Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is getting the lion’s share of the spotlight when it comes to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s official opener to the 2024/25 season. However, along with the evocative blockbuster, the concert also features the debut of pianist Jan Lisiecki in his role as 2024/25 Spotlight Artist, and a Canadian premiere.
“There’s something truly special about coming together — musicians and audience alike — to share in the joy of music that spans cultures and centuries,” says Beck Family CEO Mark Williams in a statement.
“It reminds us why we do what we do and how music can help us connect more deeply with one another and understand each other better. Whether you are attending our third annual Open House & Free Community Concert or joining us for a performance in our Masterworks Series, our goal is to create moments of connection through the universal language of music. This season, and every season, is about opening doors and building bridges. We’re excited to welcome everyone to join us on this journey — so please, bring your friends, and Symphony With Us.”
The Program
Along with the well known Pictures at an Exhibition, inspired by the composer’s tour of an art exhibition by friend, architect and painter Victor Hartmann at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, the concert will include Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, with soloists Jan Lisiecki, violinist Jonathan Crow, and cellist Joseph Johnson, and the Wake Up! Concerto for Orchestra by Carlos Simon.
Carlos Simon’s Wake Up! Concerto for Orchestra will receive its Canadian premiere. The work was commissioned by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra, and premiered by the SDSO in 2023. The piece is inspired by the poem, Awake, Asleep, written by the Nepali poet, Rajendra Bhandari, which warns against the dangers of being oblivious, or asleep, in today’s world.
Spotlight Artist Jan Lisiecki
In 2024/25, the TSO has instituted its Spotlight Artist program. Music Director Gustavo Gimeno will choose the artists each season, devising programming that will showcase their virtuosity.
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Jan Lisiecki’s talent became apparent very early. He began piano lessons at the age of five, and made his orchestral debut by the age of nine. In 2008, at just 13 years old, he was invited to the International Chopin and his Europe Festival in Warsaw, where he performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 21 with Sinfonia Varsovia and Howard Shelley.
The performance was a sensation at the Festival, and he followed it up with an equally received performance the next year in 2009 of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 11. His fame began to spread internationally after both performances were released as recordings by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.
Jan studied at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music on a full scholarship, even as, at 15, he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. The venerable label would go on to release a live recording of Lisiecki performing all five Beethoven concertos from Konzerthaus Berlin and leading the Academy of St Marin in the Fields from the piano to launch the Year of Beethoven celebrations in 2020.
He’s performed with orchestras and on stages worldwide, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and others, performing at Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and other prominent venues.
His recordings have won both JUNO and ECHO Klassik awards. Jan’s double album of Frédéric Chopin’s Complete Nocturnes spent weeks topping the classical charts in North America and Europe.
Today the busy performing and recording artist performs about 100 concerts annually.
Along with soprano Anna Prohaska, the second Spotlight Artist for 2024/25, he’ll be performing two programs this season, along with other events and educational activities during the year.
- For more details and tickets for the performances on September 25, 26 & 28 featuring Gustavo Gimeno, conductor, Jan Lisiecki, piano, Jonathan Crow, violin, and Joseph Johnson, cello, [HERE].
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