Curtis Symphony Orchestra Tours Europe, Appearing in Finland, Germany, England, Austria and Poland May 20-June 2
PHILADELPHIA—May 15, 2017—Audiences across Europe will hear the exceptional student performers of the Curtis Institute of Music as part of an ambitious touring project from May 20 to June 2. The Curtis Symphony Orchestra, led by Osmo Vänskä, embarks on the school’s largest orchestra tour in over 15 years, visiting Helsinki, Bremen, Berlin, Dresden, London, Salzburg, Vienna, and Wroclaw and Luslawice in Poland. These performances are part of Curtis on Tour, the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music, an embodiment of the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy that offers students real-world, professional touring experience alongside celebrated alumni and faculty.
Osmo Vänskä, music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, comments, “I am delighted by the commitment of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and look forward to working with these remarkable young musicians. A major tour is an investment in these musicians, where they will experience firsthand how to properly prepare as a professional musician in an orchestra tour setting. Curtis on Tour, because of the way it embraces every area of experience both on and off stage, is vital to the development of its musicians and understanding the changing environment of each concert venue to produce the highest quality performances. I think this is a bold and exciting project which I am sure will capture the imagination and inspire our audiences on tour.”
The orchestra makes its London debut on May 26 at Cadogan Hall, with celebrated pianist Peter Serkin (’64) as soloist in Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Serkin also performs the concerto in several other cities on the tour. Of the upcoming tour, Serkin comments, “I had the pleasure of teaching very fine students at Curtis, and now I look forward to the opportunity of making music with current students there, of playing Brahms’s First Piano Concerto with this extraordinary orchestra and the wonderful conductor Osmo Vänskä.”
Roberto Díaz (’84), president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music and former principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will perform Krzysztof Penderecki’s Double Concerto for violin and viola alongside Austrian violinist Benjamin Schmid (’91). Other repertoire on the tour includes Strauss’s monumental Ein Heldenleben and the lush, enchanting Suite No. 2 from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé.
“I can say as a performing musician that there’s no better learning opportunity than taking part in repeated performances of a program or a piece,” says Díaz, who founded the Curtis on Tour initiative in 2008. “It’s amazing to hear interpretations evolve as part of a broad learning process that includes insights into all the activities in the life of a professional musician, from working as part of a team to taking care of yourself and your instrument on tour.”
Praised for its “otherworldly ensemble and professional level of sophistication” (New York Times), the Curtis Symphony Orchestra embodies the sheer joy of music-making. Honing their craft under celebrated conductors, 100 young musicians—all students at the Curtis Institute of Music—perform with a fresh exuberance that makes each work new. Recent visiting conductors include Vladimir Jurowski, Marin Alsop, Simon Rattle, Robert Spano, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, mentor conductor for the Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellows at the Curtis Institute of Music. This professional training has enabled Curtis alumni to assume prominent positions in orchestras around the world, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
Curtis on Tour is the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music. An embodiment of the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy, it offers students real-world, professional touring experience alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. In addition to performances, musicians offer master classes, interactive programs, and community engagement activities while on tour. Curtis on Tour also facilitates solo performances of Curtis students and alumni with professional orchestras and recital series. Since the program was established in 2008, students, faculty, and alumni have performed more than 200 concerts in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
The Curtis Institute of Music, “one of the world’s finest music academies” (BBC Culture), produces top prizewinners of international competitions, soloists with major ensembles, and today’s most promising artists. Founded in 1924, Curtis pairs tradition and innovation, educating exceptionally gifted young musicians as artist-citizens who engage a local and global community through music-making of the highest caliber. Forty percent of the student body comes to Curtis from outside the United States, and 20 nations are represented by the student body in a typical year.
With an average acceptance rate of around 4 percent, Curtis is among the most selective schools in the United States. All its students receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships. As a result, talent and artistic promise are the only considerations for admission. Curtis limits enrollment to about 175, accepting just enough students to maintain a full symphony orchestra, an opera program, and a string quartet in residence, plus select programs in piano, guitar, composition, conducting, and organ. In this intimate environment, they are nurtured by a celebrated faculty and inspired by the school’s distinctive “learn by doing” approach, offering more than 200 performances a year in Philadelphia and around the world.
The extraordinary young musicians of Curtis graduate to join 4,000 alumni who have long made music history, performing around the world. As musical leaders, they make a profound impact on music onstage and in their communities.
CURTIS ON TOUR | EUROPE 2017
Curtis Symphony Orchestra
HELSINKI
Saturday, May 20 at 7 p.m.
Helsinki Music Centre
RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé
PENDERECKI Concerto doppio for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra
Benjamin Schmid, violin
Roberto Díaz, viola
STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Presented by the Sibelius Academy. Tickets and more information
BREMEN, GERMANY
Monday, May 22 at 8 p.m.
Die Glöcke
RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé
PENDERECKI Concerto doppio for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra
Benjamin Schmid, violin
Roberto Díaz, viola
BRAHMS Concerto No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Op.15
Peter Serkin, piano
Presented by the Philharmonische Gesellschaft Bremen. Tickets and more information
BERLIN
Tuesday, May 23 at 8 p.m.
Konzerthaus Berlin, Grosser Saal
RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé
PENDERECKI Concerto doppio for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra
Benjamin Schmid, violin
Roberto Díaz, viola
BRAHMS Concerto No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Op.15
Peter Serkin, piano
Presented in cooperation with Young Euro Classic. Tickets and more information
DRESDEN
Wednesday, May 24 at 8 p.m.
Kulturpalast Dresden
BRAHMS Concerto No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Op.15
Peter Serkin, piano
STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Presented by the Dresden Music Festival. Tickets and more information
LONDON
Friday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Cadogan Hall
BRAHMS Concerto No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Op.15
Peter Serkin, piano
STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
SALZBURG
Monday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Mozarteum, Grosser Saal
RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé
PENDERECKI Concerto doppio for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra
Benjamin Schmid, violin
Roberto Díaz, viola
BRAHMS Concerto No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Op.15
Peter Serkin, piano
Presented by Kulturvereinigung in cooperation with Mozarteum University Salzburg. Tickets and more information
VIENNA
Tuesday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Wiener Konzerthaus, Grosser Saal
RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé
PENDERECKI Concerto doppio for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra
Benjamin Schmid, violin
Roberto Díaz, viola
BRAHMS Concerto No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Op.15
Peter Serkin, piano
Presented by Jeunesse. Tickets and more information
WROCŁAW, POLAND
Wednesday, May 31 at 7 p.m.
Wrocław National Music Forum
RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé
PENDERECKI Concerto doppio for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra
Benjamin Schmid, violin
Roberto Díaz, viola
BRAHMS Concerto No. 1 in D minor for Piano, Op.15
Peter Serkin, piano
Presented by the Ludwig van Beethoven Association. Tickets and more information
LUSŁAWICE, POLAND
Friday, June 2 at 7 p.m.
Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music
RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloé
PENDERECKI Concerto doppio for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra
Benjamin Schmid, violin
Roberto Díaz, viola
STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Presented by the Ludwig van Beethoven Association in cooperation with the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music. Tickets and more information
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