The season is coming! The season is coming! What season? No, not autumn, silly.
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra opens the 2001-2002 season tonight at 8 p.m. Grammy award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax will perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 14 in E-flat Major with Yuri Temirkanov conducting. Also included on the program are Debussy's La Mer (The Sea), Mozart's Overture to the Marriage of Figaro and Ravel's La Valse.
If you haven't seen Maestro Temirkanov in action yet, this is a great opportunity. He has the mesmerizing ability to conduct the symphony without a baton. Using just his hands, he sculpts sounds, pulling colors and pictures out of the music. The sheer artistry housed in his small frame somehow emanates from his hands, shaping and surrounding the orchestra all at once.
Ax is respected in the classical music world for his brilliant piano technique and touching lyricism. In Oct. 2000, he recorded Phantasmagoria with cellist Yo-Yo Ma (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and pianist James Tocco. He has also collaborated with renowned violinists Jaime Laredo and Isaac Stern. Together with Ma, they have been dubbed the "Superstar Quartet."
Rush tickets are available this weekend, meaning tickets are just $10 for students. Student rush tickets go on sale at noon the day of the concert - don't forget your JCard (if you are buying for a group of people, you need to bring all IDs with you). Doors generally open at 7 p.m. Friday includes a pre-concert talk with Fred Child, host of NPR's Performance Today, beginning at 7 p.m. If you can't make either the Thursday or Friday concert, there is a short program (that still includes Ax) Saturday at 11 a.m.
Ax's guest appearance at the Meyerhoff kicks off the beginning of a star-studded season for the BSO. Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin, notable for his blistering technique and massive 'fro, is playing Sept. 20, 21 and 23, and John Lithgow (that's right, John Lithgow) will appear September 2.
The Meyerhoff Symphony Hall is located several blocks away from Penn Station at Preston and Cathedral Streets. Check out http://www.baltimoresymphony.org for updates, or call the BSO ticket office at 410-783-8000.
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