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Mirror Images For Further Information: William Murray at BAM 718-636-4190 Suzanne Ford at The Zeisler Group 212-807-6480 MIRROR IMAGES BROOKLYN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA DENNIS RUSSELL DAVIES, PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR, OPENS 1994-95 SEASON PIANIST MARGARET LENG TAN REPLACES GWENDOLYN MOK iN WORLD PREMIERE OF CHEN Yl'S PIANO CONCERTO EVENING FEATURES TWO WORKS BY PHILIP GLASS WORLD PREMIERE OF 2ND SYMPHONY AMERICAN PREMIERE OF SIX ETUDES FOR PIANO PROGRAM ALSO INCLUDES JOHN ZORN'S FOR YOUR EYES ONLY PERFORMANCES OCTOBER 14 & 15 PRESENTED AS PART OF BAM'S NEXT WA VE FESTIVAL The BROOKLYN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA (BPO), the resident orchestra of the Brooklyn Academy of Mus ic, opens its 1994-95 season with MIRROR IMAGES, a program of music by composers whose works reflect influences of both East and West. On Friday, October 14 and Saturday October 15, at 8:00 p.m. , Principal Conductor Dennis Russell Davies leads the Orchestra in three BPO-commissioned works and two world premieres : Philip Glass ' Symphony No. 2 and Chinese-American composer Chen Yi's Piano Concerto, with pianist Margaret Leng Tan as soloist , as well as John Zorn's For Your Eyes Only . Both performances take place in the BAM Opera House , 30 Lafayette A venue , and are being presented as part of BAM's Next Wave Festival , sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc. - more - ......6/!!lh--ROOKLYN AC BPO / MIRROR IMAGES / OCTOBER 14 & 15 PAGE2 Each night, there will be a pre-concert recital at 7 p. m., featuring Dennis Russell Davies, piano, performing the American premiere of Philip Glass' Six Etudes (1994), written for Maestro Davies . Following the concerts, there will be a dis'cussion with all three composers, in addition to Maestro Davies and Joseph Horowitz, executive director of the BPO. Chen Yi will talk about the source material for her Piano Concerto demonstrating various Chinese folk instruments. Margaret Leng Tan, a native of Singapore, is an internationally celebrated artist, whom The New Yorker has called , "the diva of the avant-garde . " Hailed by the Village Voice as the "world 's premiere string virtuoso," she is renowned for her performances of Asian and American music that defy her instrument's conventional boundaries. The first woman to graduate with a Doctorate in Music from the Juilliard School, she has since created a radically individual performance style fusing sound, choreography and theater. Ms. Tan's recordings has received wide critical recognition. Sonic Encounters (Mode) presents a half-century perspective on the new piano. Litania: Margaret Leng Tan plays Somei Satoh (New Albion) was one of The New York Times' best recordings of 1988. Margaret Leng Tan made her debut with the Brooklyn Philharmonic in 1988 and her New York Philharmonic debut took place in 1991. Philip Glass has enjoyed a long and close association with the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. In past seasons, his operas Einstein On Beach , Satyagraha and Orphee have been presented as part of BAM 's Next Wave Festival. In 1992, the BPO , under the direction of Dennis Russell Davies, premiered his First Symphony (Low Symphony) based on music by David Bowie and Brian Eno to sold-out houses at BAM. The symphony marked a transformation in Glass' compositional development. As Edward Rothstein wrote in The New York Times, "The occasion was the unveiling of a new stylistic persona for Mr . Glass ... the music sometimes seems to be dramatizing a reconciliation between the various traditions in which [he] has worke d .... It was accomplished and fascinating." Maestro Davies and the Orchestra were invited by Mr. Glass to record the Symphony; the recording, released in 1993, has sold over 150,000 copies and garnered widespread and enthusiastic praise. Of his new symphony, Mr. Glass comments, "Until recently, I have devoted most of my time to working in opera , ballet and various kinds of experimental theater. Working on the Low Symphony gave me the opportunity to think about the tradition of symphonic music. In my Second Symphony , I expect to build on the personal approach I brought to this tradition and to explore this new world of music." Chen Yi has emerged as one of the most important composers in China and has received many prestigious prizes in her native country. In 1986, she came to the United States to pursue a doctorate at Columbia University , which she was awarded with distinction in 1993. She currently holds a three-year appointment as Composer-in-Residence for the Women 's - more - BPO / MIRROR IMAGES / OCTOBER14 & 15 , PAGE 3 Philharmonic, Chanticleer , and Aptos Middle School in San Francisco . Since coming to the U.S., Chen Yi has been invited to participate in many prestigious conferences and festivals and has received commissions , awards and grants from, among others , The Ford Foundation, the Mary Flagler Cary Trust , and the New York States Council on the Arts. Her compositions have been performed throughout the world. She s~s, "My ideal is to meet East and West congenially in spirit through [my] musical lapguage . " Chen Yi's Piano Concerto (1992) is in one movement and is based on a popular Chinese folk tune , Baban (Eight Beasts) . In describing the work , she comments , "General impressions of the style of Chinese mountain singing and Chinese instrumental playing also influence the sounds that are heard in the piano part and the Western orchestra . " John Zorn 's For Your Eyes Only, also a BPO commission , is a work for chamber orchestra , exemplifying his unique improvisatory style. Representing the cutting edge of the new eclecticism , Zorn has been described by Peter Watrous as " .. the revolutionary whose compositions and methods owe as much to game rules and strategy as they do to traditional forms . As a result , his music -- raw , funny nasty and noisy -- is a whole lotta fun and very, very smart . " A New York native, John Zorn is regarded as a leading force in the current music scene . He earned his reputation as both performer and composer working in a wide range of venues from traditional concert halls to the intimate clubs of downtown Manhattan. In the 1980s, he began composing "game pieces" for improvising musicians , but whether he was leading a group of improvisers through the dynamics of his game scores or performing a solo , Zorn 's interests always focused squarely on rapid and extreme juxtapositions of discret e, variegated and , often , very noisy sounds . His style has attracted the attention of classicall y trained musicians and he has received commissions for fully-notated non-improvisational scores from the Broo klyn Philharmonic Orchestra , the Kronos Quartet and the New York Philharmonic . John Zorn divides his time between New York and Japan , often spending as much as six months in that countr y. He says of the experience , "It's a stimulating change in perspective , not only with regard to the music scene, but also with regard to who I am as a person , how I fit into American culture , what I am in Japanese culture . " Single tickets for MIRROR IMAGES range from $30 to $15. For further information on subscriptions to the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra's 1994-95 season , call BAM Ticket Services at 718-636-4100. #### September 1994 BPO / MIRROR IMAGES I OCTOBER 14 & 15 PAGE 4 Philip Glass' Symphony No. 2 was commissioned by the BPO with partial provided by the Mar y Flagler Charitable Trust. Chen Yi's Piano Concerto was commissioned by the BPO with parti al funding from the Ditson Fund . Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the Brooklyn Philharmonic. BPO's Education Program is supported by a generous grant from Starrett at Spring Creek , managed by Grenadier Realty Corp. ADDITIONAL MAJOR BPO DONORS ARE: New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; Stanley H. Kaplan Education al Center ; Rita and Stanley H. Kaplan Foundation; The National Endowme nt for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts; Forest City Ratner Companies ; Brooklyn Union Gas; Brooklyn Borough Pre sident Howard Golden . The BPO bus is sponsored by Independence Savings Bank. .
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