February 22, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Richmond Symphony Features Grammy Award Nominee Pianist Adam Neiman in Rachmaninoff 1 & Tchaikovsky 6

Altria Masterworks: Rachmaninoff 1 & Tchaikovsky 6
Saturday, March 9 at 8pm
Dominion Energy Center for the Performing Arts

February 27, 2019 – Richmond, VA: Grammy Award Nominee and Pianist Adam Neiman will join the Richmond Symphony for the Altria Masterworks concert: Rachmaninoff 1 & Tchaikovsky 6 on Saturday, March 9 at 8pm at the Dominion Energy Center for the Performing Arts. This program will feature Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.1 in F-sharp Minor, Op.1, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, and Music Director Steven Smith’s Kataklysmos, who will also conduct the concert. Experience these compelling pieces that showcase the emotional breadth of musical performance and leave inspired by the power of live music.

Pianist Adam Neiman has captured the attention of audiences and critics alike since his Los Angeles debut at age 11 in Royce Hall. He is hailed as one of the foremost pianists of his generation, with a distinguished international career and an encyclopedic repertoire that spans more than sixty concerti. Radio and television broadcasts featuring Neiman regularly span international airwaves, and his live performance of the Brahms Rhapsodies, Op. 79, at the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival on NPR’s “Performance Today” was nominated for a Grammy Award. Having performed with a number of leading orchestras and ensembles, Neiman is celebrated for his commanding musicianship and exceptional technique.

Rachmaninoff wrote and performed his First Piano Concerto while he was still a student at the Moscow Conservatory. After a disappointing initial reception, the composer eventually reworked the piece, refining its orchestral design, while maintaining its characteristically youthful enthusiasm. The piano’s dominant role in the piece was a clear vehicle to show off Rachmaninoff’s talent as a pianist. With effusive piano passages and sumptuous orchestral accompaniment, the listener will hear the emergence of all the musical skills for which the composer had become known.

After he finished writing Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique,” Tchaikovsky confessed, “I consider this symphony the best thing I have ever done. In any case, it is the most deeply felt. And I love it as I have never loved any of my compositions.” In this piece, Tchaikovsky attempted to capture the essence of life and the fullness of human feeling. The first movement is characterized by an initial theme that is full of impulsive passion, followed by a second theme that is slow and hushed. The second and third movements divert from a traditional symphony, with a distorted waltz and an unexpected march, both based on descending melodic motives, giving it a brooding and sorrowful character. The symphony ends with the same gloominess with which it begins.

Richmond Symphony audiences know Steven Smith as their Music Director. However, he is also an award-winning composer. Steven Smith says through his music, he attempts to convey the magnificence, breadth and life force of the natural world. “I believe in the inter-connectedness of all things. Through my compositions I hope to raise overall awareness of the importance of our environment, its residents, human and otherwise, and foster an appreciation and reverence for the world we all share,” he says. Smith’s Kataklysmos was inspired by the ancient and continuing effects of geologic forces upon the earth’s landscape. Moving through volcanic eruption, stillness, evolution, and re-formation, the piece ends with boisterous rhythmic activity, reflecting emotions akin to childhood feelings of awe at being surrounded by such a magical natural realm.

Tickets start at $10 for adults and are free for active military members and for children 18 and under. Visit richmondsymphony.com or call 804.788.1212 for more information.

The Masterworks series is sponsored by Altria. The media sponsor for this series is Richmond Times-Dispatch. The Guest Artist sponsor is William Towers Watson.

Saturday, March 9, 2019 at 8:00 PM

Richmond Symphony
Masterworks 6

Steven Smith, conductor

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About the Richmond Symphony

Kicking off its 61st Season in September 2018, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and more than 260 students in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra programs. Each season, more than 200,000 members of the community enjoy live concerts and radio broadcasts. The Symphony also provides educational outreach programs to over 55,000 students and teachers each year. The Symphony was recently named one of 21 American orchestras selected as a leader in orchestra innovation by the League of American Orchestras through its Futures Fund Initiative. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Visit www.richmondsymphony.com for more information.

Contacts:
Erin Frye
Marketing and PR Manager
804.788.4717 ext. 121
efrye@richmondsymphony.com

Scott Dodson
Director of Advancement and Patron Communications
804.788.4717 ext. 120
sdodson@richmondsymphony.com