Marin Alsop Leads Baltimore Symphony in Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3 featuring Time for Three

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Program also includes selections from Brahms’ Hungarian Dances and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4

Baltimore, Md. (July 24, 2009)—Music director Marin Alsop leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3 featuring Time for Three, Brahms’s Hungarian Dances Nos. 1, 3 and 10 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 on Thursday, September 24 at 8:00 p.m. and Friday, September 25 at 8:00 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and Saturday, September 26 at 8:00 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore. These concerts will launch the season’s celebration of the diverse folk and ethnic traditions that have enriched and inspired classical music over the centuries. Please see below for complete program information.

Time for Three first gained attention when they provided entertainment after a lightning strike caused the lights to go out in the middle of a Philadelphia Orchestra concert. The classically trained members of Time for Three combine elements of American jazz, rock and folk music in their highly energetic performances. Time for Three joins the BSO to perform Jennifer Higdon’s Concerto 4-3, inspired by the bluegrass music of her childhood home in eastern Tennessee. The piece, which plays off the Time for Three name, was written specifically for the group and highlights the group’s chemistry and virtuosity.

A German composer, Brahms fostered a love of Hungarian gypsy music, which influenced many of his works. Hungarian Dances were originally piano improvisations on gypsy themes he heard while traveling central Europe. Of the 21 dances, Brahms orchestrated only three of them himself: Nos. 1, 3 and 10. Hugely popular, Hungarian Dances served to be his most profitable composition.

Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony opens in an ominous fanfare, representing Fate, a force he feels poisons and suffocates all happiness. Tchaikovsky orchestrated the piece following his disastrous marriage, and Fatum’s fanfare is echoed throughout the work, signifying despair. Despite the presence of Fatum in the last movement, however, the music is joyous and hopeful. Drawing upon his roots, Tchaikovsky incorporates a Russian folk song a recurrent the theme.

Tickets for these concerts range from $28 to $90. Tickets are available starting on September 1, 2009 through the BSO Ticket Office, 877.BSO.1444, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.

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