PREU AND SYMPHONY KICK OFF 59TH SEASON WITH FABULOUS MUSIC

Sep 9, 2004

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow

SPOKANE - The Spokane Symphony will celebrate the exciting arrival of its new conductor and the beginning of its 59th season with a stellar performance by world-renowned pianist Horacio Gutirrez on 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17, at the Spokane Opera House.

Picturesque, dance-like, lively, funky, outgoing, and fiery, the exciting young East German-born conductor Eckart Preu, describes the music for this season-opening event.

Glazunov's ballet music from The Seasons is influenced by his fellow-Russian Tchaikovsky, who wrote some of the best-known ballets. Hear dripping glassy icicles of winter, its tempestuous gales, oven-dried steppes, buffeting winds, green-sward waltzes, the dry leaf-drifts of autumn and more just like Preu said, picturesque.

Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 showcases the composer's own skill, and the skill of the highly regarded Guiterrez, with blazing virtuosity, perpetual motion, and sharp humor.

Considered among today's foremost pianists, Gutirrez is consistently praised by critics and audiences alike for the poetic insight and technical mastery he brings to a diverse repertoire. Since his professional debut in 1970 with Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he has appeared regularly with the world's greatest orchestras.

In recent seasons, in addition to his appearances with the world's major orchestras, he has given recitals at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Berlin's Philharmonie, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival and New York's Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, as well as in Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Cleveland.

Gutirrez's recordings include Rachmaninoff's Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3 with Lorin Maazel and the Pittsburgh Symphony, nominated for a Grammy Award. Also available are separate discs of the two Brahms Concertos, both with Andre Previn and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini with David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony. He has recorded Prokofiev's Concertos No. 2 and 3 with Neeme Järvi and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Gutirrez appeared at the age of 11 as guest soloist with the Havana Symphony. He became an American citizen in 1967. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he resides in New York City.

Stravinsky, the last of the three masters, brings the audience into the exotic world of an old Russian fairy tale featuring Prince Ivan, the magician Kastchei and the Firebird. This audience favorite is bound to be a fabulous and fitting finale for Eckart Preu and the Spokane Symphony's inaugural concert.

The gala evening will include champagne and an art display by artists from Inland Craft Warnings, planned for Nov. 12-14, 2003 at the Spokane Convention Center. As a kickoff to his first year with the Spokane Symphony, Music Director Preu will give the pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m.
On Thursday, Sept. 16, the Spokane Arts Commission and the Spokane Symphony will air the first of its series of Classical Chat on City Channel 5 from the City Council Chambers in the lower level of City Hall from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. The program formerly known as Lunch and Learn and held at the Downtown Library will include interviews with guest artists and with Preu. It is hosted by KPBX Program Manager Verne Windham. The program will be held on Thursday before each of the Classics concert during the 2004-05 season.
Tickets range from $15 to $34 and are available Monday through Friday from 9:30-5:00 p.m. at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office at 818 West Riverside Avenue or by calling (509) 624-1200. Tickets are also available on weekends and evenings, with a service charge, through Ticketswest at 325-SEAT, 1-800-325-SEAT or www.spokanesymphony.org.

The Classics season opening concert is underwritten by Sterling Savings Bank and the Mary Jewett Gaiser Endowment Fund.