SEATTLE SYMPHONY SHARES PIAZZOLLA’S THE FOUR SEASONS OF BUENOS AIRES IN FREE REBROADCAST THIS WEEK
PIAZZOLLA THE FOUR SEASONS OF BUENOS AIRES
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, AT 7:30 P.M. PDT
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, AT 8 P.M. PDT
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, AT 2 P.M. PDT
Associate Conductor Lee Mills and the Seattle Symphony perform Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires with soloist Principal Second Violin Elisa Barston on December 28, 2019 at Benaroya Hall.
ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR LEE MILLS LEADS PERFORMANCE FEATURING PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLIN ELISA BARSTON AS SOLOIST
Seattle, WA – This week, the Seattle Symphony brings The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires by famed Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla to its ongoing lineup of free weekly streams of past concerts. Led by Douglas F. King Associate Conductor Lee Mills with Seattle Symphony Principal Second Violin Elisa Barston as soloist, the concert was originally performed at Benaroya Hall on December 28, 2019.
Mills conducts with a “precision and enthusiasm [that bring] the entire audience [the] enchantment of the pieces [he leads]” (movimento.com), while Barston “[projects] the kind of warmth and bloom that are not always to be experienced” (Seen and Heard International).
Audiences can tune in for Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires on YouTube or Facebook during the three regular broadcast times: Thursday (7:30 p.m. PDT), Saturday (8 p.m. PDT) and Sunday (2 p.m. PDT).
Piazzolla The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires joins previously announced education and family programming, Meet the Instrument: Percussion with Seattle Symphony Principal Percussion Michael A. Werner and Tiny Clips for Tiny Tots: Percussion hosted by Seattle Symphony Horn John Turman, which air on Wednesday and Friday at 11 a.m. PDT, respectively.
As announced in March, the Seattle Symphony continues to share free livestreams and rebroadcasts weekly until the orchestra can return to the Benaroya Hall stage, in hopes that these performances provide strength, comfort and joy. Audiences can look forward to five days of Seattle Symphony broadcasts each week from Wednesday through Sunday. Programming updates will be shared at seattlesymphony.org/live. Those interested can also sign up to receive email notifications about upcoming Seattle Symphony rebroadcasts and livestreams.
Inspired by the orchestra’s dedication to serving the community, more than 3,200 people have stepped forward with a donation since the closure of Benaroya Hall. These funds support the Seattle Symphony Future Fund, providing critical resources to ensure a bright future for symphonic music in our community. To learn more about how to support the Seattle Symphony or to make a donation, visit seattlesymphony.org/give. The Seattle Symphony looks forward to welcoming audiences back to Benaroya Hall again very soon and wishes everyone health and comfort in the coming weeks.
LEE MILLS | DOUGLAS F. KING ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR
Douglas F. King Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony and winner of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award in 2014, 2017 and 2019, Lee Mills is internationally recognized as a passionate, multifaceted and energetic conductor. In his previous position as Resident Conductor of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, he led performances hailed as having a “sonority of unequalled liveliness and quality” (movimento.com), working alongside such artists as Simone Porter, Conrad Tao, Eliane Coelho and the Smetana Trio.
During the 2019–2020 season, Mills makes his subscription debuts with the Naples Philharmonic with Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the piano, the Amarillo Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra with soprano Julia Bullock, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony, he has also led concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra (U.S.), the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In 2014, Mills was the Assistant Conductor to David Robertson for Carnegie Hall's National Youth Orchestra of the USA.
At the invitation of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director Marin Alsop, he received the prestigious BSO-Peabody Institute Conducting Fellowship in 2011. Under the tutelage of Gustav Meier and Marin Alsop, Mills received his Graduate Performance Diploma and Artist’s Diploma in Orchestral Conducting at the Peabody Institute. He was a conducting fellow at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen during the summers of 2012 and 2013, working closely with Robert Spano, Hugh Wolff and Larry Rachleff. Mills graduated cum laude from Whitman College, where he began his conducting studies with Robert Bode.
ELISA BARSTON | PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLIN
Praised for her “glowing sound” and “technical aplomb” (The Strad), violinist Elisa Barston is the Seattle Symphony’s Principal Second Violin. Prior to the appointment, she served as the Associate Concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for eight seasons and was a first violin section member of The Cleveland Orchestra. As a soloist and chamber musician, Barston has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, appearing with the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the St. Louis and Taipei symphony orchestras, among many others. In 1986, she made her European debut with the English Chamber Orchestra at the request of Sir Yehudi Menuhin. Barston studied at the University of Southern California and Indiana University.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Led by Music Director Thomas Dausgaard, the Seattle Symphony unleashes the power of music, brings people together and lifts the human spirit. Recognized as one of the “most vital American orchestras” (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 26 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 500,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts.
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PIAZZOLLA THE FOUR SEASONS OF BUENOS AIRES
Thursday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 25, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 26, at 2 p.m.
Lee Mills, conductor
Elisa Barston, violin
Piazzolla The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Associate Conductor Lee Mills and Principal Second Violin Elisa Barston perform Piazzolla’s tango-inspired work, bringing to the stage the passionate rhythms of Argentina from one of the country’s most famous composers.
The rebroadcast will be viewable on the Seattle Symphony’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires was recorded live in concert at Benaroya Hall on December 28, 2019.
Elisa Barston’s performances are generously underwritten by Mika Nakamura and Gary Wood through the Seattle Symphony’s Principal Musicians Circle.