Guest conductor: Larry Rachleff
Guest conductor: Christoph Campestrini
Guest conductor: Junichi Hirokami
Guest conductor: Nir Kabaretti
WEBSITE: HTTP://SELDYCRAMERARTISTS.COM/
WEBSITE: CHRISTOPHCAMPESTRINI.COM
WEBSITE: TENNANTARTISTS.COM/JUNICHI-HIROKA-
WEBSITE: NIRKABARETTI.COM
BIO_RACHLEFF.HTML
BORN: LINZ, AUSTRIA
MI/INDEX.PHP
BORN: ISRAEL
BORN: ISRAEL
CURRENT HOME: FLORENCE, ITALY
BORN: TOKYO, JAPAN
CURRENT HOME: FLORENCE, ITALY
CURRENT HOME: HOUSTON, TEXAS
RPO CONCERT DATES: NOVEMBER 7 & 9
CURRENT HOME: FLORENCE, ITALY
RPO CONCERT DATES: NOVEMBER 21 & 23
RPO CONCERT DATES: OCTOBER 24 & 26
PROGRAM: STRAVINSKY, MOZART, TCHAIKOVSKY
RPO CONCERT DATES: NOVEMBER 14 & 16
PROGRAM: KEVIN PUTS (B. 1972), BEETHOVEN,
PROGRAM: COPLAND, BARBER, ASTOR PIAZZOLLA,
GUEST SOLOIST: BARRY SNYDER, PIANO
PROGRAM: RACHMANINOFF, STRAUSS, HINDEMITH
SAINT-SAENS
GUEST SOLOIST: ERIK BEHR, OBOE (RPO PRINCI-
GUEST SOLOIST: EDWARD ARRON, CELLO
MANUEL DE FALLA
Larry Rachleff really makes the case for composer Samuel Barber’s “The School for Scandal” as being one of the century’s “most significant compositions.” He points out that it’s a “very early piece” for Barber, written when he was only 21 years old, and yet it already reflected Barber’s “compositional craft and language.” Rachleff says Barber’s work is “all-American,” reflecting “the 1930’s, the jazz influence, the mix of incisive rhythms and colorful orchestrations.” Rachleff describes Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” as “25 minutes of the most powerful connection.” He expanded on why we share that experience, listening to Copland’s music, comparing it to Russians hearing Rachmaninoff or Germans hearing Bruckner. “With Copland, we know where he walked in Tanglewood in the summer and what jazz clubs he went to in Manhattan. Copland, Ives, Barber, and Gershwin were all soulful composers who were richly connected to the American experience.” “This kind of program requires an enormous range from the orchestra,” says Rachleff, “the flavors of Copland, the rhythms of Barber, the style of Piazzolla, and the wild aroma of Falla.” As a champion of public-music education, Rachleff sees that responsibility continuing into our job as the public to attend concerts. “Yes, there are war horses,” says Rachleff, “but we must find a way to be motivated by our own unique connection to the dramatic message of the piece.”
From Austria to Julliard, Columbia, and Yale, and then on to more than 100 orchestras on five continents, conductor Christoph Campestrini looks for the depth in every work. “It is important to know it stylistically and it is equally important to feel it; you must juxtapose both,” says Campestrini. With the RPO, he’ll take on an interesting program that includes a work written by Stravinsky, inspired by Tchaikovsky, and a major work of Tchaikovsky. “This is a double bonus,” says Campestrini. “You have a great composer of the 20th century, looking at a great composer of the 19th century, being performed in the 21st century. It’s all layers. It’s all part of one great tradition and cultural heritage of gorgeous musical and artistic concepts.” Campestrini finds it “most gratifying to reach a communion of emotion as one with the musicians and to communicate that to the audience” and he credits the RPO with the “innate ability to plunge into the emotional message right away, paired with the technical ability to execute the work.” He previously conducted the RPO in 2012.
PAL OBOE)
Although conductor Junichi Hirokami was not available to participate in these interviews by press time, we can take from his website his studies of conducting, piano, musicology, and viola at the Tokyo College of Music. He also had the opportunity to collaborate with legendary Russian pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy, including a tour of Japan with the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo). Since 2008, he has been the chief conductor of the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra (Japan).
Nir Kabaretti is a man of the world. He was born in Israel, studied in Vienna, has lived also in Madrid, calls Florence his current home, and is based part-time in the United States, where he is the music & artistic director of the Santa Barbara Symphony. He speaks Hebrew, German, Spanish, Italian, and English. Kabaretti calls it “fulfilling” to live his life on three continents every year. Kabaretti considers it a “plus” to “speak the language,” “to read in the way they wrote it,” and to “get into the head” of the composers. He considers this true whether he is interpreting the composition or he is selecting works for audiences. “What we would program in the United States is probably not what we would program in Tokyo or Argentina,” he says. “It helps to know the milieu where you are working.” Kabaretti conducted the RPO as part of the “Summer Serenades at Hochstein” series in 2012. He considers the RPO “up to any challenge.” Kabaretti says he is “extremely excited” to prepare musically and mentally for the upcoming performance, and he hopes to work with the RPO to bring the audience a performance that is “relevant to today, specific to the composer, and unique in its delivery.” continues on page 26
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