Upcoming Concert
Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra
Kenneth Woods, guest conductor
7:30 Saturday, Oct 21st, 2006
Albert Hall, Notthingham
Sibelius- Symphony No. 5, Finlandia, Prokofiev- Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Grieg- Wedding Day at Troldhaugen
Official NPO Press Release:
PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE
American conductor and blogger directs first NPO concert of the season
Albert Hall, Nottingham
Saturday 21st October 2006 at 7.30pm
American conductor Kenneth Woods will be conducting the inaugural concert of the 2006/7 Nottingham Philharmonic Season which has a distinctively north European favour, celebrating the music of Sibelius, Grieg and Prokofiev.
His performances described as “brimming with personality and affection” by the Washington Post, Kenneth Woods will be sharing the season as one of the candidates for music directorship of the Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra. He says “I’ve been looking forward to working with the Nottingham Philharmonic since we first started talking about doing something over a year ago. Without question, they are the gold-standard of non-professional orchestras in the UK, perhaps in the world. I’m doubly excited that we ended up with such an exciting and challenging program- the Sibelius Fifth Symphony is one of the great classics of the 20th Century, and the Prokofiev G minor concerto is a monster- a beautiful monster, but a monster nonetheless. “
Hailed by the Washington Post as an “up-and-coming conductor” and a “true star” of the podium, Kenneth Woods is quickly becoming recognized as major talent on the international scene. He has worked with many orchestras of international distinction including the National Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra.
In addition, his regular cross-Atlantic career combines musical directorship of Oregon East Symphony and Chorale with that of the Lancashire Chamber Orchestra and several other professional, university and youth orchestras on both sides of the pond.
While many of today’s conductors seem to be cagey to a fault, preferring to be seen as the mysterious maestro, Ken Woods has taken a different path- he has recently taken up the challenge of joining the blogosphere, writing regularly on subjects ranging from interactive programme notes to arts funding and economics . He also gives entertaining accounts of his holidays, life on a youth orchestra course (yes!), and lots of totally engaging background information to his programmes, including Sibelius Fifth Symphony- check out his website at www.kennethwoods.net !
The soloist in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 2 in G minor is the young Australian pianist Daniel de Borah, 3rd Prize winner of the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition and winner of the 2005 Croydon Concerto Competition. Of the work and the soloist, conductor Kenneth Woods says “It’s the one piece in the repertoire that really still sends world-class soloists running from the room in terror because it is so difficult- we’re lucky we found Daniel de Borah, who’s played it several times now with great success”
Sibelius’ patriotic tone poem Finlandia and Grieg’s Wedding Day at Troldhaugen complete this very exciting programme.
The concert is on Saturday 21st October 2006 in the Albert Hall, Nottingham, and will start at 7.30pm and is held in aid of the charity Remember Chernobyl.
Tickets (Price £5 – £12.50) can be obtained in advance from the Royal Concert Hall box office, tel. 0115 989 5555, e-mail tickets@royalcentre-nottingham.co.uk, or from the NPO Box Office, 34, Selby Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 7BL, or on the door.
For more information, please contact Stuart Bower at: stuart_bower@hotmail.com or phone 07779-633268 or view our website: www.nottinghamphilharmonic.co.uk/npooct.html
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