elgar Violin Concerto, one of the towering
masterpieces of the string repertoire and also one of the most
difficult, will be performed on Wednesday, May 15 and Thursday, May
16 at 20:00 in Southam Hall by master violinist Pinchas Zukerman, who
is famous for his interpretation of the work. The National Arts
Centre Orchestra will be conducted on this special occasion by James
Judd, Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. These
concerts mark the first-ever performance of the Elgar by the NAC
Orchestra, which will be augmented for the occasion thanks in part to
the NACOA Kilpatrick Fund. Judd will also lead the Orchestra in the
"Ricercare" from Bach's A Musical Offering and
Stravinsky's Firebird Suite.
CBC Radio Two will make the May 16 concert available to Canadians
coast-to-coast and around the world on the Internet (www.cbc.ca
live at 20:00 EST) in a rare live-to-air broadcast on In
Performance with host Eric Friesen. Friesen will interview
Pinchas Zukerman live during the intermission just before the
Concerto.
Those attending the concert are invited to free Pre-concert Talks
with Pinchas Zukerman in the Salon both nights at 19:00, entitled
The Maestro and Elgar, during which he will discuss the
Concerto and Elgar with the NAC Orchestra's Artistic Associate
and former principal trumpet Douglas Sturdevant, and take questions
from the audience.
Elgar, like Beethoven, wrote only one Violin Concerto and it was
commissioned exactly a hundred years after Beethoven's by the
leading virtuoso of the age, Fritz Kreisler. A violinist himself,
Elgar was in a position to know precisely what the instrument was
capable of, and he stretched that capability to the limit.
The Concerto is packed to the hilt with huge leaps, double and
triple stops, scales spanning two octaves to be played in a second,
and other technical minefields. And as if this weren't enough to
daunt all but the most intrepid of violinists, it is the longest
violin concerto in the standard repertoire.
Pinchas Zukerman, one of the leading string players of the
century, is celebrated for his performances of the Elgar as well as
the Beethoven. He has recorded the Elgar twice: with the London
Philharmonic led by Daniel Barenboim for CBS Masterworks, and with
the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra for BMG Classics with Leonard
Slatkin conducting. These concerts mark the last time to see the
Orchestra's Music Director in the regular season. He will return
in July for the Great Composers Festival.
Tickets for these National Arts Centre Orchestra Ovation Series
concerts on May 15 and 16, are on sale now at $26.00, $42.50 and
$53.00, with box seats at $63.50 (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.
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.
