The VSO presents Julia Fischer and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

The VSO Presents the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields with Julia Fischer

Vancouver BC ’Äì The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad present the legendary Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields orchestra ’Äì one of the world’Äôs most revered orchestras, on the fiftieth anniversary of their founding by Sir Neville Marriner. World-renowned violinist Julia Fischer leads from the violin in a beautiful program of Mozart, Bach and Walton. This much anticipated Vancouver debut takes place on February 15th, 8pm at the Orpheum Theatre. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Lower Mainland audiences to hear this legendary orchestra live in concert.

’ÄúMs. Fischer found an appealing balance between nobility of statement and rhapsodic freedom. Technically her playing was impressively accomplished and elegant, richly varied in colorings.’Äù

- New York Times

’Äú’Ķthe Academy of St Martin in the Fields responded with playing of quite remarkable weight, precision and fire.’Äù

- ClassicalSource.com

Julia Fischer’Äôs rendition of the Bach Concertos with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields will be featured in this special concert. It is also the subject of her newest recording which made news recently by becoming the highest-selling classical debut in iTunes history and subsequently hitting #1 on the Billboard’Äôs Classical Chart. At only 25-years old, Ms. Fischer is Germany’Äôs youngest Professor of Violin at the Hochschule fˆºr Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main and was named Gramophone magazine’Äôs youngest ever ’ÄúArtist of the Year’Äù in 2007. Julia Fischer recently made her debut in the BBC Proms at London’Äôs Royal Albert Hall.

The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields is celebrated for its technical brilliance and transcendent interpretations of the Classical and Baroque repertoire. Formed from a group of leading London musicians and working without a conductor, the Academy gave its first performance in its namesake church 50 years ago. It soon grew into one of the world’Äôs leading chamber orchestras and became famous for its award-winning recordings. The Academy visits Vancouver as part of its 10-date North American tour to mark its 50^th anniversary.

To view a video featuring Ms. Fischer talking about the Bach recording, please visit:

http://www.deccaclassics.com/features/juliafischer/index.htm

CONCERT INFO

Specials:

The VSO and Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad Present the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Orpheum Theatre, 8pm

Julia Fischer, soloist/leader

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra

Mozart Divertimento for Strings in F, K.138

JS Bach Violin Concerto in A minor, BMV 1041

JS Bach Violin Concerto in E Major, BMV 1042

Walton Sonata for Strings

Tickets $25 to $78.50 (Student, Senior and Subscriber discounts available)

Tickets available by phone at 604.876.3434 or online at www.vancouversymphony.ca

Co-Presented by:

Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad

BIOGRAPHIES

Julia Fischer, leader/violin

In summer 2007 Julia Fischer is featured as "Artist in Residence" at Germany's Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern where she will appear in concert, solo and duo recitals and chamber music. Similarly, she will both perform and teach at the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina. At the Aspen Music Festival Ms. Fischer performs in concert (Nicholas Maw Concerto) with Maestro David Zinman and in chamber music with pianist Jonathan Gilad and cellist Daniel Mˆºller-Schott. Returning to Europe, she will tour with the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields (Elgar concerto) as well as with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (Prokofiev Concerto No. 2 and Beethoven concerto). In September she returns to the Lucerne Music Festival with the San Francisco Symphony (Sibelius) and its music director Michael Tilson Thomas.

Highlights of the 2007-08 season include symphonic appearances with Marek Janowski, Jun Markl, Yakov Kreizberg, Neville Marriner, Christoph Poppen, Tugan Sokhiev, Yuri Temirkanov and Maestro Zinman (among others) with Czech Philharmonic (Dvorak), Danish Radio orchestra (Beethoven), Dresden Philharmonic (Shostakovich Concerto No 1), London Philharmonic Orchestra (Dvorak), Munich Philharmonic (Dvorak), Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (Shostakovich Concerto No 1), Orchestra National Capitole de Toulouse (Brahms), Orchestre National de Lyon (Mozart Concerto No. 5), Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Bartok Concertos No. 1 and 2), St. Petersburg Philharmonic (Glazunov), Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich (Dvorak), Vienna Symphony (Shostakovich Concerto No. 1). In the United States Ms. Fischer will tour with Maestro Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic (Beethoven) criss-crossing the country from New York to San Francisco as well as perform with the St. Louis Symphony (Dvorak).

The singularly most anticipated event of the 2007-08 season will be Julia Fischer's debut as a professional pianist. On a programme where she will also play the Glazunov Violin Concerto, Ms. Fischer will perform the Grieg Piano Concerto on 1 January 2008 with Sir Neville Marriner at the Alte Oper Frankfurt. Later the same week she will perform both concertos in Saint Petersburg under the baton of Nikolai Alexeev.

The season also includes numerous recitals throughout Germany, Spain and Italy with her long-time collaborator, pianist Milana Chernyavska, in additional to chamber music programmes in the United States and Europe. Ms. Fischer will also tour Europe with pianist Martin Helmchen in an all-Schubert program.

Looking to summer 2008, Ms. Fischer will make several important debuts: Tanglewood Music Festival, Blossom Festival, the BBC Proms at London’Äôs Royal Albert Hall and the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy. During the 2007-08 season PentaTone Records will release Julia Fischer's third volume of Mozart (Concertante and Concertone) with Maestro Kreizberg, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and soloist Gordan Nikolic (viola and violin). Two recent releases feature programmes of Brahms (the Violin Concerto and the Double Concerto with Mr. Mˆºller-Schott) and Tchaikovsky (Concerto for Violin, Valse-Scherzo for Violin & Orchestra, Serenade melancholique in B-flat minor and "Souvenir d'un lieu cher"). In its 20-Volume retrospective of great violists over the last century, entitled "Jahrhundert-Geiger’Äù, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung dedicated one volume to Julia Fischer. On DVD Ms. Fischer is showcased in an Opus Arte release of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" with the Academy of St. Martins in the Fields.

A student of famed violinist Ana Chumachenco, Julia Fischer is herself Germany's youngest Professor of Violin at the Hochschule fˆºr Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main. In 2005 she won Germany's coveted 'ECHO' Award for her recording of "Russian Concertos" by Khatchaturian, Prokofiev and Glazounov. In winter 2006 was named by BBC Music Magazine the "Best Newcomer of the Year". Great Britain's distinguished Gramophone Magazine pictured Julia Fischer on the front cover of their July 2006 issue as one of the major young emerging artists. Additionally, France’Äôs prestigious music journal, Diapason, has awarded Julia Fischer the 2006 ’ÄúDiapason d'Or l’Äôannˆ©e’Äù.

Julia Fischer makes her home in Munich, Germany.

The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Orchestra

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields was formed in 1958 as a small, conductor-less chamber ensemble. Led by Neville Marriner and attracting some of the finest players in London, the orchestra at first concentrated on repertoire from the Baroque era, developing a style of performance that launched the 1960’Äôs Baroque revival. The Academy was so named after the various concert-giving societies or ’ÄòAcademies’Äô that had flourished in 18th century London and the famous church in which it gave its first concert on 13 November 1959.

Only two years later it had secured its first recording contract, with the independent L’ÄôOiseau-Lyre label. This was to be the beginning of a literally record-breaking discography that now boasts well over 500 entries, making the Academy the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world. The Academy is particularly well-known for its Mozart recordings with Sir Neville Marriner including the multi award winning soundtrack to the film ’ÄòAmadeus’Äô. More recently the orchestra has won critical acclaim for its recordings of Bach Keyboard Concerti with pianist Murray Perahia, the Brahms and Stravinsky Violin concerti with Hilary Hahn and Sir Neville Marriner and concerti by Kurt Weill and Peteris Vasks with British violinist Anthony Marwood. Thanks to this huge recorded catalogue and widespread radio coverage, the Academy’Äôs name has become familiar to audiences across the globe.

Alongside its performances with Life President Sir Neville Marriner and Director Kenneth Sillito the Academy now collaborates with a number of guest directors including Murray Perahia, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Anthony Marwood, Julia Fischer and Julian Rachlin. The orchestra maintains a busy schedule of international touring alongside its concerts and outreach work in the UK and in the 2006/7 season will perform in France, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary, Holland, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic and the USA. In 1997 the orchestra was invited to perform during the official handover celebrations in Hong Kong and more recently was the first guest orchestra to appear at the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Since 2002 the Academy has been the resident orchestra at the Mostly Mozart Festival at London’Äôs Barbican Centre.

Unlike most major UK orchestras, the Academy receives no direct government subsidy and relies solely on its artistic integrity and commercial initiative for its continued success.