BEETHOVEN’S “EROICA” PROGRAM CHANGE: Violinist Sergej Krylov cancels due to visa problems; Corey Cerovsek fills in on Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 2

For Immediate Release:  April 9, 2013
Media Contacts:   Sally Cohen, 585-749-1795, sally@sallycohenpr.com, @PR4Arts
RPO Info:  rpo.org, facebook.com/SuperRPO, twitter.com/SuperRPO, rpo-land.blogspot.com

Rochester, NY – The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) announces that guest violinist Sergej Krylov must cancel his appearance on the Beethoven’s “Eroica” program Thursday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 20 at 8 p.m. in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre due to visa problems. Replacing Krylov on Polish composer Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880)’s best-known work – his Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 22 – will be Corey Cerovsek, who recorded the romantic piece in 2008.

David Mermelstein from the New York Times wrote more than a decade ago:  "Not every 26-year-old fiddler can imbue Henryk Wieniawski’s thrilling violin pieces with the authority Corey Cerovsek manages. Mr. Cerovsek, a Canadian, tackles eight of the best known miniatures with a virtuoso’s sang-froid, investing each with technical precision and warmth."

Cerovsek, who now resides in Paris, was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to Austrian parents who emigrated to Canada.  He began learning to play the violin at age five, and at age 9, made his debut with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. At age 12, he was the youngest student ever to receive a gold medal upon graduating from the University of Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music.  That same year, Cerovsek was accepted at Indiana University, where he received bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and music at age 15, masters in both at 16, and completed his doctoral course work in mathematics and music at age 18. Concurrently he studied piano and, until 1997, frequently appeared in concert performing on both instruments.

In 1992, Cerovsek was the recipient of the Virginia-Parker Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts. He was nominated for a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance in 2006, and his recording of the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas, with pianist Paavali Jumppanen, received numerous awards including the 2008 MIDEM Classical Music Award for Best Chamber Music. The Brahms Violin Sonatas, also with Jumppanen, will be released in late 2013.

Working with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Charles Dutoit, Michael Tilson Thomas, Neeme Järvi, Andrew Litton, Yoel Levi, and Jesús López-Cobos, Cerovsek has performed in North America with the orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Atlanta, Baltimore, Montréal, Vancouver, Toronto and many others.  Internationally, he’s performed the Israel Philharmonic; Prague Symphony; Hong Kong Philharmonic; Residentie Orkest of the Hague; Berlin Symphony; Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Symphonies; Bournemouth Symphony; Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Poitou-Charentes and the Montpellier Festival Orchestra.

In recital, Cerovsek has performed frequently at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston), the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theatre and the Frick Collection (New York), the Place des Arts (Montréal), the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra “Debut Series,” Wigmore Hall (London) and the Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris). He’s also an avid chamber musician, regularly appearing at the festivals of Kuhmo (Finland), Verbier (Switzerland), Tanglewood (USA), Divonne (France) and Stavanger (Norway), as well as the Spoleto Festivals (USA and Italy).  He has been featured on NBC’s Tonight Show, the PBS special Musical Encounters and CBS’s Sunday Morning.  More information is available at coreycerovsek.com.

Previous concert information:  Tickets start at $22 ($10 student tickets) and are available in person at the Eastman Theatre Box Office (433 East Main Street) or at area Wegmans; by phone at (585) 454-2100; or online at rpo.org.

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 28-year-old guest conductor Courtney Lewis is founder and music director of Boston’s acclaimed Discovery Ensemble, a chamber orchestra whose mission is to introduce inner-city school children to classical music while bringing new and unusual repertoire to established concert audiences.  Lewis is also associate conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra, where he regularly conducts Young People’s concerts, outdoor concerts and others.  At age 23, he made his major American orchestra debut with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and he since has conducted (among many others):  the Atlanta, Alabama, Jacksonville and Milwaukee symphonies; Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra; and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

"I am very excited about making my debut with the RPO – not only because of the great orchestra, but because we will spend a week with what is for me probably Beethoven’s greatest masterpiece, the ‘Eroica,’” says Maestro Lewis, of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, “Eroica,” Op. 55 (Italian for “heroic”).

The program also includes the Rochester debut of American composer Margaret Brouwer’s Remembrances, which was commissioned and premiered by the Roanoke Symphony in 1996.  The tone poem is an elegy and a tribute to Brouwer’s great friend, Robert Stewart, who was a musician, a composer and a sailor.

“It was such a delight to spend time in Rochester last spring when the RPO premiered my Caution Ahead – Guard Rail Out,” says the vibrant 73-year old. “Working with the excellent staff, and at the talks I gave to patrons, I made many friends, so it is a pleasure to know that Remembrances will be shared with them.”

Brouwer’s work has earned praise for its lyricism, musical imagery and emotional power. She has received an Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, was named a Guggenheim Fellow, and was awarded an Ohio Arts Council Individual Fellowship. In January 2006, Naxos released a CD of her orchestral music called Aurolucent Circles, featuring percussionist Evelyn Glennie and the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Many of the U.S.’s most distinguished ensembles regularly program her works, and they’ve been played by the Seattle, Dallas, Detroit and Columbus symphonies, among others.

Courtney Lewis will also conduct Beethoven and the Making of Genius on Sunday, April 21 at 2 p.m. at the Performance Hall at Hochstein. He’ll discuss Beethoven’s development of a new path for the symphony, illustrated by excerpts from Beethoven’s ballet music from Creatures of Prometheus, “Eroica,” early sketches for Symphony No. 3, and Mozart’s Overture to Bastien and Bastienne.  Tickets are $24 adults /$10 students, and are available in person at the Eastman Theatre Box Office (433 East Main Street) or at area Wegmans; by phone at (585) 454-2100; or online at rpo.org.

The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra has been committed to enriching and inspiring our community through the art of music since its founding in 1922. The RPO presents up to 150 concerts a year, serving nearly 200,000 people through ticketed events, education and community engagement activities, and concerts in schools and community centers throughout the region. Notable former music directors include Eugene Goossens, José Iturbi, Erich Leinsdorf, David Zinman, and Conductor Laureate Christopher Seaman; Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik has earned a national reputation for excellence in pops programming during his 19-year tenure with the RPO. With Michael Butterman as Principal Conductor for Education and Outreach (The Louise and Henry Epstein Family Chair) – the first position of its kind in the country – the RPO reaches 12,000 children through its specific programs for school-aged children.

Media please note:  High-resolution images are available upon request and at docs.google.com/folder.  Interviews, as well as photo and footage opportunities, can be arranged.