Music Director Robert Spano and ASO to Perform World Premiere of Dejan Lazic's New Transcription of Brahms's Concerto for Violin

Program To Also Feature Mussorgsky/Ravel’s Pictures At An Exhibition
And Adam Schoenberg’s Finding Rothko
ASO Insider and Program Annotator Ken Meltzer To Host Concert Preview
With Award-Winning Composer Adam Schoenberg

Music Director Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will welcome Croatian pianist Dejan Lazic, who will perform the world premiere of his transcription for solo piano and orchestra of the Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major, October 1-3, 2009 at 8:00 pm in Atlanta Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center. Also on the program are Maurice Ravel’s orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, and Adam Schoenberg’s Finding Rothko.

Mr. Lazic had long felt the beloved D-Major Violin Concerto would work beautifully as a piano concerto. Following his first collaboration with the ASO a little over a year ago, Mr. Spano asked him if there was something out of the ordinary he wanted to do with this Orchestra. Mr. Lazic shared his idea, and the ASO offered to perform the world premiere performances of this great work in a new setting.

Throughout the 2009-10 Season, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will perform four additional world premieres, three of which are ASO commissions: Chinese composer Angel Lam’s Awakening from a Disappearing Garden for Cello and Orchestra will be giving its world premiere in Atlanta October 15–16, 2009, with Yo-Yo Ma as soloist. The Carnegie Hall commission will be reprised for a New York Premiere at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, November 7, 2009; On November 19, 20, and 22, 2009, Mr. Spano and the Orchestra will perform the world premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s American Symphony — his new work written exclusively for symphony orchestra; June 3, 5, and 6, 2010, Mr. Spano and the Orchestra will perform two ASO-commissioned world premieres by Atlanta School of Composers Jennifer Higdon and Michael Gandolfi. Ms. Higdon’s new work is for the Grammy® Award winning new music ensemble eighth blackbird and Orchestra, and Mr. Gandolfi’s new work is for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

About the Repertoire

BRAHMS (arr. Dejan Lazic) Concerto in D Major for Piano (world premiere)
Johannes Brahms composed his only Violin Concerto during the summer of 1878, while vacationing in Pörtschach, a tiny Austrian village on Lake Wörth. Brahms wrote the Concerto for his dear friend.

MUSSORGSKY/RAVEL Pictures at an Exhibition
In 1873, the Russian artist Viktor Hartmann died at the age of 39. After Hartmann’s death, the
St. Petersburg Society of Architects presented an exhibition of Hartmann’s works. One of the people attending the exhibition was Hartmann’s dear friend, the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky.

ADAM SCHOENBERG Finding Rothko
American composer Adam Schoenberg is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at The Juilliard School, where he studied with John Corigliano and Robert Beaser. He received his Master of Music degree in 2005 from Juilliard.

About the Artists

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Music Director Robert Spano, now in his eighth season as music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, is recognized internationally as one of the most imaginative conductors of his generation. Since 2001 he has invigorated and expanded the Orchestra’s repertoire while elevating the ensemble to new levels of international prominence and acclaim.

Pianist Dejan Lazic is quickly establishing a reputation worldwide as "a brilliant pianist and gifted musician" (Gramophone). The New York Times hailed his performance as "full of poetic, shapely phrasing and vivid dynamic effects that made this music sound fresh, spontaneous and impassioned." In spring 2008 he gave his debut at New York's Lincoln Center with Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer, as well as at London's Royal Festival Hall with London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kirill Petrenko.

About the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, currently in its 65th season, is one of America’s leading orchestras, known for the excellence of its live performances, presentations, renowned choruses, and its impressive list of Grammy® Award-winning recordings. The leading cultural organization in the Southeast, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra serves as the cornerstone for artistic development and music education in the region.

Ancillary Events

Concert Preview Talks
Audiences have the opportunity to learn more about the music they’ll be hearing at concerts with free Concert Previews given by composers, conductors, educators, and musical experts, all hosted by ASO Insider and Program Annotator Ken Meltzer. On Wednesday, October 1, 2009, from 7:00 –7:30 p.m., Ken Meltzer will sit down with the award-winning composer Adam Schoenberg to discuss his piece Finding Rothko in Atlanta Symphony Hall (unless otherwise noted). All concert previews are free and open to all concert tickets holders. Speakers and locations are subject to change.

Fanfare Pre-Concert Dinner Buffet
An Atlanta Symphony tradition returns in the 2009–10 season — Fanfare, the pre-concert buffet-style dining by Restaurant Associates, will be available to all concertgoers at all evening Delta Classical, Superpops!, and Coca-Cola Holiday concert performances from 6:00–8:00 p.m.

This concert is part of the Delta Classical Concert Series. Delta Air Lines is the Official Airline of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Single tickets for these performances are $20 to $75. All single tickets for the 2009-10 season will be available online at atlantasymphony.org or by calling (404) 733-5000. Tickets may also be purchased at the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office located in the Woodruff Arts Center at 15th and Peachtree Streets. Box office hours are Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, and Saturday and Sunday 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
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