Entremont leads Munich Symphony as conductor and piano soloist in first U.S. tour
October 10, 2005
French pianist Philippe Entremont, famous for his graceful playing and interpretive conducting, leads the Munich Symphony Orchestra in concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, in Eisenhower Auditorium on the Penn State University Park campus. The Center for the Performing Arts presentation is part of the orchestra's 29-city debut tour of the United States.
The scheduled program features Richard Strauss‚ Sextet from Capriccio, Op. 85; Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K 466; and Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D 944, The Great.
Section one and two tickets are $46 and $39 for an adult; $26 and $19 for a University Park student; and $28 and $21 for a person 18 and younger. For tickets and information, visit www.cpa.psu.edu or phone 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at Eisenhower Auditorium, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; Penn State Tickets Downtown, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; HUB-Robeson Center Information Desk, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays; and Bryce Jordan Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Entremont came to critical attention while still in his late teens. A performance of two concertos at New York City's Carnegie Hall launched an international career as one of the world's great concert pianists. For the last three decades, he has paired his efforts as a pianist with a distinguished career at the conductor's podium. He has conducted many of the finest orchestras of Europe, America and Asia and worked with an esteemed roster of soloists.
Conductor laureate of the Vienna and Israel chamber orchestras, Entremont has been principal guest conductor of the Munich Symphony since 2004. Two years ago he conducted the first performances of Spirit of Europe, a new orchestra based in Austria. He was chief conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra until 2002. He had previously served as music director of the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra and the Denver Symphony.
Eight years ago he started the biennial Santo Domingo Music Festival, for which he serves as artistic director and conductor of the festival orchestra. One of the most recorded artists in history, Entremont has won most of the leading awards and prizes in the industry.
The Munich Symphony, one of Munich's four symphony orchestras, is the offspring of the former Graunke Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1945, the orchestra has enriched the cultural life of Munich with an ambitious repertoire of symphonic works, opera, light opera, musicals, ballets, oratorios and church music.
The orchestra, famous for having recorded the scores for more than 500 films, performs regularly in Bavaria and elsewhere in Germany. Tours have taken the ensemble throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Gay D. Dunne, M.D., and James H. Dunne, M.D., sponsor the performance. WPSU is the media partner. Artistic Viewpoints, sponsored by the Center for the Performing Arts Community Advisory Council, provides insight from a visiting artist or local expert and is offered free to interested ticket holders in the Eisenhower Auditorium Conference Room one hour before the performance.
Contact: Laura Sullivan (814) 863-6379