This preview has been provided by the North Carolina Symphony.
Grant Llewellyn will lead the North Carolina Symphony in a 2012-2013 classical season orchestra highlight of A German Requiem, Op. 45, by Johannes Brahms, in concerts in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, April 12-14, 2013.
The performances take place on Friday and Saturday, April 12 and 13 at 8 p.m. in Meymandi Concert Hall in the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh, and Sunday, April 14 at 8 p.m. in Memorial Hall on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The program will feature soprano Ilana Davidson, baritone Mark Schnaible, and the North Carolina Master Chorale.
The Brahms Requiem was composed as a memorial to the composer’s mother, as well as Robert Schumann, who played a pivotal role in Brahms’ life and career. Scholar Richard A. Rodda remarks that Brahms “completed the six sections of his original conception by August 1866 and, 18 months later, added a portion for soprano soloist specifically for his mother, “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” (“Ye now have sorrow”). A line of its scripture, “I will see you again,” tells of the touching personal message that this music carried for the composer.”
American soprano Ilana Davidson brings a crystalline soprano, assured musicality and interpretive insight to repertoire spanning the 12th to the 21st centuries. Her recording of William Bolcom’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience conducted by Leonard Slatkin won four Grammy Awards including Best Classical Album. Davidson is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music. She was a vocal fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and a participant in the Aston Magna Early Music Academy.
Described by the magazine Das Opernglas (Opera Glass) as “a strong, rich and warm-colored voice with assured style,” Mark Schnaible’s engagements in the 2012-13 season and beyond include his first performances of Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde with Edmonton Opera in addition to Scarpia in Tosca with Portland Opera as well as the Brahms Requiem with the North Carolina Symphony. Last season, he sang his first performances of Der Wanderer in Siegfried with Kent Nagano conducting in a return to Den Nye Opera and returned to Utah Opera for Pizarro in Fidelio in the 2011-12 season.
One of the major choral organizations of the Southeast, the North Carolina Master Chorale has been performing choral-orchestral masterworks for more than 60 years. The Master Chorale boasts two renowned ensembles: a 170-voice symphonic choir and a 22-voice professional chamber choir that presents a diverse repertoire from the Renaissance to Contemporary. The Master Chorale, which is led by Dr. Alfred E. Sturgis, regularly collaborates with symphony orchestras, opera companies, ballet and touring productions.
Tickets to the Raleigh Classical Series performance on April 12-13 range from $18 to $64. Tickets to the Chapel Hill Classical Series performance on April 14 range from $18 to $50. Student tickets are $10. Concert tickets at all performances are also available at the door one hour prior to concert start time.
To purchase tickets, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call the Symphony Box Office at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724.
In addition to stellar performances, North Carolina Symphony concertgoers can enjoy pre-concert talks and “Ask A Musician,” which feature interactive conversations with guest artists and select orchestra members, at many Symphony events. For the Raleigh performances on April 12-13, Dr. Jonathan Kramer of N.C. State University will give pre-concert talks at 7 p.m. in Swalin Lobby of Meymandi Concert Hall. There will be “Ask A Musician” opportunities in the lobby at intermission. For the Chapel Hill performance on April 14, Dr. Letitia Glozer of UNC will host a pre-concert talk in Gerrard Hall at 7 p.m.
Meymandi Concert Hall is located in the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., in Raleigh. Memorial Hall is located at 114 East Cameron Ave., on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Partners for the 2012/13 Raleigh Classical Series include Clancy & Theys Construction; Duke Medicine; Smith Anderson Blount Dorsett Mitchell & Jernigan, LLP; The Freelon Group; and Piedmont Investment Advisors, LLC.
Partners for the 2012/13 Chapel Hill Series include Carol Woods Retirement Community, Harrington Bank, and The Businesses of Market Street, Southern Village.
Statewide partnership and support is provided by Progress Energy.
About the North Carolina Symphony
Founded in 1932 and subsequently made an entity of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, the North Carolina Symphony employs 65 professional musicians under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn and Resident Conductor William Henry Curry. Every year, this orchestra performs over 175 concerts in more than 50 North Carolina counties, with some 60 of those concerts offered in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill metropolitan area.
The Symphony boasts two spectacular home venues: Meymandi Concert Hall at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh and Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, N.C. The Symphony also travels 12,000 miles each year to present concert series in Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines and Wilmington; individual concerts in communities across the state; and one of the most extensive education programs of any U.S. orchestra. For more information, visit the North Carolina Symphony website at www.ncsymphony.org or call toll free 877.627.6724.
Statewide partnership and support is provided by Progress Energy.
Concert/Event Listings:
North Carolina Symphony
Grant Llewellyn conducting
Ilana Davidson, soprano
Mark Schnaible, baritone
North Carolina Master Chorale
Alfred E. Sturgis, Music Director
April 12-13, 2013 8pm
Meymandi Concert Hall, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh
April 14, 2013 8pm
Memorial Hall, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A German Requiem, Op. 45
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
I. Selig sind, die la Leid tragen
II. Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras
III. Herr, lehre doch mich
IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen
V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit
VI. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt
VII. Selig sind die Toten
Ilana Davidson, soprano
Mark Schnaible, baritone
North Carolina Master Chorale
