FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2009
PRESS CONTACT: Nina Braun
781-698-8824 or ninab@lexingtonsymphony.org
http://www.lexingtonsymphony.org/press/
Lexington Symphony Announces an Almost Sold Out November 14 Concert with Solo Violinist, Stephanie Chase featuring Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”
The Lexington Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Jonathan McPhee, welcomes highly acclaimed violinist Stephanie Chase to its November 14 concert, 8:00 pm at Cary Hall in Lexington Center. Ms. Chase will perform as guest soloist in Beethoven's Violin Concerto. Also on the program is Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ''Eroica". Maestro McPhee gives a pre-concert talk about the evening's works at 7:00 pm in the concert hall.
"Tickets are going fast, we are down to our last hundred tickets out of the seven-hundred-fifty available seats at Cary Hall," noted Elizabeth Whitfield, of the Symphony.
A recent review by the Classical Voice of New England reinforced the popularity of this local though far-reaching orchestra, "This orchestra is, in 2 words, 'top notch'; its playing is tight, crisp, and precise; Maestro McPhee's cues are equally precise and agreeably discreet. He knows and shows what he wants and gets it, both literally and figuratively...Everyone's enthusiasm for the music making is palpable, as is the audience's attention and appreciation," declared music reviewer, Marvin Ward.
Stephanie Chase, known world wide for her talent and technique, hails from New York for this local performance in Lexington. Chase is a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, a top medalist of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, and performs as a guest soloist with some of the world's most admired orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, and London Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Chase started playing the violin at the age of two under the direction of her parents and commenced her studies in New York with Sally Thomas of The Juilliard School. She made her Carnegie Hall debut as soloist with the National Orchestral Association at age eighteen. A pupil of the legendary Belgian violinist Arthur Grumiaux, Chase participated in summer chamber music studies at the famed Marlboro Festival in Vermont. Locally, she has taught violin at MIT and the Boston Conservatory. She is currently a Professor of Violin at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University and is on the faculty of Queens College.
The Beethoven Violin Concerto was composed in 1806 during a time of much turmoil for both Vienna and Beethoven himself. Beethoven was coming to terms with his increased deafness and Vienna was seized under French occupation. The Concerto reflects the majesty of the time and has become one of the great works of the Classical repertoire; though it received a lukewarm reception at its 1806 premier.
Ms. Chase states on her blog, "I have recently become aware of Beethoven's masterful use of the perfect cadence, from the solo violins first entry through many moments throughout each movement." The Concerto is of special importance to Chase, who is reported by Cambridge University Press to have made "One of the twenty most outstanding performances in the work's recorded history."
"Stephanie brings the Beethoven Concerto to life in the spirit of spontaneity that is Beethoven's hallmark. Her cadenzas add her own personal touch to an evening that will thunder with his monumental 'Eroica' Symphony," states Maestro McPhee.
Advance tickets for all Lexington Symphony performances can be purchased online: www.lexingtonsymphony.org, by phone: 781-863-9581, or in person: Wales Copy Center, 1810 Mass. Ave., Lexington, (cash/check only). Tickets are $40 (sold out), $35, $25 and $15 (students). Will-call tickets must be picked up at least 15 minutes before the beginning of the performance.
About the Lexington Symphony
The Lexington Symphony, a group of professional musicians, celebrates its 15th season of sharing classical music with the local community. Praised for their exacting standards of performance, the Lexington Symphony is now in its sixth year under the direction of Maestro Jonathan McPhee, one of the leading musical figures in New England and the Music Director for the Boston Ballet. The symphony’s season runs from September through April with five ticketed concerts, monthly community outreach programs, and a dedicated education program for the next generation of musicians, including their acclaimed ‘Orchestrating Kids Through Classics’.