San Antonio Symphony Presents The Return of Hadelich

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2018

SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY PRESENTS THE RETURN OF HADELICH FEATURING ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE VERONICA WILLIAMS, GUEST CONDUCTOR JOSHUA GERSEN, AND GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING VIOLINIST AUGUSTIN HADELICH
OCTOBER 12 – 13, 2018 | 8:00 P.M. | TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

SAN ANTONIO—San Antonio Symphony presents and welcomes back Grammy Award-winning German violinist Augustin Hadelich for performances on Friday, October 12, at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 13, at 8:00 p.m. at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, TX 78205. “The Return of Hadelich,” presented by Frost, also features Conductor Joshua Gersen and Mezzo-Soprano Artist In Residence Veronica Williams.

Currently, the New York Philharmonic Assistant Conductor, Joshua Gersen makes his San Antonio Symphony debut in this exciting program with works by Dvořák, Smetana, and Bernstein. “[Personally,] I’m really looking to forward to working with soloist Augustin Hadelich, who is widely regarded as one of the finest violinists in the world and will be performing Dvorak’s Violin Concerto with the orchestra. The program also features Bernstein’s 1st Symphony, a very powerful work by one of our most important American composers and artists. It is a piece very close to me and shows a much different side of the composer best known for his works for Broadway like West Side Story and On the Town. But importantly, I’m excited to have the opportunity to come to San Antonio and work with this wonderful orchestra for the first time!”

The concert begins with the rhythmical Overture to The Bartered Bride by Bedřich Smetana. A staple of the Czech repertoire, this virtuosic overture to the comedic opera shows off every section of the orchestra: the strings start the syncopated main theme before the winds and brass join, then go off on their own Bohemian folk dancing tangent. As a violinist in the premier of the opera, there is no doubt Dvořák drew inspiration from Smetana’s Bohemian stylings when he wrote his Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53.

Violinist Augustin Hadelich champions Dvořák’s underperformed Violin Concerto. Written in the composer’s “Slavic” period, like the jaunty Slavonic Dances which close the program, the concerto boasts rhapsodic, lyrical melodies and a syncopated Rondo Finale. A favorite of San Antonio Symphony concert-goers, this is Hadelich’s third appearance with the orchestra having previously performed concertos by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven.

“The San Antonio Symphony is a wonderful orchestra. Many cities in the United States can only dream of having an orchestra like this, which takes many years to build and develop, so it is important not to take an institution like this for granted! Sharing music together is one of the few ways we can bridge our differences—the effect of music can be felt regardless of what language you speak, and it has the power to bring communities together in friendship,” says Hadelich.

Bernstein began sketching his Symphony No. 1 in the summer of 1939 and, after setting it aside to pursue other musical endeavors, finished it in 1943. Struggle is a main theme in this work and the listener is always feeling tugged in several directions. The composer later said of its somber ending, “The faith or peace that is found at the end of Jeremiah is really more of a comfort, not a solution.” While Bernstein does not employ any Hebraic musical material the text comes straight from Torah.

2018 marks the 100th Birthday celebration of Leonard Bernstein.

Augustin Hadelich’s appearance is generously sponsored by the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts - Celebrated Artist Series.

2018-19 Artist-In-Residence Veronica Williams is generously sponsored by Carol Lee Klose and Carolyn A. Seale Trust for Women in the Arts.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.tobincenter.org, via phone (210) 223-8624, or in-person at the Tobin Center Box Office: 100 Auditorium Circle, San Antonio, TX, 78205.

Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

###

THE RETURN OF HADELICH
H-E-B Performance Hall, The Tobin Center
Friday, October 12, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 13, 8:00 p.m.

Joshua Gersen, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
Veronica Williams, mezzo-soprano

SMETANA: Overture to The Bartered Bride
DVORAK Concerto in A minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 53
BERNSTEIN: Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah”
DVORAK: Selections from Slavonic Dances, Op. 46

ABOUT JOSHUA GERSEN

Joshua Gersen, conductor

Joshua Gersen is currently the Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, where he recently made his subscription debut in February on hours notice to critical acclaim. For the past five years Mr. Gersen was the Music Director of the New York Youth Symphony, and was also previously the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Conducting Fellow of the New World Symphony, where he served as the assistant conductor to the symphony’s Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas, and led the orchestra in various subscription, education, and family concerts, including the orchestra’s renowned PULSE concert series. He made his conducting debut with the San Francisco Symphony in the fall of 2013 and has been invited back numerous times to conduct a variety of concerts, including a performance in the brand new SoundBox Theater and even filled in for Michael Tilson Thomas on part of a subscription series. Mr. Gersen was the winner of the Aspen Music Festival’s prestigious 2011 Aspen Conducting Prize and the 2010 Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize, and served as the festival’s assistant conductor for the 2012 summer season under Robert Spano. He served as the principal conductor of the renowned Ojai Music Festival in 2013, and has conducted the National Symphony, Toronto Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, and members of the Pittsburgh Symphony. He was also a recipient of a 2015 and 2016 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award.

Beyond his conducting interests, Mr. Gersen is also an avid composer. Both his String Quartet #1 and Fantasy for Chamber Orchestra have been premiered in New England Conservatory’s celebrated Jordan Hall. He has had works performed by the New Mexico Symphony, Greater Bridgeport Symphony, and frequently with the GBYO. His work as a composer has also led to an interest in conducting contemporary music. He has conducted several world premieres of new works by young composers with New York Youth Symphony as part of their esteemed First Music Program, and New York Philharmonic as part of their Very Young Composers program, and has also collaborated with many prominent contemporary composers including John Adams, Christopher Rouse, Steven Mackey, Mason Bates, and Michael Gandolfi.

Mr. Gersen made his conducting debut at age 11 with the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestra and his professional conducting debut five years later when he led the Greater Bridgeport Symphony in a performance of his own composition, A Symphonic Movement. Mr. Gersen is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied conducting with the esteemed Otto Werner Mueller and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied composition with Michael Gandolfi.

ABOUT AUGUSTIN HADELICH

Augustin Hadelich, violin

Musical America’s “2018 Instrumentalist of the Year,” Augustin Hadelich has firmly established himself as one of the great violinists of today. He has performed with every major orchestra in the U.S., many on numerous occasions, as well as an ever-growing number of major orchestras in the UK, Europe, and the Far East. Showcasing a wide-ranging and adventurous repertoire, he is consistently cited for his phenomenal technique, soulful approach, and beauty of tone.

Highlights of Mr. Hadelich’s 2018/2019 season include debuts with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Israel Camerata, and Singapore Symphony. He will also open the season for the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo. Return performances in the U.S. include the symphonies of Cincinnati, Dallas, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, San Diego, and Seattle, as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

Summer 2018 also includes return engagements in Aspen, Bravo! Vail, and the Colorado Music Festival. Other recent festival appearances include his debut at the BBC Proms, as well as performances with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood and the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom. Mr. Hadelich has also performed at Britt, Chautauqua (where he made his U.S. orchestral debut in 2001), Eastern, Grand Teton, Marlboro, Sun Valley, and the Hollywood Bowl. Summer engagements in Germany have included the Rheingau Musik Festival and Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Among recent international performances are the BBC Philharmonic/Manchester, BBC Symphony/London, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (where he was the 2015/2016 artist-in-residence), Concertgebouw Orchestra/Amsterdam, Danish National Symphony, Finnish Radio Orchestra, Hamburg Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Mozarteum Orchestra/Salzburg, Munich Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, NHK Symphony/Tokyo, São Paulo Symphony, and the radio orchestras of Cologne, Frankfurt, Saarbrücken, and Stuttgart.

Augustin Hadelich has collaborated with such renowned conductors as Roberto Abbado, Thomas Adès, Marc Albrecht, Marin Alsop, Stefan Asbury, Herbert Blomstedt, Andrey Boreyko, James Conlon, Christoph von Dohnányi, Thierry Fischer, Alan Gilbert, Hans Graf, Giancarlo Guerrero, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Manfred Honeck, Jakub Hruša, Carlos Kalmar, Hannu Lintu, Andrew Litton, Cristian Macelaru, Jun Märkl, Fabio Mechetti, Juanjo Mena, Ludovic Morlot, Andris Nelsons, Sakari Oramo, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Peter Oundjian, Vasily Petrenko, David Robertson, Donald Runnicles, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Lahav Shani, John Storgårds, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Krzysztof Urbański, Gilbert Varga, Edo de Waart, and Jaap van Zweden, among others.

An active recitalist, Mr. Hadelich’s numerous engagements include appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw/Amsterdam, The Frick Collection/New York, Kennedy Center/Washington, Kioi Hall/Tokyo, the Louvre, and the Wigmore Hall/London. His chamber music partners have included Inon Barnatan, Jeremy Denk, James Ehnes, Alban Gerhardt, Richard Goode, Gary Hoffman, Kim Kashkashian, Robert Kulek, Cho-Liang Lin, Midori, Charles Owen, Vadim Repin, Mitsuko Uchida, Joyce Yang, and members of the Guarneri and Juilliard quartets.

ABOUT VERONICA WILLIAMS

Veronica Williams, mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano Veronica Williams, San Antonio Symphony 2018-19 Artist in Residence, is praised for her “thrilling instrument” and “overwhelming authority” on stage. Most recently she captivated audiences during the San Antonio Symphony’s Dream Week celebration at the Tobin Center for Performing Arts. Previous roles have included Concepción in Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole , the Old Prioress in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites , Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel , and the title roles of Cesti’s Orontea and Eisler’s Die Mutter ; upcoming roles include the title role of Handel’s Rinaldo and The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. She received her Master of Music Degree from Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music, and her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Now based in Austin, Ms. Williams is a proud member of both One Ounce Opera, and the Texas Concert Opera Collective, and has been a featured artist with Musical Bridges Around the World. When Veronica is not performing, she enjoys teaching and guiding talent in her growing voice studio.

ABOUT SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY

San Antonio Symphony, established in 1939, is a nonprofit performing arts organization with the mission to inspire and enrich its community by vigorously influencing the artistic fabric of San Antonio through excellent symphonic performance, education and service. Under the dynamic leadership of Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing and Assistant Conductor Noam Aviel, the San Antonio Symphony gives more than 100 performances annually, including classics, pops, educational programs, movie concerts, and performances with our fellow resident opera and ballet companies.With more than 70 professional musicians, the Symphony serves over 130,000 people per year including over 40,000 students. For more information about the San Antonio Symphony, please visit SASymphony.org.