Baltimore Symphony: Marin Conducts Rach 3
$35-$90
- Olga Kern, piano
- Marin Alsop, conductor
Christopher Rouse — Symphony No. 6
Sergei Rachmaninoff — Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 (Olga Kern, piano)
Tchaikovsky wrestles with eternal themes of love and fate in his Shakespearean tone painting. All the romance and grandeur that Rachmaninoff piled into his glorious Third Piano Concerto emerge with stunning clarity and authenticity in a performance by Olga Kern, the Russian pianist with family ties to Rachmaninoff and the winner at 17 of the prestigious Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition. Music Director Laureate Marin Alsop memorializes the late Christopher Rouse, a cherished collaborator and Baltimore composer who channeled Mahler's all-embracing scope in this symphonic swan song.
This program will be performed twice: Thursday, April 13 at The Music Center at Strathmore; and Saturday, April 15 at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The April 15 performance will also be livestreamed.
About Olga Kern, piano
Pianist Olga Kern is one of her generation’s great artists. With her vivid stage presence, passionately confident musicianship, and extraordinary technique, the striking pianist continues to captivate fans and critics alike.
Olga Kern was born into a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, and began studying piano at the age of five. She jumpstarted her US career with her historic Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas as the first woman to do so in more than 30 years.
Ms. Kern’s discography includes Harmonia Mundi recordings of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Christopher Seaman (2003), her Grammy-nominated recording of Rachmaninoff’s Corelli Variations and other transcriptions (2004), a recital disk with works by Rachmaninoff and Balakirev (2005), Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Warsaw Philharmonic and Antoni Wit (2006), Brahms Variations (2007), and a 2010 release of Chopin Piano Sonatas No. 2 and 3 (2010).
Most recently, SONY released their recording of Ms. Kern performing the Rachmaninoff Sonata for Cello and Piano with cellist Sol Gabetta. She was also featured in the award-winning documentary about the 2001 Cliburn Competition, "Playing on the Edge." In 2012, Olga and her brother, conductor and composer Vladimir Kern, co-founded the Aspiration Foundation, whose objective is to provide financial and artistic assistance to musicians throughout the world.
In 2017, Ms. Kern was gratified to receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, joining other honorees including Rosa Parks, Buzz Aldrin, Coretta Scott King, and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. This commendation recognizes Americans who “embody the spirit of America in their salute to tolerance, brotherhood, diversity, and patriotism.”
https://olgakern.com/