(POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.) – The Hudson Valley Philharmonic concludes its 53rd season on Saturday, May 4, 2013, at 8pm at the Bardavon with a concert featuring the continental United States premiere of Avner Dorman’s Cello Concerto, with Israeli-American cellist Inbal Segev, who commissioned the work, joining the orchestra. Also on the program, led by HVP music director Randall Craig Fleisher, are Debussy’s Prélude à “L’Après-midi d’un faune” (Afternoon of a Faun) and Aaron Copland’s Symphony No. 3.

Inbal Segev gave the world premiere of Avner Dorman’s new work in February with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra in Alaska. The Anchorage Daily News raved, “An extreme tension fills the piece from the very first bar and never lets up . . . Soloist Inbal Segev’s ferocious energy had the listeners on the edge of their seats as if they were watching a NASCAR race in sound . . . The liveliness of the work seemed to please the crowd, many of whom stood and clapped as the composer took his bows.”

Segev sought to commission fellow Israeli-American Avner Dorman to write a concerto for her because she was attracted to his music’s appeal to both the ear and the intellect. She says, “What captivated me originally about Avner’s work was the fact that it is so enjoyable, yet so sophisticated. He often uses Middle Eastern tonalities, which is an obvious draw for me; as an Israeli-American artist I try to find ways to show audiences around the world where I come from, sharing the beautiful and unique culture from my homeland. Avner’s concerto is different than anything I have done before. It is minimalist. The first and third movements are jazzy – even gritty. The second movement that comes between is haunting and dark.”

Avner Dorman describes his new piece for Segev as, “a concerto for a cello that forgot it was a cello.” He explains, “The cello is excited, at first, to break free of its historical baggage. The exuberance that accompanies this freedom is transformed into anxiety sometime during the first movement. The cello tries to recapture its old self, or whatever it can remember of it, in a passionate cadenza-like second movement. Despite genuine efforts, this is not possible, but the cello does find its new place, expression, and soul, in the final movement of the composition.”

Also, on Thursday, May 2, at 7:30pm at the Bardavon, there will be a free lecture-demonstration on the theme of Jewish Culture & History in Contemporary Classical Music, featuring composer Avner Dorman; cellist Inbal Segev; HVP Maestro Randall Craig Fleischer; Marist College’s Center for Lifetime Studies Music Teacher Leslie Gerber; Elisa Dugatkin, Cantor of Vassar Temple; and Rena Shapiro, Cantor of Temple Beth-El.

Randall Craig Fleischer is the dynamic, engaging music director of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and celebrates his 20th season with the HVP this year. He is a leading force in the classical music scene all over the United States. His charismatic personality and contagious love of music ignite orchestral brilliance in every concert he conducts. Fleischer has an active guest conducting career with many major orchestras in the United States and internationally including repeat engagements with the Israel Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Boston Pops, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Houston Symphony, and others. Additionally, Mr. Fleischer is also currently music director of the Anchorage Symphony and Youngstown Symphony Orchestra.

Equally committed to new repertoire for the cello and known masterworks, Inbal Segev brings interpretations that are both unreservedly natural and insightful to the vast range of solo and chamber music that she performs. In June 2012, she gave the U.S. premiere of Maximo Flugelman’s Cello Concerto led by Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival, in Virginia near Washington DC. She gave the U.S. premiere of English composer Sir Arthur Sullivan’s Cello Concerto in D Major, which was written in 1866 but was never published. She performed jazz musician and composer David Baker’s cello concerto at Town Hall in New York, and was the first cellist to perform Henri Dutilleux’s challenging Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher for solo cello at Carnegie Hall. She also gave the world premiere of Max Schubel’s Concerto for Cello, which was written for her (available on the Opus One label). Argentinean pianist and Grammy-winning composer Fernando Otero is at work on a Tango-inspired concerto for Segev. Segev, whose playing has been described as “characterized by a strong and warm tone . . . delivered with impressive fluency and style,” by The Strad and as having a “warm, pure and beautiful” tone by Strings magazine, has previously performed as soloist with orchestras including the Helsinki Philharmonic, Radio Symphony of Helsinki, Reutlingen Symphony, Dortmund Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Bangkok Symphony, and with all the major orchestras of her native Israel. She made debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic, led by Zubin Mehta, at age 17.

Avner Dorman has quickly risen to become one of the leading composers of his generation. Dorman’s unique approach to rhythm and timbre has attracted some of the world’s most notable conductors, including Zubin Mehta, Christoph Eschenbach, Riccardo Chailly, David Robertson, Andris Nelsons, Marin Alsop, and Justin Brown, to bring his music to audiences of the New York Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the San Francisco Symphony, the Musikverein, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Tokyo NHK Symphony, Salzburg Festival, Lucerne Festival, Cabrillo Music Festival, and many others. Dorman’s music achieves a rare combination of rigorous compositional construction while preserving the sense of excitement and spontaneity usually associated with jazz, rock, or ethnic music. His music is championed, toured and recorded by some of today’s finest soloists. Gil Shaham and Orli Shaham commissioned, recorded and regularly perform Niggunim, Dorman’s third violin sonata inspired by traditional Jewish themes. Memory Games, a violin solo written for Hilary Hahn as part of her Encores Project, is an audience favorite. Avi Avital’s performance of Dorman’s Mandolin Concerto on the NAXOS CD dedicated to Dorman’s Chamber Concerti was Grammy-nominated. Martin Grubinger’s signature performance of Dorman’s percussion concerto Frozen in Time continues to amaze international audiences and was televised in Japan by NHK and in Germany by Frankfurt HR Sinfonieorchester. Three Butterfly Songs, recorded by Dawn Upshaw and Bridget Kibbey for soprano and harp, is scheduled to be released in 2013. Dorman’s Cello Concerto is commissioned by Inbal Segev, Musica Nova, Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia.
It was 78 years ago that the Dutchess Philharmonic Community Orchestra was founded by four local amateur musicians, and 53 years ago that conductor Claude Monteux elevated the orchestra to a fully-professional ensemble, renaming it the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. This also represents the HVP’s 14th year under Bardavon management and the 20th under the music direction of conductor Randall Craig Fleischer.

 

Tickets for the HVP’s American Premiere range in price from $31 to $53. Student Rush tickets will be available one hour prior to the concert for just $10 per student and $20 per accompanying adult. Tickets can be purchased at:

 

Bardavon Box Office               UPAC Box Office

 

35 Market Street                                  602 Broadway

 

Poughkeepsie                         Kingston

 

845.473.2072                          845.339.6088

 

or through TicketMaster 800.745.3000 or www.ticketmaster.com

 

Audience members are invited to a pre-concert talk with the conductor and members of the orchestra one hour prior to the performance.