Robert Kahn, conductor

  • Graduation Recital
  • Apr 13, 2022 @ 8:00 P.M.

After years of study, members of the class of 2022 share their talents and passion through a final graduation recital. Admission requires advance reservation and is complimentary.

Written at the tender age of 15, La Betulia Liberata, Mozart’s only oratorio, tells the harrowing story from the biblical book of Judith. The overture, a miniature masterpiece, is similarly dramatic and incorporates the sturm und drang style that one hears in Mozart’s later works, most notably the two g-minor symphonies.

Spectre of the Spheres was composed by David Hertzberg in 2013, while studying at The Curtis Institute of Music. The title comes from the opening stanzas of The Auroras of Autumn, by Wallace Stevens. The poem evokes the majestic beauty of the Northern Lights, juxtaposed with images that are both primordial and terrifying.

Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony, written ten years after the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony, was an instant success and restored Rachmaninoff’s confidence as a symphonic composer. The work is clearly influenced by Tchaikovsky, yet distinctly in the composer’s own voice, showcasing his incredible talent for long melodic lines and inventive orchestration.

Program

MOZART Overture, from La Betulia Liberata, K. 118
HERTZBERG Spectre of the Spheres
RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27

Largo—Allegro moderato
Allegro molto
Adagio
Allegro vivace

Curtis Symphony Orchestra
Robert Kahn, conductor

About the Performers

Robert Kahn, from Laren, the Netherlands, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2019. As a conducting fellow, he works closely with Curtis mentor conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Kahn is the Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow.

Mr. Kahn was the assistant conductor for Don Giovanni with Juilliard Opera in 2019 and, from 2015 through 2018, was assistant conductor of Mannes Opera, where he worked on productions of Le nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, L’elisir d’amore, The Rake’s Progress, Vanessa, and Little Women.

Mr. Kahn has been a cover conductor for the Fort Worth Symphony and the Buffalo Philharmonic, the latter of which he conducted in concert; and has conducted the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the International Chamber Orchestra of America. He conducted the studio recording of David Hertzberg’s The Rose Elf, released in 2020; and, as the associate conductor of On Site Opera, led a new opera by John Musto at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Mr. Kahn holds a dual bachelor’s degree in physics and clarinet from Johns Hopkins University and the Peabody Institute, as well as a master’s degree and professional studies certificate in orchestra conducting from Mannes School of Music. His previous teachers include Ignat Solzhenitsyn, David Hayes, Joseph Colaneri, Harlan D. Parker, and Harold Farberman. He began clarinet studies at age seven and conducting studies at 21.

Special Thanks

The Edith L. and Robert Prostkoff Memorial Concert Series. The Curtis Institute of Music receives funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts.

  • This Performance is Sold Out

    • Date Apr 13, 2022
    • Time 8:00 P.M.
    • Location Curtis Institute of Music, Gould Rehearsal Hall