The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will be performing at West Virginia University’s Creative Arts Center on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor Leonard Slatkin will conduct the orchestra in a concert featuring striking young Russian pianist Olga Kern.

The program begins with “For the Uncommon Woman, ” followed by “Made in America,” both by Joan Tower, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Composer of the Year. Hailed as “one of the most successful woman composers of all time” in The New Yorker magazine, Tower was the first woman to receive the Grawemeyer Award in Composition in 1990.

She was inducted into the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1998, and into the Academy of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University in the fall of 2004. She was the first composer chosen for the ambitious new Ford Made in America commissioning program, a collaboration of the League of American Orchestras (formerly the American Symphony Orchestra League) and Meet the Composer.

The program also includes Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 1, and Dvoř�k’s Symphony No. 6 in D major, Opus 60. The program was performed as part of a BNY Mellon Grand Classics concert weekend Oct. 21 – 23 at Heinz Hall.

The concert is part of the Canady Symphony Series at WVU. The 2010-2011 title sponsors of the Canady Symphony Series are William and Loulie Canady in memory of their daughter Valerie. Chesapeake Energy is also sponsoring the Oct. 24 performance at WVU.

Tickets start at $39 and can be purchased by calling the Heinz Hall box office at 800-743-8560 or by visiting the orchestra online at www.pittsburghsymphony.org

Unsold tickets, if any, will be available at the door on the evening of the concert. There is a discount for any student with ID.

Internationally renowned American conductor Leonard Slatkin began his critically acclaimed appointment as the 12th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in the 2008-2009 season. He also continues to serve as principal guest conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, another post that began in fall of 2008. Following a17-year tenure as music director of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Slatkin became music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., in 1996. Since his debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1974, Slatkin has led virtually all of the major orchestras in the United States, including those of Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Cleveland and Philadelphia. His performances throughout North America, Europe and the Far East have been distinguished by imaginative programming and highly praised interpretations of both the standard and contemporary symphonic repertoire. Additionally, Slatkin is well-known for his arts advocacy work on behalf of music education.

Recognized as one of her generation’s great pianists, Olga Kern’s career began one decade ago with her award-winning gold-medal performance at the 11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001. Her second catapulting triumph came on May 4, 2004, with a highly acclaimed New York City recital debut at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. In an unprecedented turn of events, Kern gave a second recital eight days later in Isaac Stern Auditorium at the invitation of Carnegie Hall. This season, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Van Cliburn Foundation will honor Kern’s Cliburn victory 10 years ago with a co-presentation of her talents in March and April 2011. Also this season, Olga will perform with the symphonies of Detroit, Anchorage, Nashville, Dallas, Virginia, St. Louis, Rochester, Pittsburgh, Madison, Johnson City, Syracuse and Colorado. In January 2012, Kern will undertake a special North American recital tour with violinist Vladimir Spivakov, their first chamber music collaboration outside Europe.

-WVU-

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

or Ramesh Santanam, Director of Media Relations
412-392-4827, rsantanam@pittsburghsymphony.org

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