The North Carolina Symphony announced today that incomparable violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman will return to the orchestra to perform Tchaikovsky's scintillating Violin Concerto, capping off a program of Italian-flavored masterworks.
The special event concert, led by Symphony Resident Conductor William Henry Curry, takes place at Meymandi Concert Hall, in downtown Raleigh's Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, on Tuesday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m.
Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. In recent years, he took part in the inauguration of President Barack Obama, earned a Kennedy Center Honor for his distinguished achievements and contributions to the cultural and educational life of the United States and performed at a state dinner for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush at the White House, among many other accomplishments.
He joins the Symphony on an evening of masterworks based on Italian themes, including Berlioz's Roman Carnival Overture and Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien. Perlman then launches into Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, a composition once deemed unplayable that has since become one of the most cherished and popular solos in the violin literature.
Tickets to the performance are available now by phone only as part of the Symphony's four-concert Passport Series. Made up of programs from the Duke Medicine Classical Series Raleigh, this miniseries takes concertgoers around the world from the comfort of Meymandi Concert Hall by offering rare performances of dramatic works from four world music cultures, with featured performers offering audience members a taste of unique national instruments.
In "Passport to Hungary," folk song-inspired masterpieces by Kodály and Bartók, as well as Kamilló Lendvay's Concertino semplice for cimbalom, headline an exploration of a national tradition that has fueled hundreds of composers, at home and abroad, Jan. 13-14, 2012.
"Tango Nuevo" brings all the passion of tango to the concert hall for a showcase of Argentine composers Ástor Piazzolla, Osvaldo Golijov and Alberto Ginastera and a 21st-century piece by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin, Jan. 27-28, 2012. The concert features performances by bandoneón master Coco Trivisonno.
Symphony Music Director Grant Llewellyn, joined by harpist Catrin Finch, takes orchestra audience members to his home-musically at least-with a concert of masterpieces from his native soil, Wales, in "Grant's Postcards from Home," April 20-21, 2012.
Tickets for the four-concert Passport Series, including the performance by Itzhak Perlman, are $155 and available now by phone at 919.733.2750 or toll free 877.627.6724. The Passport Series is presented in partnership with American Airlines.
Any remaining individual seats to the Itzhak Perlman concerts will go on sale online and by phone on Friday, March 30, 2012, at 10:00 a.M. Prices range from $75 to $140. Purchase the Passport Series today before it sells out, and take advantage of huge savings on world-class entertainment.
For complete information on the Passport Series, visit www.ncsymphony.org/passport.
The May 15 concert will be Perlman's fifth performance with the North Carolina Symphony. He previously performed Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the orchestra under the baton of Music Director Gerhardt Zimmermann in 1990. He helped launch the Symphony's 2001 season with a searing rendition of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor and joined Grant Llewellyn for a 2005 concert of works by Dvo?ák and Saint-Saëns.
Perlman was last with the Symphony in September 2005, when he joined conductor Leonard Slatkin and viola/violin Pinchas Zukerman for Mozart's Sinfonia concertante in E-flat Major and Bach's Concerto in D minor for Two Violins.
About the North Carolina Symphony
Founded in 1932, the North Carolina Symphony performs over 175 concerts annually to adults and school children. The orchestra travels extensively throughout the state to venues in over 50 North Carolina counties. The orchestra employs 67 professional musicians under the artistic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Grant Llewellyn, Resident Conductor William Henry Curry and Associate Conductor Sarah Hicks.
