NOTICE OF CONDUCTOR CHANGE: ANDREW LITTON TO REPLACE ALEXANDER SHELLEY IN SEATTLE SYMPHONY’S NOVEMBER 3, 5 AND 6 PERFORMANCES
CONCERT FEATURES THE WORLD PREMIERE OF ENRICO CHAPELA’S ANTIPHASER ELECTRIC VIOLIN CONCERTO PERFORMED BY PEKKA KUUSISTO
DEBUSSY’S LA MER REPLACES RAVEL’S PIANO TRIO ON THE PROGRAM
Seattle, WA – Conductor Andrew Litton will step in to conduct the Seattle Symphony in the Ravel & Debussy program on November 3, 5 & 6 at Benaroya Hall. Regretfully, conductor Alexander Shelley is unable to travel to Seattle this month due to delays with artist visa processing. With this change, one program replacement will be made: the orchestra will perform Debussy’s La mer in place of the previously announced Piano Trio by Ravel.
This concert program features the world premiere of composer Enrico Chapela’s new concerto Antiphaser, a Seattle Symphony co-commission that fuses the rock-inspired sounds of electric violin with the rich timbres of a full symphonic orchestra, and receives its first performance from the brilliant violinist, Pekka Kuusisto. The concerto was born from the composer’s ruminations on a simple question: what would you see if you were on the moon during an eclipse? Antiphaser delves into the ever-shifting relationship between the Earth and its moon, and features four movements, each representing one of the moon’s planetary phases.
Enfolding Chapela’s world premiere is Ravel’s La valse, a high energy waltz, and Debussy’s signature lush and dreamy sounds in “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.” The performance concludes with Debussy’s beautiful La mer.
Ticket Information
For more information on tickets for Ravel & Debussy, please visit seattlesymphony.org or contact the Seattle Symphony Ticket Office. The Seattle Symphony Ticket Office is located in Benaroya Hall, at Third Avenue and Union Street. The Ticket Office can be reached by phone at 206.215.4747 during the following times: Tuesday–Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
ANDREW LITTON | CONDUCTOR
Andrew Litton is Music Director of the New York City Ballet as well as Principal Guest Conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Laureate of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic. Under his leadership, the Bergen Philharmonic has gained international recognition through extensive recording, touring and making debuts in world renowned concert halls, including the BBC Proms, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Vienna’s Musikverein, Berlin’s Philharmonie and New York’s Carnegie Hall.
An avid opera conductor with a keen theatrical sense, Andrew has led major opera companies throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Australian Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin. In Norway, he was key to founding the Bergen National Opera, where he led numerous critically acclaimed performances. He often conducts semi-staged opera programs with symphony orchestras and during his 14-year tenure as Artistic Director of the Minnesota Orchestra Sommerfest, he concluded the Festival with sold-out performances of Salomé, Der Rosenkavalier, Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Tosca, Rigoletto, La Traviata and others. Born in New York City, Andrew graduated from the Fieldston School and earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School in Piano and Conducting. His many honors in addition to Norway’s Order of Merit include Yale’s Sanford Medal, the Elgar Society Medal and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bournemouth.
ENRICO CHAPELA | COMPOSER
Enrico Chapela is one of the most successful composers to emerge from Latin America, with a great number of international performances and commissions from orchestras around the world. Chapela studied guitar and composition in Mexico City and Paris/St Denis and obtained a Master degree at the University of Paris Saint-Denis in 2008, and a Doctorate degree at the National University in Mexico (UNAM). His musical style seeks to fuse different geographic traditions and musical sound worlds so that contemporary techniques can happily coexist with minimalist, jazz or rock idioms. His symphonic poem ínguesu, a nine-minute musical rendering of the 1999 Mexico vs. Brazil soccer match, has travelled widely since its premiere by the Carlos Chavez Symphony Orchestra in 2003. He has won recognition at several international competitions such as The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships, the National System of Art Creators (Mexico), the International Rostrum of Composers (UNESCO), the International Alexander Zemlinsky Composition Competition and The Barlow Endowment for Music Composition Prize, amongst others.
PEKKA KUUSISTO | VIOLIN
Violinist, conductor and composer Pekka Kuusisto is renowned for his artistic freedom and fresh approach to repertoire. Widely recognized for his flair in directing ensembles, Kuusisto is Artistic Director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, and Artistic Partner with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He is also a Collaborative Partner of the San Francisco Symphony, and Artistic Best Friend of Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. He was the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Featured Artist during the 2021/2022 season, and performed as both violinist and conductor. He additionally programmed two concerts in the Philharmonia Orchestra’s cutting-edge Music of Today series.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY LIVE
Seattle Symphony Live brings the Seattle Symphony’s dynamic performances to audiences anywhere in the world. Launched in 2020 to offer musical comfort despite the pandemic, the digital streaming service reached a global audience of more than 750,000 viewers with its live concerts, behind the scenes interviews, educational videos and more. With subscriptions starting at $12.99 per month, Seattle Symphony Live makes engaging with the orchestra’s exceptional musical content more possible than ever before.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
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, 27 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 750,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts, and through the Seattle Symphony Live streaming service, the orchestra’s concerts reach audiences at home and around the world.
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RAVEL & DEBUSSY
MASTERWORKS SERIES
Thursday, November 3, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 5, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, November 6, at 2 p.m.
Streaming: November 3, at 7:30 p.m.
Andew Litton conductor
Pekka Kuusisto violin
Ravel La valse
Enrico Chapela Antiphaser Concerto for Electric Violin and Orchestra (Seattle Symphony Co-commission & World Premiere)
Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Debussy La mer
Pekka Kuusisto’s performances are generously sponsored by the James D. and Sherry Raisbeck Foundation.
Ravel & Debussy is presented as part of the Seattle Symphony’s New Music WORKS initiative, which is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. New Music WORKS features commissions, concerts and educational activities that use composition as a catalyst for collaboration and engagement in music.
2022/2023 season commissions are generously supported by Diana Carey, Brian and Lynn Grant, and Patricia Tall-Takacs and Gary Takacs.