The program includes Rainbow Body, a 2000 work by
contemporary composer Christopher Theofanidis, as well as Mozart’s Piano
Concerto No. 23, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5. The concert takes place at 8
p.m. in downtown Asheville’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium.
Butorac is the second of six
finalists for the Asheville Symphony’s music director position to conduct an
audition concert. The audience will be asked to give feedback via a survey
after the concert. The four remaining finalists will conduct concerts in
February, March, April and May.
Praised by the Westdeutsche Zeitung
for his “exceptional combination of passion, elegance, and well-timed pacing,”
Maestro Butorac has established himself as an exciting conductor, in demand
with European and American orchestras. He currently serves as the music
director of both the Tallahassee and Missoula symphony orchestras. He has
appeared at prestigious venues such as the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Gran Teatro
Nacional of Lima, Belgrade’s Kolarac Hall, Teatro Magnani in Italy, as well as
at the Tartu, Aspen and Brevard summer music festivals. He has collaborated
with soprano Renee Fleming, cellist Colin Carr, and Oscar-winning actor J.K.
Simmons.
Opening Butorac’s program is
Christopher Theofanidis’ Rainbow Body,
a recent work that fuses Buddhist philosophy with medieval chant. Butorac describes
the piece as “a dramatic journey from dark reflection to an explosion of
orchestral color and light.”
According to its composer, Rainbow Body was born of his fascination
with medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen's music (the principal melody of Rainbow Body is loosely based on one of
her chants), and the Tibetan Buddhist concept of "Rainbow Body,"
which is that when an enlightened person dies physically, his or her body is
absorbed directly back into the universe as pure light.
Rewinding roughly 200 years, the
next work on the program is Mozart’s popular and powerful Piano Concerto No. 23
in A major featuring internationally renowned pianist Lisa Smirnova. The
concerto’s three movements take audiences on an emotional journey that teems
with colorful characters and contrasts.
Since her debut at Carnegie Hall
at the age of 20, Smirnova has been a sought-after soloist on stages around the
world. She is also the director of the Youth Talents Program at the Robert
Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Sergey Prokofiev’s dramatic
Symphony No. 5 rounds out the evening’s program. Composed during the turmoil of
World War II, the Russian composer’s symphony embodies the program’s theme,
“versus.” Butorac notes that it “pits lyricism versus rhythm, heroism against
pathos, all while whirling in Prokofiev’s signature rhythmic intensity.” The
symphony’s three movements provide plenty of opportunities to highlight
soloists and solo sections within the ranks of the Asheville Symphony.
Single tickets for all concerts
are $24-69, depending on seating section (reduced youth pricing is available).
Single tickets and season ticket packages can be purchased online at
ashevillesymphony.org, by phone at 828-254-7046, or in person at the U.S.
Cellular Center box office at 87 Haywood Street.
The Asheville Symphony Orchestra
performs and promotes symphonic music for the benefit, enjoyment and education
of the people of Western North Carolina. The ASO presents concerts in the
2,300-seat Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville’s U.S. Cellular Center. Related
organizations include the Asheville Symphony Guild, Asheville Symphony Chorus,
Asheville Symphonettes, and education initiatives such as the Asheville Symphony
Youth Orchestra, Music in the Schools, Spotlight on Young Musicians, Symphony
Talks, and pre-concert lectures.
Masterworks 3: Versus
Saturday, November 18, 2017 • 8 p.m.
Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
Darko Butorac, conductor
Lisa Smirnova, piano
Program:
Theofanidis Rainbow Body
Mozart Piano Concerto
No. 23
Prokofiev Symphony No. 5
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