February 2-12, 2011

Joseph Horowitz, Festival Curator

"Tchaikovsky is a composer always able to express himself with his heart. Whether you love him or not, he is so honest. I love Tchaikovsky very much for his honesty."
– Manfred Honeck

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra presents a two-week Tchaikovsky Festival – including film, poetry, theater, chamber music, and solo piano works in addition to two weekends of PSO concerts dedicated to the composer. The Festival pays special attention to Tchaikovsky the man and inquires: To what degree is his music auto-biographical? Exploring his world, we'll discover little-known music by his colleagues Anton Arensky, Sergei Taneyev, and Paul Pabst. We'll even hear rare recordings of these composers performing the same works we'll hear in live performance – and of Tchaikovsky's own voice in excited conversation.

BNY Mellon Grand Classics: Tchaikovsky Festival Weekends

Matsuev Plays Tchaikovsky

February 4, 5, & 6, 2011 Heinz Hall Gianandrea Noseda, Conductor Danielle Pastin, soprano James Flora, tenor Denis Matsuev, piano Actors TBD Concert Prelude with Gianandrea Noseda and Festival Curator Joseph Horowitz: "Interpreting the B-flat minor Piano Concerto" (with excerpts from Ken Russell's film The Music Lovers) Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1 Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet duet for soprano, tenor and orchestra Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini Post-Concert Performance: Tchaikovsky/Pletnev - Suite from The Nutcracker (excerpts) Vakhtang Kodanashvili, piano This is the first weekend of PSO concerts as part the Tchaikovsky Festival. The composer's Romeo & Juliet will inspire romance as it depicts the balcony scene from Shakespeare's famous play. From the depths of Inferno, the tragic story of Francesca da Rimini finds sympathy in Tchaikovsky's fiery symphonic poem. Russian master Denis Matsuev takes the stage for Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, the opening of which is one of the most recognized in all of classical music.

Tchaikovsky Festival Finale

February 10, 11, & 12, 2011 Heinz Hall Manfred Honeck, Conductor Serge Zimmerman, violin Concert Prelude with Manfred Honeck and Festival Curator Joseph Horowitz Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 Post-Concert Artist Chat: Festival wrap-up with Manfred Honeck, Joseph Horowitz, Robert Fallon, and Festival artists The son of renowned violinist Frank Peter Zimmerman, Serge continues the family tradition of virtuosic performances in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. The powerful finale of Tchaikovsky's colorful Symphony No. 5 will close the Tchaikovsky Festival.

"Tchaikovsky the Man" – Screening and Conference

The screening and conference are free and open to general public.
Advanced registration is required. To register, please call 412.392.4900.
Registration deadline is Friday, Feb. 4 at 12 Noon.

Saturday February 5, 2011
10:30 AM to 5:00 PM
University of Pittsburgh, Bellefield Hall | Directions
315 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Jennifer Orchard, violin
Mikhail Istomin, cello
George Vatchnadze, piano

Commentary by Gianandrea Noseda
Joseph Horowitz, host

10:30 AM –12:30 PM: Ken Russell's brilliantly provocative 1970 Tchaikovsky film biography The Music Lovers (with commentary)

2:00 – 5:00 PM: Conference – "Interpreting Tchaikovsky"

Who was Tchaikovsky? Not so long ago, he was widely disparaged as sentimental, perverse, histrionic. Today, however, Tchaikovsky is more admired than deplored for his emotional frankness; if his music seems harried and insecure, so are we all. So it is, as well, with Tchaikovsky the human being: we understand his weaknesses; we do not avert our gaze in search of "nobility" or a "mature" detachment from life's woes.

Join us for a unique afternoon of film, historic recordings, discussion, and music in live performance, including Tchaikovsky's monumental Piano Trio in A minor, and presentations on the autobiographical content of his Fourth, Fifth, and Pathetique Symphonies.

Recitals

TCHAIKOVSKY: MUSIC & MELANCHOLY
Rodef Shalom Temple , Levy Hall | Directions
4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at 7:30 PM

Richard Kogan, M.D., lecturer and piano

In this lecture/concert, psychiatrist and pianist Dr. Richard Kogan explores the connection between Tchaikovsky's mental state and his musical output. The discussion will be illuminated by performance of some of his most beloved music.

THE VIRTUOSO TCHAIKOVSKY
Carnegie Mellon University, Kresge Recital Hall | Directions
College of Fine Arts Building
5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 7:30 PM

Joseph Horowitz, Festival Curator and host

Tchaikovsky/Pletnev : Suite from The Nutcracker (excerpts)
Tchaikovsky: Piano Sonata in G, Op. 37
Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence, Op. 70

An evening of stirring virtuosic music, with two powerful pianists who thrilled PSO audiences at the Rediscovering Rachmaninoff Festival of 2009. Edisher Savitski performs Tchaikovsky's heroic 35-minute Piano Sonata in G. Vakhtang Kodanashvili plays Mikhail Pletnev's pyrotechnical transcription of the Nutcracker Suite. Also on the program –the robust string sextet Souvenir of Florence

TCHAIKOVSKY AND HIS CIRCLE
University of Pittsburgh , Bellefield Hall | Directions
315 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 7:30PM

Jennifer Orchard, violin*
Mikhail Istomin, cello*
Vakhtang Kodanashvili, piano
Edisher Savitski, piano
George Vatchnadze, piano

*Members of the PSO

Joseph Horowitz, Festival Curator and host
With commentary by Anna Nisnevich, University of Pittsburgh, and excerpts from the Block cylinder recordings (1890 - 1894)

Taneyev: Prelude and Fugue in G sharp minor, Op.29
Arensky: Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 32
Arensky: Suite for Two Pianos, No. 1, Op. 15
Arensky: Suite for Two Pianos, No. 2, Op. 23 (excerpts)
Pabst: Concert Paraphrase on Eugene Onegin for Two Pianos, Op. 81

A rare opportunity to hear music by Sergei Taneyev, Anton Arensky, and Paul Pabst – towering figures in Tchaikovsky's Russia. Edisher Savitski and Vakhtang Kodanashvili, the unforgettable two-piano team from PSO's 2009 Rediscovering Rachmaninoff Festival, perform two-piano showcases by Arensky and Pabst. George Vatchnadze joins PSO members Jennifer Orchard and Mikhail Istomin in Arensky's succulent Piano Trio. Also: rare 1890s recordings of this music, by the composers themselves, will be auditioned and discussed.

THE POETIC TCHAIKOVSKY
Duquesne University, PNC Recital Hall | Directions
Mary Pappert School of Music, 1st Floor
600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282
Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 7:30PM

Guenko Guechev, bass-baritone
Kenneth Burky, piano
Vakhtang Kodanashvili, piano
Natasha Snitkovski, piano
George Vatchnadze, piano

Joseph Horowitz, Festival Curator and host

* Each movement of The Seasons will be preceded by readings of the related poetic epigraph in Russian and English.

Tchaikovsky's most delectable piano music, rarely played in the US, is his 12-month suite The Seasons – which we hear performed by three pianists in combination with the short poems that inspired each vignette. Guenko Guechev offers six Tchaikovsky songs, including his most famous: "None but the Lonely Heart."

LECTURES and MASTERCLASSES

The following events are free and open to general public. Reservations are NOT required.
For information, call 412.392.4876.

Tchaikovsky Festival Lecture by Joseph Horowitz
Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 1:30PM
Carnegie Mellon University, Kresge Recital Hall | Directions
College of Fine Arts Building
5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Piano Masterclass with George Vatchnadze
Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 3:00PM
Carnegie Mellon University, Alumni Recital Hall | Directions
College of Fine Arts Building
5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Piano Masterclass with George Vatchnadze
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 3:00PM
Duquesne University, PNC Recital Hall | Directions
Mary Pappert School of Music, 1st Floor
600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282

Mairi Thompson, Chair of the Fox Chapel Area High School Music Department, discusses the Tchaikovsky Festival.