To the Point: Orchestra for the Next Century pays tribute to Paul Sacher in concert at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall.
Orchestra for the Next Century, Gary M. Schneider, Music Director, follows up its acclaimed NY debut in February at the Ecstatic Music Festival with a tribute to the great Swiss conductor and musical philanthropist Paul Sacher in a concert on April 30, 2013 at 8:00 pm at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. The concert features two works Sacher commissioned from Stravinsky and Martinů paired with recent works by distinguished American composers Margaret Brouwer and Paul Moravec.
Tickets are $25 / $20 for students. For information and tickets, call 212-501-3330 or online at www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org.
Igor Stranvinsky’s Concerto in D for String Orchestra and Bohuslav Martinů’s Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani are among the many important works Sacher commissioned for his Basel Chamber Orchestra. Through his commissioning of new works from many of the most important composers of the 20th century, Sacher is responsible for the existence of an amazing number of landmark compositions, many of which entered the repertory and are performed every year in concert halls around the world.
The concert will also include the New York premier of Margaret Brouwer’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, featuring the acclaimed Japanese-American
violinist Michi Wiancko, for whom it was written. Ms Wiancko, a noted advocate of new music, was the 2002 Concert Artists Guild International Competition winner and a 2007 Musical America “Artist to Watch”. She has appeared as soloist with orchestras throughout the US including both the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics. Rounding out the program is Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec’s Morph, for solo string quartet and string orchestra. This promises to be an especially high-octane concert. Gary M. Schneider first gained attention as music director and conductor
of The Hoboken Chamber Orchestra, an award-winning ensemble he founded in 1981 and led for ten seasons. A prize-winner in the 1987 Leopold Stokowski Competition for American Conductors, Mr. Schneider has actively guest conducted numerous orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic. Following his European debut at the International Zelt Musik Festival in Freiburg, Germany, The Badische Zeitung heralded him as an “astonishing” musician for his diverse and impressive efforts as conductor, composer, “jazzer” and pianist. Mr. Schneider promises to put his more than 30 years of experience into making Orchestra for the Next Century a major musical force to be reckoned with.
