Eric Jacobsen, conductor
Yuja Wang, piano
Pianist Yuja Wang is one of the most celebrated pianists performing today. Witness her charismatic artistry and virtuosity in this exceptional one-night-only performance with Eric Jacobsen and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. This performance is co-presented with the Ferguson Center for the Arts in recognition of its 20th Anniversary Season.
PROGRAM
Ms. Wang will perform György Ligeti's Piano Concerto and Einojuhani Rautavaara's Piano Concerto No. 1. This will be paired with Four Hungarian Dances by Brahms, and Tchaikovsky's Romeo & Juliet.
All of Yuja Wang’s performances showcase athleticism and artistry that rate among the very highest tier of pianists performing today. These two works are situated particularly well to provide a rare glimpse of the magic she brings to the concert hall.
György Ligeti (1923-2006), pronounced JERJ LIG-geh-tee, was a Hungarian-Austrian composer known for his trailblazing compositional style and wide range of musical influences. His earliest inspirations came from fellow Hungarian composers Bartók and Kodály, alongside classics like Beethoven & Bach, but his compositional style progressed greatly through his lifetime. Experiments with electronic music and microtonality starting in the 1950s made way for influences from Central African polyphonic drumming and the mathematical player-piano creations of Conlon Nancarrow by the 1980s. During this time, he began work on the Piano Concerto, which was finally completed in 1988. This exciting piece has been described as sparkling, witty, and playful ... and is a virtuosic tour-de-force for both the soloist and the orchestra.
Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016), pronounced AY-no-yu-hah-ni ROW-ta-vah-ra, was a prolific Finnish composer who was first drawn to serialism as a compositional style, but at the time of composing his First Piano Concerto had begun to turn towards a more neo-romantic style that would later develop into a musical mysticism. Premiered in 1969, at times, this powerful and sprightly piano concerto evokes memories of the works of fellow Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and the sounds and sights of their homeland's Nordic landscape.
Eric Jacobsen serves as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s twelfth Music Director, a position he’s held since 2021. He is also the artistic director and co-founder of The Knights, the uniquely adventurous NYC-based chamber orchestra, and Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic. In addition to conducting, Eric is a dedicated chamber musician (cello) and is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.
Yuja Wang is a Grammy Award-winning pianist whose many awards and recognitions include the 2017 Musical America’s Artist of the Year, the 2010 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the 2006 Gilmore Young Artist Award, among many others. During the 23/24 season, she performed an international recital tour along with appearing as a soloist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, The National Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Berlin Philharmonic, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and The Minnesota Orchestra.
