Shenandoah Conservatory presents world-renowned violinist Gidon Kremer and his exceptional chamber orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, for a special performance at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, in Armstrong Concert Hall on the campus of Shenandoah University. The performance will culminate a three-day residency at Shenandoah University and launch the ensemble’s twentieth anniversary tour of North America.
In 1997, Austria’s legendary Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival was witness to a small revolution when the award-winning violinist Gidon Kremer presented a brand new orchestra: Kremerata Baltica. Comprised of twenty-three young players from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, the orchestra conquered the discerning audience, injecting new blood into the festival with its exuberance, energy and joy in playing. Twenty years later, this talented group of musicians has developed into one of the best international chamber orchestras of its time, and has cemented its international reputation in major concert halls around the world.
“Gidon Kremer and his chamber orchestra are one of the finest classical ensembles touring the United States this season,” said Artistic Director for Performing Arts Live Courtney Reilly. “To be able to host them for three days, and to give our students and community members access to their creative talent and artistic precision, is a great honor.”
In addition to the culminating performance on Tuesday, Jan. 31, the residency includes open rehearsals and masterclasses, a Q&A with Kremer, and other opportunities to meet the artists. The Tuesday evening concert, titled “Russia: Masks and Faces,” grew out of a collaboration with Russian painter Maxim Kantor. It features works by composers who Kremer has championed throughout his career, including Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” Arvo Pärt’s “Fratres” for violin, strings and percussion, Mieczysław Weinberg’s Chamber Symphony No. 4, op. 153 for string orchestra with clarinet and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade Melancolique,” arranged for violin and strings by Leonid Desyatnikov. The performance ends with “Serenade” for solo violin by Valentin Silvestrov featuring Kremer.
Tickets for each performance are $25 general admission, $22 senior citizens and $10 for military, students, and youth. Tickets and information are available at the Shenandoah Conservatory Box Office, (540) 665-4569, located in the lobby of Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre and online at conservatoryperforms.org.
For a full calendar of events at Shenandoah Conservatory, visit conservatoryperforms.org or on Facebook under Shenandoah Conservatory.
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