Program will include Modest Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, Dora Pejaečvić’s Symphony in F-sharp minor, and Edvard Grieg’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra with Alexander Gavrylyuk
February 25 performance webcast for free at dso.org and via Facebook Live as part of DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series
Tickets on sale now at dso.org
Detroit, (February 2, 2023) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will continue its PVS Classical Series at Orchestra Hall with three concerts conducted by DSO Music Director Jader Bignamini and featuring renowned pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk.
The program will open with Modest Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, which was arranged by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov after the composer’s death. The piece features eerie strings, careening woodwinds, and foreboding brass that portray a witches’ sabbath. Next, Gavrylyuk is featured soloist in Edvard Grieg’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, opening with a famous and forceful descending motif before exploring melodic ideas influenced by the folk music of the composer’s native Norway. The program concludes with the Symphony in F-sharp minor by Dora Pejaečvić, a composer who broke gender barriers in classical music in the early 20th century.
Night on Bald Mountain & Gavrylyuk Plays Grieg will take place Thursday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, February 24 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, February 25 at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall.
The February 25 performance will also be webcast for free at dso.org and via Facebook Live as part of the DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series.
Tickets for Night on Bald Mountain & Gavrylyuk Plays Grieg start at $25 and can be purchased at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at 313.576.5111, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2022-2023 SEASON DSO SAFETY POLICIES: The DSO no longer requires audiences to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to attend performances. Masks are optional although strongly recommended at DSO performances, particularly when Wayne County and surrounding communities are in the high or "red" category as defined by the CDC. The DSO asks audience members to do their part to create a safe environment for everyone and encourages those who are not feeling well to stay home.
The title sponsor of the DSO’s Classical Series is PVS Chemicals, Inc. DSO Live is presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Digital programming is produced from the Al Glancy Control Room.
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NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN & GAVRYLYUK PLAYS GRIEG
PVS Classical Series
Thursday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, February 24 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 25 at 8 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Jader Bignamini, conductor
Alexander Gavrylyuk, piano
Eerie strings, careening woodwinds, and foreboding brass portray a witches’ sabbath in Mussorgsky’s tone poem, expertly arranged after the composer’s death by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Grieg’s Piano Concerto opens with a famous and forceful descending motif before exploring melodic ideas influenced by the folk music of the composer’s native Norway. Dora Pejaečvić, a member of a Croatian noble family, broke gender barriers in classical music in the early 20th Century; her magnificent Symphony in F-sharp minor concludes this concert.
MODEST MUSSORGSKY Night on Bald Mountain arr. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
EDVARD GRIEG Concerto for Piano & Orchestra
DORA PEJAČEVIĆ Symphony in F-sharp minor
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About Jader Bignamini
Jader Bignamini was introduced as the 18th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020, commencing with the 2020-2021 season. He kicked off his tenure as DSO Music Director with the launch of DSO Digital Concerts in September 2020, conducting works by Copland, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Georges. His infectious passion and artistic excellence set the tone for the season ahead, creating extraordinary music and establishing a close relationship with the orchestra. A jazz aficionado, he has immersed himself in Detroit’s rich jazz culture and the influences of American music.
A native of Crema, Italy, Jader studied at the Piacenza Music Conservatory and began his career as a musician (clarinet) with Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi in Milan, later serving as the group’s resident conductor. Captivated by the operatic arias of legends like Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Jader explored their complexity and power, puzzling out the role that each instrument played in creating a larger-than-life sound. When he conducted his first professional concert at the age of 28, it didn’t feel like a departure, but an arrival.
In the years since, Jader has conducted some of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras and opera companies in venues across the globe including working with Riccardo Chailly on concerts of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony in 2013 and his concert debut at La Scala in 2015 for the opening season of La Verdi Orchestra. Recent highlights include debuts with the Houston, Dallas, and Minnesota symphonies; Osaka Philharmonic and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo; with the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Dutch National Opera (Madama Butterfly); Bayerische Staatsoper (La Traviata); I Puritani in Montpellier for the Festival of Radio France; Traviata in Tokyo directed by Sofia Coppola; return engagements with Oper Frankfurt (La forza del destino) and Santa Fe Opera (La Bohème); Manon Lescaut at the Bolshoi; Traviata, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot at Arena of Verona; Il Trovatore and Aida at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera; Madama Butterfly, I Puritani, and Manon Lescaut at Teatro Massimo in Palermo; Simon Boccanegra and La Forza del Destino at the Verdi Festival in Parma; Ciro in Babilonia at Rossini Opera Festival and La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Elisir d’amore at La Fenice in Venice.
When Jader leads an orchestra in symphonic repertoire, he conducts without a score, preferring to make direct eye contact with the musicians. He conducts from the heart, forging a profound connection with his musicians that shines through both onstage and off. He both embodies and exudes the excellence and enthusiasm that has long distinguished the DSO’s artistry.
About Alexander Gavrylyuk
A stunningly virtuosic pianist, Alexander Gavrylyuk is internationally recognized for his electrifying and poetic performances. Highlights of the 2021-22 season included debuts with San Diego Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Rheinische Philharmonie, and Antwerp Symphony Orchestras, as well as return visits to Chicago Symphony, Sydney Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, and Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestras.
Born in Ukraine in 1984 and holding Australian citizenship, Gavrylyuk began his piano studies at the age of seven and gave his first concerto performance when he was nine years old. At the age of 13, Gavrylyuk moved to Sydney, where he lived until 2006. He won First Prize and Gold Medal at the Horowitz International Piano Competition (1999), First Prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (2000), and Gold Medal at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition (2005).
He has since gone on to perform with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York, Los Angeles, Czech, Warsaw, Moscow, Seoul, Israel, and Rotterdam philharmonics; NHK, Chicago, Cincinnati, and City of Birmingham symphony orchestras; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philharmonia, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre National de Lille, and the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker. He has collaborated with conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Alexandre Bloch, Herbert Blomstedt, Andrey Boreyko, Thomas Dausgaard, Valery Gergiev, Neeme Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Kirill Karabits, Louis Langrée, Cornelius Meister, Vassily Petrenko, Rafael Payare, Alexander Shelley, Yuri Simonov, Vladimir Spivakov, Markus Stenz, Sir Mark Elder, Thomas Søndergård, Gergely Madaras, Mario Venzago, Enrique Mazzola, and Osmo Vänska.
Gavrylyuk has appeared at many of the world’s foremost festivals, including the Hollywood Bowl, Bravo! Vail Colorado, Mostly Mozart, the Ruhr Festival, the Kissinger Sommer International Music Festival, and the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam.
As a recitalist, Gavrylyuk has performed at the Musikverein in Vienna, Tonhalle Zurich, Victoria Hall Geneva, Southbank Centre’s International Piano Series, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Master Pianists Series, Suntory Hall, Tokyo Opera City Hall, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Cologne Philharmonie, Tokyo City Concert Hall, San Francisco, Sydney Recital Hall, and Melbourne Recital Centre. Gavrylyuk also performs regularly with his recital partner, Janine Jansens, throughout Europe.
Gavrylyuk is Artist-in-Residence at Chautauqua Institution, where he leads the piano program as an artistic advisor. He supports a number of charities including the Theme and Variations Foundation, which aims to provide support and encouragement to young, aspiring Australian pianists as well as Opportunity Cambodia, which has built a residential educational facility for Cambodian children.
Alexander Gavrylyuk is a Steinway Artist.
About the DSO
The acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. As a community-supported orchestra, generous giving by individuals and institutions at all levels drives the continued success and growth of the organization. In January 2020, Italian conductor Jader Bignamini was named the DSO’s next music director to commence with the 2020-2021 season. Celebrated conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik is the orchestra’s Principal Pops Conductor, while Oscar-nominated trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair.
Making its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, the DSO offers a performance schedule that features PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. One of the world’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, Orchestra Hall celebrated its centennial in 2019-2020. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in seven metro area venues, as well as a robust schedule of eclectic multi-genre performances in its mid-size venue The Cube, constructed and curated with support from Peter D. & Julie F. Cummings.
A dedication to broadcast innovation began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts, which also reaches tens of thousands of children with the Classroom Edition expansion. With growing attendance and unwavering philanthropic support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to embrace and inspire individuals, families, and communities through unsurpassed musical experiences.