Saturday, April 12, 2008

April 17 & 20, 2008

Roberto Minczuk started out as a French horn prodigy. (Now there's a phrase you don't hear much: French horn prodigy.)

He has since become a conductor with a successful career both internationally and in his native Brazil.

In 2007–2008 Minczuk ("Min-chook") led the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra not once but twice, in November and March. This week GPB presents the November concert.
  • Wagner was inspired by medieval tales of religiously inspired derring do when he wrote his opera about the "pure fool" who retrieve the Holy Grail from an evil magician. We hear the Prelude to Act I of Parsifal.
  • Ligeti survived Nazi persecution and Communist restrictions in Hungary, then created his own modern sound. You might've heard some of his music in 2001: A Space Odyssey. We hear Lontano ("remote"), used in The Shining.
  • Rachmaninoff 's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini features with Croatian-born, Austrian-trained pianist Dejan Lazic (left) as soloist.
  • Highlights from Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet conclude the concert.

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