Francesco Lecce-Chong, Music Director & Conductor
2018
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS Star Wars: Live with Orchestra Rhapsody in Blue
Verdi’s Requiem
The Color of Sound
And more...
TOGETHER, WE
DIFFER E
R ENTLY This Eugene Symphony season will always have a special place in my heart as the first one I crafted as a Music Director. In developing it, I held on to
music has the power to transform and transport us ; concerts should surprise and delight three ideas:
us; and our performances can inspire thought and dialogue long after the last notes are played. It is my belief that each of these concerts will ignite the communicative power of music to thrill, surprise, challenge, comfort, and move you in countless ways. I hope they open up conversation
connecting us more deeply with our own humanity and with each other. with fellow concertgoers,
Yours truly,
FRANCESCO LECCE-CHONG Music Director & Conductor
2018
N IGH T SEPT
27
7:30 PM
A jazzy suite from the Broadway hit On the Town launches our three-month celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s centennial. As a conductor, one of Bernstein’s signature works was Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony – an iconic 20th century masterpiece that came to represent defiance of Stalin and the oppressive Soviet government. And, for the first time, we will perform music by Ernest Bloch, who made Oregon his adopted home. His Schelomo is a passionate cello concerto based on the life of King Solomon.
FRANCESCO LECCE-CHONG | conductor JULIE ALBERS | cello
BERNSTEIN Three Dance Episodes from On The Town BLOCH
Schelomo
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony fires us up with searing fanfares, breaks our hearts with painfully intimate moments, and ultimately leaves us with a powerful feeling of hope. — FRANCESCO
BERN S
‘The Age of Anxiety’ is my favorite concert work of Bernstein’s because it perfectly represents his many facets – conductor, pianist, composer, philosopher, educator, and cultural leader. — FRANCESCO
2018
N STEIN OCT
18
7:30 PM
Continuing our celebration of an American legend, Bernstein’s ‘symphony’ is actually a colorful piano concerto based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning poem by W.H. Auden which depicts the wild and soul-searching adventures of young people on a night out in New York City. Beethoven’s Eighth, his shortest symphony, has infectious energy and boundless optimism. Oregon composer David Schiff’s perfectly titled Stomp sets the mood for a thrilling evening of music.
FRANCESCO LECCE-CHONG | conductor RAN DANK | piano
DAVID SCHIFF Stomp BERNSTEIN
Symphony No. 2, “The Age of Anxiety”
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 8
2018
BIRDS NOV
15
7:30 PM
The multi-Grammy-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird joins the Eugene Symphony with a concerto written especially for them by Jennifer Higdon, one of today’s most vital composers. An early work that helped launch his career, Bernstein’s ballet Fancy Free concludes our exploration honoring his 100th anniversary. Full of the sounds of street-corner jazz, bustling cafes, and crowded sidewalks, it’s a beautiful ode to his home of New York City.
FE
FEATHER FRANCESCO LECCE-CHONG | conductor EIGHTH BLACKBIRD | contemporary ensemble
BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 JENNIFER HIGDON
On a Wire
MOZART
Six German Dances, K.571
BERNSTEIN
Fancy Free
I love to find connections between music written centuries apart. This program has two: ‘ensemble concertos’ by Bach and Higdon, and ‘street music’ by Mozart and Bernstein. — FRANCESCO
2018
RED DEC
06
7:30 PM
American composer John Corigliano’s Chaconne headlines an evening of music that abounds with passion and grace. Written for the haunting film The Red Violin, it updates a Baroque dance form perfectly characterized by Buxtehude’s work originally for organ. Mendelssohn’s most popular symphony, the “Italian,” closes a program that includes the Eugene returns of noted young American conductor Tito Muñoz and English violinist Chloë Hanslip.
Hanslip’s passion and technical bravura are palpable and exciting... the fireworks never stop. — THE TIMES (LONDON)
TITO MUÑOZ | conductor CHLOË HANSLIP | violin
BUXTEHUDE/
Chaconne in E minor
ORCH. CHAVEZ CORIGLIANO
Chaconne from The Red Violin
SAINT-SAËNS
Havanaise
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
PIANO CO
Natasha and I have been good friends since we were teenagers studying piano in New York City. You will be amazed by her dazzling artistry! — FRANCESCO
2019
CONCERTO JAN
24
7:30 PM
Fiery pianist Natasha Paremski brings one of her signature works to Eugene – Tchaikovsky’s powerful piano concerto that will make you leap to your feet at the end. The orchestra responds in kind with blazing passion in Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony, driven by what the composer described as “the elemental will to live.” Our evening begins with festive music by Grazyna Bacewicz— she’s a favorite of Francesco’s—which brims with vitality and joy.
FRANCESCO LECCE-CHONG | conductor NATASHA PAREMSKI | piano
BACEWICZ Overture for Orchestra TCHAIKOVKSY Piano Concerto No. 1 NIELSEN
Symphony No. 4, “The Inextinguishable”
2019
FEB
14
7:30 PM
Enjoy a rare opportunity to hear Gershwin’s famous Rhapsody in Blue—a true American classic—along with its sequel, which is every bit as fun and captivating. Barber’s electric First Symphony showcases his intense lyricism and rich use of orchestral color, and Silvestre Revueltas’ film music takes us on a train ride to Baja California. On the podium, we welcome Teddy Abrams, conductor of the Britt Festival in southern Oregon, to the Eugene Symphony for the first time.
TEDDY ABRAMS | conductor PALLAVI MAHIDHARA | piano
BARBER Symphony No. 1 GERSHWIN
Second Rhapsody for Piano
REVUELTAS
Musica para charlar
GERSHWIN
Rhapsody in Blue
I
IN BLUE
Teddy Abrams has the rare gift of being able to connect in a meaningful way with just about anyone he meets. —T HE WALL STREET JOURNAL
2019
DOCTOR A MAR
21
7:30 PM
As a life-long believer in John Adams’ music, I think this is one of his greatest achievements and one of the most important symphonies of the past 25 years. — FRANCESCO
R ATOMIC
e
John Adams’ opera Doctor Atomic depicts an emotionally torn Robert Oppenheimer as he struggles with the moral implications of creating the first nuclear bomb. It was a sensation when it was first staged in 2005, and this symphony based on its music has become equally popular in the concert hall. After the darkness and disquiet of the first half, the sublime beauty and soaring melodies of Brahms’ violin concerto redeem our hope for humanity.
FRANCESCO LECCE-CHONG | conductor PHILIPPE QUINT | violin
SCHUMANN Manfred Overture JOHN ADAMS
Doctor Atomic Symphony
BRAHMS
Violin Concerto
COLO Imagine Silva Concert Hall filled with rich tapestries of light as you listen to two works by Alexander Scriabin, who believed every musical note depicts a specific color. To bring his vision to life, we partner with the creative geniuses at Harmonic Laboratory to fill the hall with light and movement. Music by Debussy, Mendelssohn, Handel, Grieg and more helps us further explore how color and sound collide.
FRANCESCO LECCE-CHONG | conductor CHRISTOPHER TAYLOR | piano SCRIABIN
Prometheus: The Poem of Fire
SCRIABIN
The Poem of Ecstasy
Program also includes Grieg’s Morning Mood, Debussy’s Claire de Lune, and short works by Mendelssohn, Handel, Pärt, and Schuller.
I am delighted for us to be the first orchestra to attempt to fully realize Scriabin’s dream for sound and color to totally envelop the audience. This will truly be a concert unlike any other. – FRANCESCO
2019
LOR SOUND APR
18
7:30 PM
to Light at Play’s seven-foot RADIANCE ORB will create Scriabin’s theoretical ‘color organ’
2019
MAY
09
7:30 PM
RE
Our Symphonic series comes to a close with Verdi’s unrivaled masterpiece, one of the most treasured choral works of all time. Combining his dramatic operatic style with the text of the Catholic mass for the dead, Verdi created a Requiem by which all others are compared. Deeply moving as an exaltation of humanity, it seeks out the extremes of joy, sadness, fear, hope, and peace. Don’t miss this blockbuster finale! FRANCESCO LECCE-CHONG | conductor EUGENE SYMPHONY CHORUS
Soloists to be announced
VERDI Requiem
REQUIEM
One of my first childhood memories of a concert is hearing the pounding bass drum in the Dies Irae. All these years later, it still is electrifying, and it’s just one of the many landmark moments of this piece. — FRANCESCO
SPECIAL CONCERT
Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts in association with 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm Ltd.,and Warner /Chappell Music. © 2018 & TM LUCASFILM LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2018
DEC
01
SATURDAY 7:00 PM
Relive the first adventure of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo like never before – on a big screen above the stage as the Eugene Symphony performs John Williams’ iconic soundtrack live. May the force be with you!
SUBSCRIBERS GET FIRST ACCESS —AND LOWEST PRICES— FOR TICKETS!
On sale to the public July 17.
SPECIAL CONCERT
2019
SYMFEST JUN
01
SATURDAY 5:30 PM
“SymFest is the event to be at in the Eugene arts scene. Nothing else comes close.” — SYMFEST PATRON
Our celebration of Eugene’s cultural vibrancy returns for a third year, now with Francesco at the helm and even more local flavor! At SymFest, the concert itself will feature the orchestra in collaboration with Ballet Fantastique, vocalist Halie Loren, jazz trumpeter Tony Glausi, South Eugene High School’s The Dorians choir, and more. As always, enjoy food and beverage tastings before the concert and dancing afterwards!
“Eclectic. Diverse. Totally Eugene.”
“I loved the feeling of joyous celebration.”
FAMILY CONCERT
AN AFT E WITH
2019
T ERNOON APR
28
SUNDAY 1:30 & 3:30 PM
Take your family on a journey through the wonder of symphonic music with legendary composer Ludwig van Beethoven himself! Music Director Francesco Lecce-Chong and an actor portraying our friend Beethoven will explore the composer’s incredible life story and the inspiring music he created, all while teaching us about the orchestra and instruments on stage. Fun pre-concert activities in the lobby complete a perfect family afternoon together.
Including selections from Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and Symphonies 3, 5, 6, and 7.
AGES 6 & UP
SORENG THEATER
v
SUBSCRIBER Join us for all 9 Symphonic Series concerts, or part of the season, and enjoy savings, early access, and more! 1. S AVE UP T0 15% Buy 9, 5, or 3 concerts and save up to 15% compared to buying tickets to one concert at a time. 2. S PECIAL PRICING — SPECIAL ACCESS You have the first chance to purchase tickets to our Special Concerts: Star Wars and SymFest and at the lowest prices. 3. B EST SEATS The best seats at the best prices. 4. Y OUR SEATS Keep your seats all season and renew them year after year. (Full season only) 5. T ICKET EXCHANGE If something comes up, exchange your tickets for another Symphonic concert for FREE at the ticket office.
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NEED INSPIRATION? TRY OUR THEMED PACKS STARTING AT $99! They also make great gifts! CELEBRATE BERNSTEIN Opening Night
SEPT 27
Bernstein & Beethoven
OCT 18
Birds of a Feather
NOV 15
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of American legend Leonard Bernstein with these concerts that feature music from different aspects of his storied career – from Broadway and ballet to the concert hall. PIANO BUFFS Bernstein & Beethoven
OCT 18
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto JAN 24 Rhapsody in Blue
FEB 14
Piano fans rejoice! This pack features some of the most beloved works in the piano repertoire, including Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto, Bernstein’s “The Age of Anxiety,” and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. SYMPHONY 101 The Red Violin
DEC 6
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto JAN 24 Verdi’s Requiem
MAY 9
New to the Symphony and not sure what to choose? This is the pack for you, with accessible and beloved pieces fitting for the first-timer to the seasoned Symphony fan. FRANCESCO’S FAVES Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto JAN 24 Doctor Atomic & Brahms
MAR 21
The Color of Sound
APR 18
Francesco loves all the music he chose for this season and hopes you will too. These concerts feature composers and works that he is especially excited to bring to life in Eugene.
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Cellist Yo-Yo Ma poses for a selfie with Otto Radke at a private donor reception.
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