U.S. Premiere of Schnittke's Symphony No. 9, as reconstructed by Alexander Raskatov, performed by Dennis Russell Davies leading the Juilliard Orchestra on Wednesday, November 7 at 8 PM in Avery Fisher Hall

Raskatov's "Nunc dimittis," In Memoriam Alfred Schnittke, is Premiered

The Juilliard School presents the U.S. premiere of Schnittke’s Symphony No. 9, reconstructed by Alexander Raskatov and performed by Dennis Russell Davies leading the Juilliard Orchestra, on Wednesday, November 7 at 8 PM in Avery Fisher Hall. Alfred Schnittke’s Symphony No. 9 was unfinished upon his death in 1998. His widow Irina wanted to find someone who could correct and complete the score. Russian composer Alexander Raskatov was asked to take this on. Schnittke has called Raskatov one of the most interesting composers of his generation.

The Hilliard Ensemble. (Photo by Friedrun Reinhold)

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Mr. Raskatov’s own work, Nunc dimittis, In memoriam Alfred Schnittke, with mezzo soprano Alison Tupay, The Hilliard Ensemble, and the Juilliard Orchestra, all led by Mr. Davies, is based on the New Testament passage of Simeon’s Song of Praise. Mr. Raskatov set texts by Russian-born poet and Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky and the Orthodox monk Starets Siluan. He chose these texts because, he says, “they are exactly in tune with the idea of this symphony: a farewell.” Both the reconstruction and Nunc dimittis received world premiere performances by the Dresden Philharmonic on June 16, 2007, led by Dennis Russell Davies, and will be performed with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz in the Austrian premiere on April 29, 2008. The project is a special co-commission between Juilliard, the Dresden Philharmonic, and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz.
       
The program is completed with Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante, Op. 84 for oboe, bassoon, violin, cello, and orchestra. Soloists will be chosen by October 9.
       
Tickets are $20 and $10 and available at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office or through CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500. Free tickets for students and seniors are available only at the Box Office. 

Composer Alexander Raskatov was born in Moscow and studied at the Moscow Conservatory. In 1990, he joined the Russian Contemporary Music Association. His interests center on vocal and instrumental chamber music and symphonic sonorities. Mr. Raskatov’s gifts are most apparent in a lively imagination and emotionality combined with painstaking craftsmanship. He has received commissions from Gidon Kremer, the Sabine Meyer Wind Ensemble, Netherlands Wind Ensemble, The Hilliard Ensemble, and the Schoenberg Ensemble, among others.

Dennis Russell Davies is a frequent guest conductor with major orchestras and opera companies worldwide. He is chief conductor and music director of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz and chief conductor of the Linz Opera. He also is professor of orchestral conducting at the Salzburg Mozarteum and is conductor laureate of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. He holds the title of conductor laureate of the American Composers Orchestra, which he co-founded 30 years ago. This month, he conducted the world premiere of Philip Glass’ Appomattox with the San Francisco Opera. In January 2008, he conducts the world premiere of Ingo Ingensand’s Movimento Sinfonico with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz. As a conductor and pianist, Mr. Davies has released more than 60 recordings, earning numerous awards. His recordings of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 7 will be released in the 2007-08 season on the Arte Nova label. Mr. Davies was born in Toledo, Ohio and graduated from Juilliard where he studied piano with Lonny Epstein and Sasha Gorodnitski, and conducting with Jean Morel and Jorge Mester.

The Hilliard Ensemble, founded in 1974 and named after the British miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard, is one of the world’s finest vocal chamber ensembles. The ensemble performs close to 100 concerts a year. It regularly tours Europe, Japan, the U.S., and Canada. Their latest CD is entitled Gombert on the ECM label. The ensemble’s Machaut CD was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 in the category of best chamber music recording and named on the “Best of Year” list by The New York Times. The members of the ensemble are David James, countertenor, Rogers Covey-Crump, tenor, Steven Harrold, tenor, and Gordon Jones, baritone.

 Mezzo soprano Alison Tupay has performed the role of Der Trommler in Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis at the Spoleto Music Festival in Italy and reprised the role in the Houston Grand Opera. She has collaborated with such conductors as James Conlon, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Gerard Schwarz, and Julius Rudel. Ms. Tupay made her New York City Opera debut as Modestina in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims. As a concert artist, she has performed in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and made her Avery Fisher debut as soloist in Bernstein’s Kaddish Symphony with Gerard Schwarz and the Juilliard Orchestra. She was a National Semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She received her bachelor of music degree from Boston University and her master’s and an artist diploma in opera from Juilliard. 
 
The next Juilliard Orchestra concert takes place on Monday, December 10 at 8 PM in the Rose Theater with James DePreist, conductor. The program features George Walker’s Sinfonia No. 3; Jolivet’s Concertino for Trumpet (soloist to be announced November 10); and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (“Eroica”).

Juilliard presents more than 700 dance, drama, and music events annually. During ongoing renovations, a full calendar of events is scheduled. For a complete listing of events, as well as construction updates, go to www.juilliard.edu/calendar.