Press Releases
New York Scandia Symphony at Trinity Church, NYC 3/8/07
By Joan Ryan
February 8, 2007
On Thursday, March 8 at 1 PM, at New York's Trinity Church, Music Director/Conductor Dorrit Matson leads the New York Scandia Symphony in its second concert of the season. In this, the centenary year of Edvard Grieg’s death, pianist Marianna Rashkovetsky makes her New York debut as soloist in the composer’s ever-popular Piano Concerto. The program also includes the overture to Niels W. Gade’s Echoes of Ossian and Carl Nielsen’s Symphonic Rhapsody.
This concert is part of the 16th annual season of presentations by the Scandia Symphony on the “Concerts at One” series at Trinity Church, Broadway & Wall Street in New York City. A donation of $2 is suggested. For information, call (212) 602-0747.
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), a virtuoso pianist himself, has been called “The Chopin of the North”. His Piano Concerto is one of the best-loved of all major works for the instrument; Franz Liszt, a great admirer of Grieg’s music, is said to have played it by sight from manuscript when he met the Norwegian composer in Rome in 1870. This year, the 100th anniversary of Grieg’s death is being marked with a number of special events by the Norwegian Consulate in New York. The Danish composer Niels Gade (1817-1890) demonstrated great musical talent as a child, and at the age of 16 was engaged as a violinist in the Royal Danish Orchestra. He later traveled on a royal stipend to Italy and to Germany, where he became a friend of Mendelssohn. Gade was named court Kapellmeister in Copenhagen in 1861. His compositions include eight symphonies, a violin concerto, overtures, suites, cantatas, songs and various piano and chamber works. The rarely heard Echoes of Ossian introduced what became the late romantic style among Danish composers.
Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) is probably best known for his symphonies and operas; however, his other orchestral works also show great power and originality. The Symphonic Rhapsody of 1888, his earliest composition for symphony orchestra, is strongly influenced by the Viennese Classical style.
An exceptional orchestra in residence at historic Trinity Church, the 46-member NEW YORK SCANDIA SYMPHONY has delighted New York audiences with its warm and vibrant tone, a lovely clarity of expressive detail, and innovative and imaginative programming. The orchestra has a valuable mission as well: a commitment to presenting music by Classical, Romantic and Contemporary Scandinavian composers. Music Director and conductor DORRIT MATSON is a native of Copenhagen, Denmark. Acclaimed for her performances of Scandinavian music, Ms. Matson has a vast repertoire of European and American masterpieces and an expanding list of performances in concert and theater. Her performances are broadcast frequently on National Public Radio and local radio stations. Ms. Matson holds degrees in conducting and musicology from the University of Miami, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and the University of Copenhagen. Her numerous awards include a Fulbright Fellowship, the American Scandinavian Society of New York Award, the Italian State Scholarship, the Denmark-American Fund Prize, and the American Women’s Club Award.
Russian-born pianist MARIANNA RASHKOVETSKY is a musical descendant of Heinrich Neuhaus, a giant of Russian pedagogy whose students included Richter and Gilels. Ms. Rashkovetsky studied with the Neuhaus protégée Lina Bulatova at Moscow’s Gnessin Academy of Music, where she earned a master’s degree. In 1990 she immigrated to the U.S., settling in Boston and founding the Russian-American Music Association. Ms. Rashkovetsky maintains an active concert schedule both here and in Europe, where she has appeared at such international music festivals as Les Floraisons Musicales, Musique en Euroregions and Nancyphonies in France, and Armonie Sotta la Roca in Italy. She has performed as soloist with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and a number of other ensembles, and has recorded a wide-ranging repertoire for the Americas and Angelok labels, drawing kudos for her “magical” music making, “dramatic temperament” and “masterful delivery.” Ms. Rashkovetsky’s appearance with the New York Scandia Symphony marks her New York debut.
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By Joan Ryan
February 8, 2007
On Thursday, March 8 at 1 PM, at New York's Trinity Church, Music Director/Conductor Dorrit Matson leads the New York Scandia Symphony in its second concert of the season. In this, the centenary year of Edvard Grieg’s death, pianist Marianna Rashkovetsky makes her New York debut as soloist in the composer’s ever-popular Piano Concerto. The program also includes the overture to Niels W. Gade’s Echoes of Ossian and Carl Nielsen’s Symphonic Rhapsody.
This concert is part of the 16th annual season of presentations by the Scandia Symphony on the “Concerts at One” series at Trinity Church, Broadway & Wall Street in New York City. A donation of $2 is suggested. For information, call (212) 602-0747.
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), a virtuoso pianist himself, has been called “The Chopin of the North”. His Piano Concerto is one of the best-loved of all major works for the instrument; Franz Liszt, a great admirer of Grieg’s music, is said to have played it by sight from manuscript when he met the Norwegian composer in Rome in 1870. This year, the 100th anniversary of Grieg’s death is being marked with a number of special events by the Norwegian Consulate in New York. The Danish composer Niels Gade (1817-1890) demonstrated great musical talent as a child, and at the age of 16 was engaged as a violinist in the Royal Danish Orchestra. He later traveled on a royal stipend to Italy and to Germany, where he became a friend of Mendelssohn. Gade was named court Kapellmeister in Copenhagen in 1861. His compositions include eight symphonies, a violin concerto, overtures, suites, cantatas, songs and various piano and chamber works. The rarely heard Echoes of Ossian introduced what became the late romantic style among Danish composers.
Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) is probably best known for his symphonies and operas; however, his other orchestral works also show great power and originality. The Symphonic Rhapsody of 1888, his earliest composition for symphony orchestra, is strongly influenced by the Viennese Classical style.
An exceptional orchestra in residence at historic Trinity Church, the 46-member NEW YORK SCANDIA SYMPHONY has delighted New York audiences with its warm and vibrant tone, a lovely clarity of expressive detail, and innovative and imaginative programming. The orchestra has a valuable mission as well: a commitment to presenting music by Classical, Romantic and Contemporary Scandinavian composers. Music Director and conductor DORRIT MATSON is a native of Copenhagen, Denmark. Acclaimed for her performances of Scandinavian music, Ms. Matson has a vast repertoire of European and American masterpieces and an expanding list of performances in concert and theater. Her performances are broadcast frequently on National Public Radio and local radio stations. Ms. Matson holds degrees in conducting and musicology from the University of Miami, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and the University of Copenhagen. Her numerous awards include a Fulbright Fellowship, the American Scandinavian Society of New York Award, the Italian State Scholarship, the Denmark-American Fund Prize, and the American Women’s Club Award.
Russian-born pianist MARIANNA RASHKOVETSKY is a musical descendant of Heinrich Neuhaus, a giant of Russian pedagogy whose students included Richter and Gilels. Ms. Rashkovetsky studied with the Neuhaus protégée Lina Bulatova at Moscow’s Gnessin Academy of Music, where she earned a master’s degree. In 1990 she immigrated to the U.S., settling in Boston and founding the Russian-American Music Association. Ms. Rashkovetsky maintains an active concert schedule both here and in Europe, where she has appeared at such international music festivals as Les Floraisons Musicales, Musique en Euroregions and Nancyphonies in France, and Armonie Sotta la Roca in Italy. She has performed as soloist with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and a number of other ensembles, and has recorded a wide-ranging repertoire for the Americas and Angelok labels, drawing kudos for her “magical” music making, “dramatic temperament” and “masterful delivery.” Ms. Rashkovetsky’s appearance with the New York Scandia Symphony marks her New York debut.
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