Piano Concerto Marathon with Louis Lortie to Round Out Utah Symphony's Tchaikovsky Celebration

Tchaikovsky's 3 Piano Concerti

Piano Concerto Marathon with Louis Lortie to Round Out Utah Symphony's Tchaikovsky Celebration April 19 and 20 at 8 p.m. in Abravanel Hall.

The Utah Symphony will conclude a two week Tchaikovsky celebration with a performance of all three of Tchaikovsky’s piano concerti featuring celebrated Canadian pianist Louis Lortie.

Lortie will tackle the feat with the Utah Symphony under the baton of Music Director Thierry Fischer, April 19 and 20 at 8 p.m. in Abravanel Hall. The program will also include a performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s imaginary film score, “Begleitungsmusic zu einer Lichtspielscene.”

As a man known for his versatility and prolific works, Tchaikovsky wrote three unique and equally different piano concerti.

Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 is his most popular concerto with its stunning and identifiable tune in the introduction. The concerto received disapproval from famous pianist Nicholai Rubenstein who said it was, “clumsy…badly written…. and vulgar.” Despite Rubenstein’s initial distain, the concerto was wildly successful with audiences and later embraced by Rubenstein himself.

Piano Concerto No. 2 eventually became a dedication and peace offering to Rubenstein who had been a long-time advocate of Tchaikovsky’s works. This concerto wasn’t as widely accepted initially by audiences due to its length. Tchaikovsky made edits and cuts after the premiere, and some later adjustments were made without Tchaikovsky’s consent.

The third concerto is Tchaikovsky’s unfinished Concerto No. 3. Unfortunately, Tchaikovsky fell ill and wasn’t able to complete or hear this concerto performed. It was initially labeled as “first movement” and could have possibly been meant for the first movement of a 7th Symphony Tchaikovsky was working on, but one cannot know for sure.

Schoenberg’s “Beleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene” was commissioned for a silent film by Heinrichshofen Verlag, but the opportunity ran counter to Schoenberg’s view of art and his own compositions.

Fischer and Toby Tolokan, Utah Symphony Vice President of Artistic Planning, will present a free pre-concert chat each night, one hour prior to the start of the performance on the orchestra level of Abravanel Hall.

Tickets for the performances can be purchased by calling (801) 355-ARTS (2787), in person at the Abravanel hall ticket office (123 W. South Temple) or by visiting www.utahsymphony.org.

About Louis Lortie
French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie has attracted critical acclaim throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. Mr. Lortie has performed complete Beethoven sonata cycles at London's Wigmore Hall, Berlin's Philharmonie, and the Sala Grande del Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. As both pianist and conductor with the Montreal Symphony, he has performed all five Beethoven concertos and all of the Mozart concertos. Mr. Lortie has also won widespread acclaim for his interpretation of Ravel and Chopin. He performed the complete works of Ravel in London and Montreal for the BBC and CBC, and is renowned all over the world for his performances of the complete Chopin etudes.

In 2012-2013 he performs Gershwin in Sao Paulo with Tortelier, Liszt with NHK Tokyo and Dutoit, Chopin with the Cleveland Orchestra and Van Zweden, Schubert and Liszt with Krivine in Utrecht, Mozart with the Royal Philharmonic and Dutoit; tours with the La Scala Orchestra playing Brahms 2 and with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn playing Beethoven 4 and 5. He returns to Chicago's Orchestra Hall and other important venues to perform a recital program of opera transcriptions called "Lortie goes to the Opera (Mostly with Wagner)". Other recitals include Copenhagen, Osaka, Cremona and Dresden.

Mr. Lortie has performed with the world's leading conductors, including Riccardo Chailly, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Seiji Ozawa, Charles Dutoit, Kurt Sanderling, Neeme Järvi, Sir Andrew Davis, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Sir Mark Elder, and Osmo Vänskä. He has also been involved in many chamber-music projects with such musicians as Frank Peter Zimmermann, Leonidas Kavakos, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Jan Vogler, Augustin Dumay, the Takács Quartet, and Gidon Kremer. His regular piano-duo partner is fellow Canadian Hélène Mercier.

Louis Lortie studied in Montreal with Yvonne Hubert (a pupil of the legendary Alfred Cortot), in Vienna with Beethoven specialist Dieter Weber, and subsequently with Schnabel disciple Leon Fleisher. He made his debut with the Montreal Symphony at the age of 13; three years later, his first appearance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra led to an historic tour of the People's Republic of China and Japan. In 1984, he won First Prize in the Busoni Competition and was also prizewinner at the Leeds Competition. In 1992, he was named Officer of the Order of Canada, and received both the Order of Quebec and an honorary doctorate from Université Laval. He has lived in Berlin since 1997 and also has homes in Canada and Italy.

Program
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
     Concerto No. 3 for Piano and Orchestra in E-flat major,
     No. 3, op. 75
          Louis Lortie, Piano

     Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra in G major,
     Opus 44
          I. Allegro brillante e molto vivace
          II. Andante non troppo
          III. Allegro con fuoco
               Louis Lortie, Piano

Intermission

Arnold Schoenberg
     Begleitungsmusic zu einer Lichtspielscene, Op. 34
          Drohende Gefahr - Angst - Katastrophe

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
     Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra in B-flat minor,
     Opus 23
          I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso
          II. Andantino semplice
          III. Allegro con fuoco
               Louis Lortie, Piano


Abravanel Hall
123 W. South Temple
Salt Lake City, Utah


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