Share
The Delaware Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will resume full-orchestra concerts with two performances of ?New World? at The Grand Opera House in downtown Wilmington.
Dvo?ák
The program features Dvo?ák’s New World Symphony and the DSO’s own pianist Lura Johnson as soloist for Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1. DSO Music Director David Amado will conduct.
?When the DSO had its start more than a century ago as the Tankopanikum Orchestra, Dvo?ák’s New World Symphony, Humperdinck’s Hänsel and Gretel, and Rachmaninoff’s First Piano Concerto were new,? Amado said. ?Now those works are classics, having withstood the test of time. The DSO, too, has withstood the test of time. After months of silence, I am thrilled to be conducting my wonderful colleagues once again. We are ready to make music that will transport our audience, and remind all of us on both sides of the proscenium that great art—great music—can?t be silenced for long.?
?It’s a whole new world at the DSO, and our decision to open the Classical Series with the New World Symphony reflects that. We have a new season and a new plan, and we have made a number of changes that will help us better serve our patrons and help return the DSO to solid financial footing,? said Diana Milburn, the DSO’s general manager.
?As we continue to rebuild from the financial difficulties that emerged earlier this year, we are thrilled to be able to fill the stage and the air with the musical magic that Maestro David Amado and our musicians are so exceptional at creating.?
Among the most notable aspects of the DSO’s ?new world? are changes in concert times, dates, and venues. Friday evening concerts will start one-half hour earlier, at 7:30pm instead of at 8pm. Saturday evening performances have been replaced with Sunday afternoon concerts, which will start at 2pm.
The concerts in January will be performed at The Grand Opera House. The other two programs in the series, ?Beethoven’s World? in March and ?Tchaikovsky’s World? in April, will be performed at the Laird Performing Arts Center at Tatnall School in Greenville, Delaware.
?Many of our patrons have said they would prefer to attend concerts during daylight instead of evening hours and, if they do attend an evening concert, they would like it to start and end earlier. In addition, many have asked us to perform in a variety of venues, not just at The Grand,? Milburn said. ?Given our abbreviated season this year, the time was right to test the viability of these options.?
All concerts in the Classical Series will be led by Maestro Amado, who will host a pre-concert lecture for ticket holders one hour before curtain time at each performance. Tickets for all concerts in the series are on sale now. Concert details are as follows:
NEW WORLD
featuring Lura Johnson, piano:
Friday, January 25, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. at The Grand Opera House
Sunday, January 27, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. at The Grand Opera House
Humperdinck, Prelude to Hänsel and Gretel
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-Sharp Minor, Lura Johnson, soloist
Dvo?ák, Symphony No. 9, Op. 95, E Minor, ?From the New World?
Subscriptions are available for the Classical Series of three Friday evening performances or three Sunday afternoon performances. Subscriptions to all three programs are $165 each, plus a $5 handling fee per order. Subscriptions can be ordered from The Grand Opera House Box Office at 302.652.5577 or in person at the box office at 818 North Market Street in downtown Wilmington. (Subscriptions are not available for online purchase.)
Single tickets are $60 each, plus a $4 handling fee per ticket. Single tickets may be purchased through The Grand’s Box Office or the DSO’s Web site at www.delawaresymphony.org.
In addition to the upcoming Classical Series concerts, the DSO will perform chamber concerts in February, March, and April 2013. Tickets for the Chamber Concert Series, which is sponsored by DuPont, are sold out.
