Season 2017 / 2017 18 Season Highlights Beethoven’s Ninth * Ben Caplan Subscribe Now! The Music of ABBA * Matt Andersen Save up to 35% Vivaldi’s Four Seasons * Denise Djokic Subscribing is always your best value! Marc-André Hamelin * Mozart’s Messiah Buy 10 concerts – it’s like getting 2 FREE! The Kronos Quartet * Cherubini’s Requiem Buy 6 concerts – it’s like getting 1 FREE! Tafelmusik * The Music of David Bowie Subscribe by series or you can choose your favourites in a U-Pick! Rhapsody in Blue * and much more! First-time subscriber? Get your second subscription 50% OFF! Get Your Tickets Today! 902.494.3820 or symphonynovascotia.ca • SUBSCRIBE NOW & SAVE! 902.494.3820 symphonynovascotia.ca SEASON 2017 / 18 * 1 2017/ 18 Concert Season Thank you 15 S ~ Maestro Gueller! R Y E A Welcome This season is very special to me — both because it is my last one as Come Join Us! Music Director with Symphony Nova Scotia, and also because we will Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 * The Music of ABBA * Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 perform pieces that mean so much to me. Our upcoming concerts include Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue * Vivaldi’s Four Seasons * The Music of Motown the sublime Brahms Violin Concerto and his First Piano Concerto, the Music of Simon & Garfunkel * Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 majestic “Emperor” Concerto by Beethoven, and the Cherubini Requiem — Music from West Side Story something I have wanted to conduct all my life, mainly because of its unique form with male choir and orchestra, and the passion it conveys. We will also perform again with Rajaton, the Finnish group that sings ABBA like no one else except, perhaps, ABBA! The season will culminate with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in a festival that links Brahms and Beethoven. As a German conductor, it makes sense that my final festival is one with the two main pillars of the German Classical and Romantic genres. Our soloists in 2017/18 include Giora Schmidt, Marc-André Hamelin, and the Kronos Quartet, along with local favourites Denise Djokic, Richard Simoneau, Dominic Desautels, and Peter Allen. Plus, we’ll be showcasing the music of Simon and Garfunkel and David Bowie, and also presenting Mozart’s Messiah and Baroque gems with Jeanne Lamon and David Greenberg. For the kids, we will make music come alive with Beethoven Lives Upstairs, and young adults will love the Halifax Pop Explosion concert with Ria Mae. Plus, the holiday season would not be the same without The Nutcracker, and we Ticket packages are always your best value! have again added a ballet this year — Anastasia Save up to 35% off single tickets, reserve the best seats with Canada’s Ballet Jörgen. in the house, and enjoy a great set of benefits with a Thank you very much for your ongoing support Symphony Nova Scotia subscription package. of your orchestra. See you at a concert soon! Bernhard Gueller, Music Director Best Prices Priority Choice of Free Ticket VIP Save up to Access Concerts Exchanges Treatment 35% off regular Get access Choose a pre- When your Free coat check, ticket prices. to the best set package of plans change, pre-ordered available seats concerts, or pick so can your drinks, 10% off before tickets your own. tickets — at extra tickets go on sale to no charge. all year long, the public. and more. First-Time Subscriber? Buy one subscription and get your second for half price! Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser Not including Under-30 U-Picks. Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador Symphony Nova Scotia is proud to welcome Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser as our new Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador. Daniel is a multi- award-winning conductor and composer, and a passionate communicator whose relaxed, approachable style and broad musical expertise have already made him a local favourite. Welcome aboard, Daniel! Subscribe Today! Online: symphonynovascotia.ca Phone: 902.494.3820 In Person: 6101 University Avenue, Halifax • 12PM-6PM weekdays See inside back cover for more details. • • 2 * SEASON 2017 / 18 SEE YOU THIS SEASON! TICKETS: 902.494.3820 symphonynovascotia.ca SUBSCRIBE NOW & SAVE! 902.494.3820 symphonynovascotia.ca SEASON 2017 / 18 * 3 presents MASTERWORKS Our orchestra teams up with internationally acclaimed guest artists to perform some of the greatest music ever written. RAM Koor, the Estonian National Male Choir Highlights: Beethoven’s Ninth, Cherubini’s Requiem, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, Brahms’ Violin Concerto, Beethoven’s “Emperor", and more! DENISE DJOKIC 7:30PM • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26 • 2017 The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax Giora Schmidt Featuring: Jordan de Souza, conductor Denise Djokic, cello Murray Adaskin: Diversion / Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 GIORA SCHMIDT PLAYS BRAHMS Halifax’s own Denise Djokic is one of the top “25 Canadians Who Are 7:30PM • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12 • 2017 Changing Our World” (Maclean’s) and one of “Canada’s Most Powerful The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax Women” (ELLE). Her spectacular career has included a performance at the Grammy Awards, a top-15 spot on Billboard’s classical charts, and rave Bernhard Gueller’s Featuring: Bernhard Gueller, conductor Giora Schmidt, violin BUCKET LIST Alexina Louie: Music for a Celebration / Brahms: Violin Concerto reviews for her “arrestingly beautiful tone colour” (The Strad) and “hugely Denise Djokic In Maestro Bernhard Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 impressive technique” (BBC Music). Now, this famous classical music Gueller’s final season as star returns home to Symphony Nova Scotia for a rare performance Symphony Nova Scotia kicks off Maestro Gueller’s final season Music Director, Symphony of Shostakovich’s passionate, deeply moving Cello Concerto No. 1. as Music Director with a joyous concert of bright, beautiful Nova Scotia is honoured masterworks. Hear the internationally acclaimed Giora Schmidt, to present some of his one of Gueller’s favourite violinists, performing Brahms’ power- CHERUBINI’S REQUIEM most long-awaited, highly- WITH RAM KOOR anticipated concerts. ful, expressive, and fiendishly difficult Violin Concerto. Then, 7:30PM • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11 • 2017 Here’s to you, Bernhard! Symphony Nova Scotia’s expanded orchestra performs The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony, a merry, radiant work that’s an audience favourite around the world. Featuring: Bernhard Gueller, conductor RAM Koor, the Estonian National Male Choir Andrea Ludwig, mezzo-soprano Arvo Pärt: Fratres / Brahms: Alto Rhapsody Luigi Cherubini: Requiem in C minor Oh Canada! It’s a dramatic, majestic masterwork, full of bold, austere We're proud to perform grandeur, and praised by its contemporaries as “without an great Canadian music, eh! equal in the world” (Robert Schumann). For the first time ever, Symphony Nova Scotia proudly performs Cherubini’s glorious 1816 Requiem, in partnership with the internationally celebrated, Grammy Award-winning Estonian National Male Choir, RAM Koor. With its storied 70-year history of appearances all over the world, the 50-voice RAM Koor is arguably the top all-male choir performing today. Don’t miss them live in this unforgettable concert experience. Andrea Ludwig MASTERWORKS A+ A B C Post-concert Q&A: Full series: 10 concerts $560.00 $528.00 $416.00 $240.00 SAVE +20% in the auditorium right after Add-on tickets $63.00 $59.40 $46.80 $27.00 SAVE +10% each Masterworks concert. Single tickets $70 - 85 $66 - 81 $52 - 67 $30 - 45 Free pre-concert chats: 6:45PM in the Sculpture Court, just outside the auditorium. • • 4 * SEASON 2017 / 18 SEE YOU THIS SEASON! TICKETS: 902.494.3820 symphonynovascotia.ca SUBSCRIBE NOW & SAVE! 902.494.3820 symphonynovascotia.ca SEASON 2017 / 18 * 5 “A greatly gifted young violinist... her sound was rich and commanding.” ~ The New York Times “Barton has everything required — Richard Simoneau a big burnished tone; the brilliance, agility, and precision of a bel canto diva. Above all, TCHAIKOVSKY’S FOURTH she has the knack for reaching out to an audience 7:30PM • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23 • 2017 and holding them at awed attention The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax in a manner all her own.” ~ Chicago Tribune Featuring: Alain Trudel, conductor Richard Simoneau, trumpet Weber: Der Freischütz Overture / John Estacio: Trumpet Concerto Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 Alain Trudel Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony is a mighty, emotional power- house, blending soaring melodies, dark turmoil, and deep joy Rachel Barton Pine in its explorations of life, loss, and fate. Don’t miss Symphony Nova Scotia’s expanded orchestra in its first performance of this great work in over a decade. Plus, our own trumpeter RACHEL BARTON PINE PLAYS WIENIAWSKI “A first class lyric conductor.” extraordinaire Richard Simoneau shows off his virtuoso chops 7:30PM • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8 • 2018 ~ La Presse in a brand-new Trumpet Concerto, co-commissioned by 17 The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax Canadian orchestras in honour of Canada’s 150th. Featuring: Christoph Campestrini, conductor Rachel Barton Pine, violin Glenn Buhr: Akasha (Sky) / Henri Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2 Schumann: Symphony No. 2 Rachel Barton Pine is one of the world’s great violin virtuosos, with multiple competition wins, over 30 commercial recordings, and the lifetime use of a $20-million Guarneri violin. Since Rachel’s debut with the Chicago Symphony MAGNIFICENT MOZART at age 10, she’s performed regularly with major orchestras all over the world, 7:30PM • THURSDAY, JANUARY 25 • 2018 earning accolades as “an exciting, boundary-defying performer… in the top The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax echelon” (Washington Post). Now, Rachel makes her Symphony Nova Scotia 2:00PM • SUNDAY, JANUARY 28 • 2018 debut appearance with Wieniawski’s fiery Violin Concerto No. 2. Alderney Landing Theatre, Dartmouth Featuring: Bernhard Gueller, conductor Luca Buratto, piano CHARLES RICHARD-HAMELIN Mozart: Symphony No. 35 “Haffner” / Piano Concerto No. 23 PLAYS CHOPIN Symphony No.