Bramwell Tovey Inaugural: Bronfman Plays Rachmaninoff: Sept 28
The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra welcomes pianist Yefim Bronfman, joining conductor Bramwell Tovey in his inaugural concert as Artistic Advisor, for a program of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.3 and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.
TACO Classical Concert Series
Saturday, September 28 • 8pm
The VETS, Providence
Bramwell Tovey, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No.3
BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra
Before the Concert 7:00pm
Pre-concert Talk with Francisco Noya
Security at The VETS:
Due to enhanced security, walk-through metal detectors are now used at all performances. Please be advised that all bags may be inspected at the discretion of VETS security and/or the police officer on site. Items confiscated will not be returned. Please be advised that firearms, weapons, backpacks, suitcases, briefcases, and laptops are not allowed in the building. Additionally, outside food and drinks are not permitted inside the venue. Please arrive 35-45 minutes early for entry into the building.
To RSVP email ljohnson-carvalho@riphil.org Deadline for reservations and cancellations is Wednesday, September 25!
About the Conductor
Bramwell Tovey
As Artistic Advisor and Conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School, Bramwell Tovey embarks on his first official full season leading the Orchestra. During the 2019-20 season, he will lead the Orchestra in 20 performances and nine concert programs. A Grammy and Juno award winning conductor and composer, Tovey is also the Principal Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Calgary Opera. He is currently the Music Director Emeritus following his 18-year tenure as Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), which concluded in summer 2018.
Internationally recognized as one of today’s most acclaimed and admired pianists, Yefim Bronfman stands among a handful of artists regularly sought by festivals, orchestras, conductors and recital series. Born in Tashkent in the Soviet Union, Mr. Bronfman emigrated to Israel with his family in 1973, where he studied with pianist Arie Vardi, head of the Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. In the United States, he studied at The Juilliard School, Marlboro School of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music, under Rudolf Firkušný, Leon Fleisher, and Rudolf Serkin. He is a 2015 recipient of an honorary doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music.
The composition of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano concerto in 1909 is mysterious. The composer made no mention of it in his writings until much later, and his family did not even know he was composing the work until it was finished. Rachmaninoff premiered the D Minor Concerto in New York in November, 1909 with Walter Damrosch conducting. Because of the concerto’s difficult and unrelenting solo part, no other pianist would touch it for a long time, not even the great Joseph Hofmann to whom the work was dedicated.
“The title of this symphony-like orchestral work is explained by its tendency to treat the single orchestral instruments in a concertante or soloistic manner…” With these words, printed in the program of the December, 1944 premiere, Béla Bartók introduced the world to his Concerto for Orchestra, destined to become his best-known music and one of the 20th century’s great symphonic masterpieces.
