Saturday concert sponsored by
FLORIDA BLUE
MASTERWORKS series J AC K SON V I L L E SY M P HONY ORCH E STRA Courtney Lewis, Music Director Designate, Haskell Endowed Chair Michael Butterman, Resident Conductor, Jim Van Vleck Endowed Chair
Friday, october 24 l SATURDay, october 25, 2014 l 8 PM
“Words on Music” one hour prior to each Masterworks concert Robert E. Jacoby Symphony Hall, Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts
violin virtuosity larry rachlEff, CONDUCTOR JAMES EHNES, VIOLIN Jean
Violin Concerto in D Minor, op. 47
SIBELIUS Allegro moderato (D Minor) Adagio di molto (B-flat Major) Allegro ma non tanto (D Major)
James Ehnes, violin
INTERMISSION Sergei Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, op. 100 PROKOFIEV Andante (B-flat Major) Allegro marcato (D Minor) Adagio (F Major) Allegro giocoso (B-flat Major) Latecomers will be seated after completion of the piece. Cellular phones and personal electronics must be turned off when inside the concert hall. Cameras and audio/visual recording are not permitted and personal devices may not be used as such. We appreciate your cooperation in avoiding any extraneous noises during concerts.
Dana’s Limousine is the official transportation of the Jacksonville Symphony. Omni Jacksonville Hotel is the official hotel of the Jacksonville Symphony. One Enterprise Center Garage is the official parking company of the Jacksonville Symphony.
Notes on the Program by Edward Lein
Jean Sibelius
Finnish composer and conductor Born: 1865, Tavestehus, Finland; died: 1957, Järvenpää, Finland
Violin Concerto in D Minor, op. 47 Apart from saunas, Nokia phones and the Angry Birds video game, the music of Jean Sibelius is Finland’s most celebrated export, and Sibelius’s Violin Concerto is the most-frequently recorded of all 20th century works that share the title. But given its inauspicious debut, the concerto’s current popularity was hardly a foregone conclusion.
Sibelius was not yet three when his father died of typhus, forcing his pregnant mother to uproot her two (soon to be three) small children and move in with her mother, grandmother, sister and two aunts. It was a musical household, and although the future composer of Finlandia displayed no prodigious talent, by age five he had SIBELIUS (Continued on next page)
26 jaxsymphony.org l SEPTEMBER l October l november 2014
James Ehnes
Masterworks guest artists sponsored by Ruth Conley
Known for his virtuosity and probing musicianship, violinist James Ehnes has performed in over 30 countries on five continents, appearing regularly in the world’s great concert halls and with many of the most celebrated orchestras and conductors. The Times, London acclaimed of his “playing of phenomenal control, allied to musicianship of the highest order.” In the 2014-15 season Mr. Ehnes performs concerts with the Royal Philharmonic, Danish National, Melbourne, Sydney, NHK, Vienna, and Boston symphony orchestras, with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and recitals in Prague, London, Toronto, Fort Worth and Montreal. He also appears with the Ehnes Quartet across North America and will lead the winter and summer festivals of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, where he is the artistic director. With an extensive discography of more than 35 recordings featuring music ranging from J.S. Bach to John Adams, his recent projects include Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto paired with Shostakovich’s String Quartets Nos. 7 & 8, an American Chamber Music disc, and the final volume of his four disc collection of the music of Béla Bartók. His recordings have been honored with many international awards, including a Grammy, a Gramophone, and nine Juno Awards. Mr. Ehnes was born in 1976 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. He began violin studies at age four, and at nine became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin. He studied with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and at The Juilliard School. James Ehnes is a Member of the Order of Canada. Mr. Ehnes plays the “Marsick” Stradivarius of 1715. He currently lives in Bradenton, Florida, with his wife and daughter. He appears by arrangement with Opus 3 Artists. Log on to jamesehnes.com for more information.