Curtis Symphony Orchestra Presents NY Premiere of Pulitzer-Winning Violin Concerto by Jennifer Higdon (’88) with Hilary Hahn (’99) at Carnegie Hall

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NY Premiere on Feb 15th

“Hilary Hahn gives a characteristically brilliant performance, mixing clarity, sensitivity, and energy. ... [Higdon’s] concerto itself is a knockout – a canny, evocative, and exciting score that marks a major addition to the repertoire.” — Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle

The Curtis Institute of Music presents the New York premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Violin Concerto, winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music, at Carnegie Hall on February 15, 2011. The concerto’s dedicatee, Curtis alumna and two-time Grammy Award-winner Hilary Hahn (’99), will perform the work, which was co-commissioned from Higdon, a faculty member and alumna, by Curtis in collaboration with several major American orchestras. The concert by the Curtis Symphony Orchestra also includes Hindemith’s Konzertmusik for brass and strings and Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. Juanjo Mena, chief conductor designate of the BBC Philharmonic, will lead the performance.

Now holder of the Curtis Institute’s Rock Chair in Composition, Jennifer Higdon (b.1962) is one of a long line of Curtis graduates to become a major voice in contemporary composition; her fellow alumni include Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, and Ned Rorem. One of the most prolific and frequently performed American composers alive today, Higdon is having a momentous year. Two months before becoming only the fourth woman to win the Pulitzer, the nation’s most prestigious classical music prize, her Percussion Concerto was awarded the Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition; as the New York Times observed, “Higdon’s vivid, attractive works have made her a hot commodity.”

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