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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE [January 8, 2019] Contacts: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: Eric Dundon [email protected], 314-286-4134 National/International: Nikki Scandalios [email protected], 704-340-4094

ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WELCOMES MUSIC DIRECTOR DESIGNATE STÉPHANE DENÈVE FOR TWO WEEKS OF CONCERTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS, FEBRUARY 5-17

St. Louis is invited to “Fall in Love with Stéphane” event with special musical offerings, dinner, and dancing on February 8

Denève conducts a program including Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending featuring Concertmaster David Halen, and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music with members of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, February 8-10

Denève also leads the February 15-16 program including an all-Prokofiev lineup of his Cinderella Suite, Piano Concerto No. 2 with celebrated pianist , and Alexander Nevsky with the St. Louis Symphony Chorus

Denève and the SLSO bring the classic fairy tale Cinderella to life at the Family Concert on February 17

(January 8, 2019, St. Louis, MO) – Stéphane Denève, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Music Director Designate and incoming 13th Music Director, returns to lead the SLSO for two weeks of concerts and events February 5-17, 2019. Denève begins his tenure as Music Director of the SLSO starting with the 2019/2020 season. He leads the SLSO in four subscription programs in the current 2018/2019 season.

The upcoming two-week celebration begins Tuesday, February 5, when Denève and the SLSO announce programming details for the 19/20 season, the SLSO’s 140th and Denève’s first as Music Director.

St. Louisans are invited to “Fall in Love with Stéphane” at a special event on Friday, February 8, at the St. Louis Union Station Ballroom. The evening is a festive welcome party for Denève. During the evening, SLSO musicians, including acoustic quartet The 442s, will offer musical gifts to the incoming Music Director, followed by dancing to the Stéphane Denève sounds of Fabulous Motown Revue, an energetic variety band.

Denève conducts the SLSO in two Classical Concerts – February 8-10 and February 15-16 – featuring works by Mozart, Vaughan Williams, Brahms, and Prokofiev. He will also take the podium on February 17, leading the SLSO in bringing the classic fairy tale Cinderella to life at the Family Concert for listeners of all ages.

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Denève conducts the closing program of the Classical season on May 10-12, 2019, leading the SLSO in its premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Nyx, Ravel’s Shéhérazade, and Berlioz’s masterpiece, Symphonie fantastique.

Fall in Love with Stéphane event February 8, 2019 The SLSO invites St. Louisans to meet Stéphane Denève, the next Music Director of the SLSO, at a special event with creative cocktails, flavorful food, and surprising musical performances. Genre-defying acoustic ensemble, The 442s, partner with members of the SLSO to present a one-of-a-kind musical welcome gift for the incoming Music Director. Guests can then dance the night away with vibrant jazz music from Fabulous Motown Revue.

Friday, February 8, 2019, 7:00-11:00pm St. Louis Union Station Ballroom, 1820 Market Street, St. Louis, MO

7:00pm – Cocktails and Dinner 8:00pm – Musical Program 9:00pm – Dancing to Fabulous Motown Revue

Co-chairs for Fall in Love with Stéphane are Janice and Steve Seele; Rachel and Jermal Seward; Ray Simon and Mel Pashea; and Sarah and Dan Wessel. The event is supported by Ascension, KPMG, Sarah and Dan Wessel, Centene, LHM Hospitality, Jean-Paul and Isabelle Montupet, Saint Louis Bank, and Janice and Steve Seele.

Event tickets are $150. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit https://www.slso.org/love.

Stéphane’s Serenade February 8-10, 2019 Viewing this season as his “engagement“ season with the SLSO, Denève programmed the February 8-10 concerts around the idea of a romantic serenade. The program opens with a familiar Mozart work, Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525, known for its sublime beauty. Next, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending depicts an enchanting lark in the forest, represented by Concertmaster David Halen as the featured soloist. Halen is one of seven SLSO musicians stepping forward as featured soloists during the 18/19 season. More members of the SLSO family are featured in another Vaughan Williams masterwork, his Serenade to Music. Sixteen members of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus solo during the piece, which sets text derived from William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice to music. Closing the program is Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, an idyllic and inspiring work.

Friday, February 8, 2019, 10:30am Saturday, February 9, 2019, 8:00pm Sunday, February 10, 2019, 3:00pm Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO

Stéphane Denève, conductor David Halen, violin Members of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus | Amy Kaiser, director

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MOZART Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Serenade to Music BRAHMS Symphony No. 2

Audiences can attend the free Pre-Concert Conversation at 9:30am Friday, 7:00pm Saturday, or 2:00pm Sunday in the auditorium. This weekend, the conversations are hosted by SLSO Resident Conductor Gemma New.

Tune in to St. Louis Public Radio on Saturday, February 9, at 8:00pm for the live broadcast of the performance, along with interviews of Denève, Halen, and SLSO President and CEO Marie-Hélène Bernard during intermission. Listen on air (90.7 FM KWMU) or online (http://www.stlpublicradio.org/listen.php).

This concert is presented by The Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation.

Denève Conducts Prokofiev February 15-16, 2019 Denève leads the SLSO in a program featuring the music of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev on February 15-16. The concert opens with Denève’s arrangement of Prokofiev’s Cinderella Suite, a selection of pieces from the ballet Cinderella – one of the composer’s most popular works. Denève then collaborates with world-renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman for the first time, performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2. One of the most technically challenging pieces in the piano repertoire, Bronfman returns for his 12th appearance with the SLSO. Closing the concert is Alexander Nevsky, a cantata featuring the musical score to a 1938 Russian film with the same name. Mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine makes her debut with the SLSO in the performance of Nevsky, a story of invasion and salvation set in 13th century Russia. The St. Louis Symphony Chorus joins Denève for the performance, one of six programs that features the chorus in the 18/19 season.

Also, Bronfman debuts the SLSO’s new nine-foot Steinway grand piano, which was supported by a gift from an anonymous donor. Denève and Bronfman selected the new piano together at the Steinway factory in New York City.

Friday, February 15, 2019, 8:00pm Saturday, February 16, 2019, 8:00pm Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO

Stéphane Denève, conductor Yefim Bronfman, piano Clémentine Margaine, mezzo-soprano St. Louis Symphony Chorus | Amy Kaiser, director

PROKOFIEV/DENÈVE Cinderella Suite PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2

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PROKOFIEV Alexander Nevsky

Audiences can attend the free Pre-Concert Conversation at 7:00pm Friday and Saturday in the auditorium. This weekend, the conversations are hosted by pianist Peter Henderson.

Tune in to St. Louis Public Radio on Saturday, February 16, at 8:00pm for the live broadcast of the performance. Listen on air (90.7 FM KWMU) or online (http://www.stlpublicradio.org/listen.php).

The 18/19 SLSO Classical Season is presented by World Wide Technology and the Steward Family Foundation and runs through May 12, 2019.

Family Concert February 17, 2019 Denève’s two-week return to the SLSO concludes on Sunday, February 17, with a family concert featuring a beloved favorite, Cinderella. Families are invited to hear the classic fairy tale brought to life by selections from Prokofiev’s vibrant and colorful score to the ballet Cinderella. This concert will last for approximately one hour. Actors with the Filament Theatre in Chicago will tell the story of Cinderella during the concert, bringing a modern twist to the familiar fairy tale while the SLSO plays Prokofiev’s music. Families are invited to Powell Hall before the concert for the SLSO’s Instrument Playground. Starting at 2:00pm before each Family Concert, guests can explore, touch, and play real instruments of the orchestra in this hands-on experience located in Powell Hall’s Wightman Grand Foyer. Families can also have photos taken with a prince or princess before the concert.

Sunday, February 17, 2019, 3:00pm Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO

Stéphane Denève, conductor

Tickets are on sale now and start at $8 for children. Tickets may be purchased at www.slso.org or by calling the Box Office at 314-534-1700.

Stéphane Denève, Music Director In June 2017, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Stéphane Denève as its next Music Director. Denève, who will serve as the orchestra’s 13th Music Director, has been a frequent guest conductor with the orchestra since 2003. His initial three-year term as Music Director begins with the 19/20 season. He serves as Music Director Designate during the current 18/19 season.

Denève has appeared eight times as a guest conductor with the SLSO. Repertoire over the years has included works ranging from contemporary French composer Guillaume Connesson to works by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Ravel, Strauss, and Tchaikovsky. His performances with the SLSO have received critical acclaim and have also included collaborations with soloists from the orchestra including Concertmaster David Halen and Principal Flute Mark Sparks.

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Stéphane Denève is currently Music Director of the Brussels Philharmonic, Principal Guest Conductor of The , and Director of the Centre for Future Orchestral Repertoire (CffOR). From 2011-2016, he served as Chief Conductor of Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR) and from 2005-2012 as Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Recognized internationally for the exceptional quality of his performances and programming, he regularly appears at major concert venues with the world’s greatest orchestras and soloists. He has a special affinity for the music of his native France and is a passionate advocate for new music.

Recent engagements include appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Vienna Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Czech Philharmonic, and NHK Symphony. In North America, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2012 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with whom he has been a frequent guest both in Boston and at Tanglewood, and he appears regularly with The Cleveland Orchestra, , The Philadelphia Orchestra, , , and Toronto Symphony.

He enjoys close relationships with many of the world's leading solo artists, including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Yo-Yo Ma, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, James Ehnes, , Leonidas Kavakos, Nicholas Angelich, Lang Lang, , Gil Shaham, Emanuel Ax, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Lars Vogt, Nikolai Lugansky, , Joshua Bell, , and Nathalie Dessay.

In the field of opera, Stéphane Denève has led productions at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne Festival, La Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Saito Kinen Festival, Gran Teatro de Liceu, Netherlands Opera, La Monnaie, Deutsche Oper Am Rhein, and at the Opéra National de Paris.

As a recording artist, he has won critical acclaim for his recordings of the works of Poulenc, Debussy, Ravel, Roussel, Franck, and Connesson. He is a triple winner of the Diapason d’Or of the Year, has been shortlisted for Gramophone’s Artist of the Year Award, and has won the prize for symphonic music at the International Awards. His most recent releases are a disc of the works of Guillaume Connesson with Brussels Philharmonic (awarded the Diapason d’Or de l’année, Caecilia Award, and Classica Magazine’s CHOC of the Year), and a disc with Lucas and Arthur Jussen and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, both for .

A graduate and prize-winner of the Paris Conservatoire, Stéphane Denève worked closely in his early career with Sir Georg Solti, Georges Prêtre, and Seiji Ozawa. A gifted communicator and educator, he is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians and listeners. He has worked regularly with young people in programs at the Tanglewood Music Center and New World Symphony.

For further information, please visit www.stephanedeneve.com.

About the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Celebrated as one of today’s most exciting and enduring orchestras, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the

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second-oldest orchestra in the country, marking its 139th year with the 2018/2019 season. Widely considered one of the world’s finest, the SLSO maintains its commitment to artistic excellence, educational impact, and community connections – all in service to its mission of enriching lives through the power of music.

In addition to its regular concert performances at Powell Hall, which has been the permanent home of the SLSO for 50 years, the orchestra is an integral part of the diverse and vibrant St. Louis community, presenting free education programs and performances throughout the region each year. It presents St. Louis Symphony Live at the Pulitzer, a four-program series at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. The SLSO also serves as the resident orchestra for Opera Theatre Saint Louis, with this season marking the 42nd year of their partnership.

The Grammy Award–winning SLSO’s impact beyond the St. Louis region is realized through weekly Saturday night concert broadcasts on St. Louis Public Radio, acclaimed recordings, and regular touring activity. A sought-after artistic partner by preeminent musicians and composers from across the globe, as well as by local and national organizations, the SLSO enjoys a long history of robust and enduring artistic collaborations that have developed and deepened over the years.

Today, the SLSO builds on the institution’s current momentum on all fronts, including artistic, financial, audience growth, and community impact, and looks toward the future with Stéphane Denève. Denève, who has been a frequent guest conductor with the orchestra since 2003, begins his tenure as Music Director with the 19/20 season, following this season as Music Director Designate. For more information, visit slso.org.

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