Conductor Ludovic Morlot leads the Juilliard Orchestra in works by Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Ives, and Rachmaninoff on Monday, April 6 at 8 PM in Avery Fisher Hall

On Monday, April 6 at 8 PM in Avery Fisher Hall, conductor Ludovic Morlot leads the Juilliard Orchestra in Schumann's Manfred Overture, Op. 115; Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra with Juilliard cellist Matthew Zalkind; Ives' Four Ragtime Dances; and Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances. Born in France, Mr. Morlot was trained as a violinist and studied conducting at London's Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music. He quickly established his career, leading major orchestras throughout Europe and the U.S., and collaborating with distinguished soloists, such as Christian Tetzlaff, Lynn Harrell, Emanuel Ax, and Jessye Norman. In January 2009, Mr. Morlot appeared with the New York Philharmonic with pianist Olli Mustonen.

Tickets for Mr. Morlot's April 6 performance with the Juilliard Orchestra 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 Avery Fisher Hall Box Office.

Robert Schumann composed the music for Byron's Manfred in 1848 and 1849. The work was titled Manfred: Dramatic Poem in Three Parts by Lord Byron with music by Robert Schumann. Schumann conducted the first performance of the overture on March 14, 1852 in Leipzig. Of this work, only the overture has become part of the orchestral repertoire.

Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra was premiered in 1877 by cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, who was a fellow professor of Tchaikovsky's at the Moscow Conservatory.

Ives' Four Ragtime Dances may have been in place by 1902, although many scholars place them in the period between 1915 and 1916, and they may have undergone revision in 1920-21. The work incorporates parts of several hymns - Bringing in the Sheaves, Happy Day, I Hear Thy Welcome Voice, along with some other pre-existing material.

Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances were composed in 1940 at an estate near Huntington, Long Island, where Rachmaninoff was spending the summer. Three dances make up the orchestral suite, which was one of the last complete works composed by Rachmaninoff.

The next appearance of the Juilliard Orchestra takes place on Monday, April 20 at 8 PM in Alice Tully Hall. Conductor Emmanuel Villaume leads the Juilliard Orchestra in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro Overture; Beethoven's Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 61 (soloist to be announced on March 26); and Bizet's Symphony No. 1 in C Major.

All tickets for the April 20 Juilliard Orchestra concert have been distributed, and there is standby admission only. The standby line forms one hour prior to curtain. Audience members without tickets are admitted just before the start of the concert to fill the remaining seats.

In the 2008-09 season, conductor Ludovic Morlot, a native of Lyon, France, returns to the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras and makes debuts with the Cleveland Orchestra and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Abroad, he has debuts with the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchester, the BBC Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, in addition to re-engagements at the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Ensemble Intercontemporain, which he conducts regularly. Other highlights include European tours with the Verbier Festival Orchestra and Netherlands Youth Orchestra. He has collaborated with a number of eminent soloists, including Christian Tetzlaff,

Gil Shaham, Lynn Harrell, Frank Peter Zimmerman, Emanuel Ax, Jonathan Biss, and Jessye Norman, among others, and has maintained a close working relationship with the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2001, when he was the Seiji Ozawa Fellowship Conductor at the Tanglewood Music Center. Trained as a violinist, Mr. Morlot studied as a pupil of the late Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux School in Hancock, Maine. He furthered his studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London under Sir Colin Davis, and then at the Royal College of Music as recipient of the Norman del Mar Conducting Fellowship.

Juilliard cellist Matthew Zalkind, from Salt Lake City, is currently in the master of music degree program at Juilliard and studies with Timothy Eddy. He has performed throughout the United States as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Mr. Zalkind has appeared with the Utah Symphony, the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra in Santa Barbara, and the Young Artist Chamber Players of Salt Lake. As an active chamber music player, he has performed in Alice Tully Hall, Libby Gardner Hall at the University of Utah, Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Zalkind has participated in the Sarasota Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival Chamber Series, the Music Academy of the West, and the Musicorda Festival in Massachusetts. He received his bachelor of music degree from Juilliard in 2008.