BSO To Perform Elliott Carter's Flute Concerto
Flutist Elizabeth Rowe Featured Feb. 4, 5 & 9
By: Ariel Petrova - Jan 28, 2010
James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra will give the American premiere of Elliott Carter's Flute Concerto, featuring BSO principal flutist Elizabeth Rowe in her Symphony Hall solo debut, on February 4, with repeat performances on February 5 and 9. The program also features Brahms's Symphony No. 4 and the Overture and Entr'actes from Schubert's incidental music to the 1823 play Rosamunde.
Elliott Carter's lyrical Flute Concerto, a co-commission with the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival and the Berlin Philharmonic, was premiered in Jerusalem in September 2008 with flutist Emmanuel Pahud. Of the work's creation, Mr. Carter writes, "For many years flutists have been asking for a flute concerto, yet I kept putting it off because I felt that the flute could not produce the sharp attacks that I use so frequently. But the idea of the beautiful qualities of the different registers of the instrument and the extraordinary agility attracted me more and more, so when Elena Bashkirova asked me write something for her and the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, I decided it would be a flute concerto. From mid - September 2007 to March 2008 ideas and notes for it fascinated me without relief."
Brahms's Symphony No. 4, a cornerstone of the symphonic repertoire, is a masterpiece of emotional intensity and compositional craft. In a flip comment to defend against possible criticism of his new work, Brahms remarked to a friend that he'd just "thrown together a bunch of polkas and waltzes." In fact, early performances of the work in 1885 garnered tremendous acclaim, and it was considered by many to be the most deeply meaningful symphonic work he had written to date. Hans von Bülow, who premiered the work, called it "Unparalleled energy from beginning to end."
Wilhelmine von Chézy's 1823 play Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern (Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus) was apparently an abject failure, closing after only two performances and subsequently lost to the ages. However, Schubert's stirring incidental music for the play has gone on to enjoy a rich life in the orchestral world. The full suite of incidental music includes an overture, three entr'actes, two ballet pieces, a romance for contralto, a chorus of spirits, a shepherd's melody and shepherds' chorus, and a hunting-chorus. Schubert never wrote a dedicated overture. For the first performance, he inserted the overture to his opera Alfonso und Estrella. Subsequently, the overture to the melodrama Die Zauberharfe was published as the Rosamunde overture. It is this overture and the three entr'actes featured on these concerts.
ELIZABETH ROWE
Principal Flute Elizabeth Rowe joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the start of the 2004-05 season. She was formerly assistant principal flute of the National Symphony Orchestra and has held positions with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and New World Symphony. A native of Eugene, Oregon, Ms. Rowe received her bachelor's degree in 1996 from the University of Southern California, where she studied with Jim Walker, former Principal Flute of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
A former Tanglewood Music Center Fellow, Ms. Rowe also participated in several national and international music festivals. An experienced soloist, she won First Prize in the 2000 National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, and she has been featured in concerto performances with orchestras throughout the country.
An avid chamber musician, she can be heard regularly in performances with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. Ms. Rowe is also a dedicated educator. She currently is on the faculty of New England Conservatory and has served on the faculties of the Peabody Institute, University of Maryland, and The Catholic University of America.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the regular-season Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as well as Friday afternoons, are priced from $29 to $105; concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons are priced from $30 to $115. Open rehearsal tickets are priced at $19 each (general admission). Tickets may be purchased by phone through SymphonyCharge (617-266-1200 or 888-266-1200), online through the BSO's website (www.bso.org), or in person at the Symphony Hall Box Office (301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston). There is a $5.50 service fee for all tickets purchased online or by phone through SymphonyCharge.
American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Diners Club, and Discover, as well as personal checks (in person or by mail) and cash (in person only) are all accepted at the Symphony Hall Box Office. A limited number of rush tickets for Boston Symphony Orchestra subscription concerts on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Friday afternoons are set aside to be sold on the day of a performance. These tickets are sold at $9 each, one to a customer, at the Symphony Hall Box Office on Fridays beginning at 10 a.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning at 5 p.m. Gift certificates are available in any amount and may be used toward the purchase of tickets (subject to availability) to any Boston Symphony Orchestra or Boston Pops performance at Symphony Hall or Tanglewood. Gift certificates may also be used at the Symphony Shop to purchase merchandise.
Patrons with disabilities can access Symphony Hall through the Massachusetts Avenue lobby or the Cohen Wing on Huntington Avenue. An access service center, accessible restrooms, and elevators are available inside the Cohen Wing entrance. For ticket information, call the Disability Services Information Line at 617-638-9431 or TDD/TTY 617-638-9289.
PRE-CONCERT TALKS
The Boston Symphony Orchestra offers 30-minute Pre-Concert Talks in Symphony Hall before all BSO subscription concerts, beginning at 6:45 p.m. prior to the 8 p.m. evening concerts and at 12:15 p.m. prior to Friday-afternoon concerts. Open Rehearsal Talks begin one hour before the start of all Thursday-morning and Wednesday-evening Open Rehearsals. These informative talks, which include recorded musical examples, enhance the concert going experience by providing valuable insight into the music being performed.
BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PROGRAM LISTING, FEB. 4-9, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 8 p.m.
Friday, February 5, 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 9, 8 p.m.
JAMES LEVINE, conductor
ELIZABETH ROWE, flute
SCHUBERT Rosamunde Overture and Entr'actes
CARTER Flute Concerto (American premiere; BSO co-commission)
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4