Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Performs World Premiere of Local Composer Jonathan Leshnoff’s Starburst, April 29–30

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Acclaimed violinist Gil Shaham performs Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto

Music Director Marin Alsop will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a program celebrating Russian music on Thursday, April 29 at 8 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore and Friday, April 30 at 8 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The program features the world premiere of Baltimore composer Jonathan Leshnoff’s Starburst and renowned violinist Gil Shaham in Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto. The program concludes with Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony. Maestra Alsop will also explore this iconic symphony in depth during the final Off the Cuff concert of the 2009-2010 season on Saturday, May 1 at 7 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

Co-commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Kansas Symphony Orchestra and the Fundación Orquesta de Extremadura (Spain), Jonathan Leshnoff’s Starburst receives its world premiere at these concerts. An associate professor of music at Towson University and a composer-in-residence with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Leshnoff is also a graduate of Johns Hopkins, the Peabody Institute and the University of Maryland. His energetic Starburst begins with a lively rhythm in the upper woodwinds and strings, and as the title implies, builds upon the excitement and vigor from the orchestra, before ending with an exhilarating musical explosion.

Critically acclaimed violinist Gil Shaham joins the BSO in Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto. The work’s neoclassical style is imitative of a Baroque chamber work and allows for frequent duets between Mr. Shaham and members of the orchestra.

The audience-favorite Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 concludes the program. Comprised of four intricate movements, the violin central to each, Rachmaninoff brings together a wide variety of emotions representing his experiences as a struggling symphonist. Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 will also be performed in an Off the Cuff concert on May 1.

Tickets for these performances range from $26 to $85 and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 877.BSO.1444, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.

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