Dear Friends:

As a follow-up to our very exciting 30th Anniversary Birthday Party weekend to start the New Year, we are preparing for another astonishing mix of music as our February programs fast approach. ProMusica will be joined by two of the world’s most admired string soloists as well as one of the world’s greatest living composers.

The upcoming concert weekend includes an Artist Circle recital on Friday, February 6th, our second Josephinum concert on Saturday, February 7th, and our next Southern Theatre extravaganza on Sunday, February 8th. Sunday afternoon we will also be hosting a StopLookListen concert at the Columbus Museum of Art.

You simply must plan on attending as many of these events as your schedule will permit. Our guest soloists are violinist Vadmim Gluzman and cellist Gary Hoffman.

Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman, in technique and sensibility, harkens back to the Golden Age of violinists of the 19th and 20th centuries, while possessing the passion and energy of the 21st century. Lauded by both critics and audiences as a performer of great depth, virtuosity and technical brilliance, he has appeared throughout the world as a soloist. Early in his career Gluzman enjoyed the encouragement and support of Isaac Stern, and in 1994 he received the prestigious Henryk Szeryng Foundation Career Award. Gluzman plays the extraordinary 1690 ex-Leopold Auer Stradivarius, on extended loan to him through the generosity of the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Gary Hoffman combines instrumental mastery, great beauty of sound, and a poetic sensibility in his distinctive and memorable performances. Hoffman achieved international renown following his victory as the first American to win the Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris in 1986. He has appeared as soloist with the world's leading orchestras, including those of Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, London, Montreal, Toronto, and San Francisco, collaborating with such celebrated conductors as André Previn, Charles Dutoit, James Levine, Kent Nagano, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Andrew Davis, and Herbert Blomstedt.

On Friday evening you have a rare opportunity to meet and hear Gluzman and Hoffman in the intimate surroundings of a beautiful home. This series has become one of the most talked about social and musical opportunities in Central Ohio. If you regularly attend, mark your calendar. If you have yet to experience this combination of food, fellowship, and chamber music call the ProMusica office ASAP to find out how you can be a part of the festivities.

On Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the glorious Turibius Chapel of the Pontifical College Jospehinum, Gluzman and Hoffman will each play solo Bach as well as team up for Vivaldi’s vivacious Concerto for Violin, Violoncello, and Orchestra.

On Sunday at 7:00 p.m. these giants of the classical music world will partner for what promises to be a memorable musical occasion, a performance of the immense Double Concerto by Romantic master Johannes Brahms. The scope of this work is huge for a chamber orchestra – sonically and artistically. Our approach will be similar to performances of works by Brahms offered by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Sir Charles Mackerras, who did extensive research into the performance practices and the actual size of the orchestra as it was during Brahms' own lifetime. He patterned the performances on his highly acclaimed Telarc recordings on his findings, taking as his model the Court Orchestra of Meiningen, the orchestra with which Brahms was associated for a large part of his life.

Haydn’s famous Farewell Symphony, No. 45 (a treat of both sound and “mini-drama”) will be featured on both Saturday and Sunday evening. Our large-scale Southern Theatre program will also include Michael Daugherty’s spectacular concerto for chamber orchestra, Tell My Fortune. This is a showpiece for our ensemble of the highest order, a colorfully orchestrated and rhythmically driving piece that we commissioned and recorded as part of our 25th anniversary celebration. Every member of the orchestra has lots to do. The second movement features our two wonderful flutists. The entire work features a large variety of percussion sounds, including tuned crystal water glasses (yes, like the ones you have in your dining room china cabinet). The composer will be in attendance. He will join me and Boyce Lancaster following this program for our post-concert Insight time of “casual conversation.” You will most certainly want to interact with this “giant” of a composer (Michael is about six feet five inches tall.) We will all agree that Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn and Brahms are certainly four of the finest composers of all time. We will not know for generations to come whether the music of Michael Daugherty joins this elite club. I, for one, will cast my vote for Michael’s music as a splendid representative of art created in our time and place.

As you can tell, all of us at ProMusica are incredibly excited about these upcoming concerts, the continuation of what has started and continued as an astonishing celebration of three decades of innovative programs and artistic excellence. The audiences have been growing, which is very exciting for all concerned – those playing and those in attendance.

So, spread the word. Invite some friends . . . invite lots of friends. I know that you are in for some special treats. Thanks for your continuing support of ProMusica! Enjoy the music.

Cheers,



Timothy Russell
Music Director