The ESO's performance season opens with momentous music from film - Sept. 18 & 19

Classic Landmarks Masters
Momentous music from the world of film marks
the beginning of the 2009-2010 ESO performance season

The Red Violin
Friday, September 18th ’Äì 7:30 pm
Saturday, September 19th ’Äì 8:00 pm

Edmonton, AB ’Ķ Your Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) opens the 2009-2010 performance season with film scores adapted into concert music by distinguished composers. ESO Music Director William Eddins begins his 5th season leading the orchestra through pieces rich in complex emotions and vivid landscapes. Special guests George Gao, Martin Riseley, Sara Davis Buechner, and Jeremy Spurgeon join your ESO on stage at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music.


In this Classic Landmarks Masters series opener, Tan Dun’Äôs Crouching Tiger Concerto features one of the most innovative, exciting, and respected musical talents in the world today. Erhu master George Gao creates passionate sounds, exploiting the instrument’Äôs expressive range in this Oscar-winning score.


Martin Riseley, currently on a one-year leave of absence as ESO Concertmaster, returns to the Winspear stage as guest soloist in John Corigliano’Äôs Red Violin Chaconne. Derived from music of the Canadian film, The Red Violin - which received the 1999 Academy Award for Best Original Score ’Äì Riseley exposes the anger, betrayal, love, and sacrifice the violin brought to its owners as the history of the instrument unfolds in the film.


Gershwin’Äôs Second Rhapsody, also original film music from the 1931 film Delicious, offers an intensely integrated and compelling piano persona that pianist Sara Davis Buechner tackles with ease. The stunning Davis Concert Organ is showcased in the Canadian premiere of Howard Shore’Äôs new Fanfare for Organ and Brass, performed by organist Jeremy Spurgeon.


Following Friday's performance, join us for Afterthoughts, an informal discussion in the Main Lobby with Bill Eddins, Martin Riseley, George Gao and Sara Davis Buechner. Learn more about the performance on Saturday at Symphony Prelude ’Äì 7:15 pm in the Upper Circle (Third Level) Lobby.


Ticket prices for this performance range from $20 ’Äì $69 (agency fees apply). Student and senior $20 rush tickets are on sale, subject to availability, two hours prior to performance time. Tickets are available through the Winspear Centre Box Office at (780) 428-1414 or online at edmontonsymphony.com.


The next performance of the Classic Landmarks Masters series takes place on Saturday, October 3rd, with acclaimed American cellist Julie Albers, Bill Eddins, and your ESO in Brahms’Äô 2nd Symphony.


The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, marking its 58th season in 2009-2010, has taken its place as one of Canada's foremost orchestral ensembles. Its current roster includes 56 musicians from Canada and around the world, performing a wide-ranging repertoire from the great classical masterworks to pops and children's concerts. The presence of the orchestra and its enrichment of the community's quality of life are key elements in the stature and profile of Edmonton on the national and international scene.