Tucson Weekly: It's A Classic (September 18

The TSO Kicks Off Another Season
By Emil Franzi
THE TUCSON Symphony will present nine classical, four pops and four chamber concerts in its 1997-'98 season. The TSO's new musical director, George Hanson, will be at the podium 14 out of the 17 dates, conducting all but one each of the three concert series. That's a big improvement--and a big commitment--compared to some former music directors.
All but two of the classical concerts will include a concerted work--two each violin and piano; and one each viola, flute, and guitar. None of the soloists are big names yet, but all are talented representatives from a pool of young musicians with impressive credits. One surprise-pianist is Hanson himself, who'll join the orchestra for the Mozart No. 23, and complete the program with Schubert's Great C Major Symphony, on October 30 and 31.
Review Aside from the adventuresome season opener on September 18 and 19--pitting Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony alongside Stravinsky's Rite Of Spring--the classical and chamber concerts are basically mainstream but imaginative, with a strong accent on 20th-century music. The all-Russian program in November features pianist Mark Zeltser, one of those superb Russian exports who's had a flurry of rave reviews stateside. The program tackles Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and the demanding Eighth Symphony of Dimitri Shostakovich. It should be a good one.
The only guest conductor of the season is Uruguayan-born Gisele Ben-Dor, who presently directs the Santa Barbara Symphony. A protégé of Leonard Bernstein, she's conducted the London Symphony, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Boston Pops and the Israel Philharmonic, among others. She'll lead the TSO in January, with a program including Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera's rhythmically complex and driving ballet suite Estancia; and Antonin Dvorak's Eighth Symphony. Guitarist Sharon Isbin, highly regarded in the critic's circle, will lend her talents in Joaquin Rodrigo's popular Concierto de Aranjuez.
Hanson returns in February for the Tchaikovsky Pathetique Symphony, and the Leonard Bernstein "Serenade for Violin and Orchestra," with Canadian violinist Martin Chalifour as soloist. Chalifour has appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, and is principal concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Flutist Maria Piccinini highlights the March performances of the Bizet/Einhorn Carmen Fantasy, taking Mozart's Symphony 31 as an opener, followed by the well-known Cesar Franck d Minor Symphony.
April will be devoted to one work, the monumental Resurrection Symphony of Gustav Mahler, with guest voices from the UA Choral Society.
The season finale will feature a commissioned work by Stephen Paulus--the lush "Viola Concerto" of Sir William Walton, with soloist Nokuthula Ngwenyama. While Paulus is a highly regarded contemporary composer, this is a fair place in which to complain about the lack of interest the TSO has shown for local composers: Robert McBride and Ulysses Kay were born here; and Richard Faith, Robert Mucynski and Camille van Hulse (the first conductor of the TSO) all wrote most of their music while living in Tucson. They're all fine composers, and the neglect in their backyard borders on shameful.
But to end on a positive note, the 20-year-old Ngwenyama should make a fine addition to Paulus' Tucson debut. A graduate of the Curtis Institute, she's already won numerous contests and accolades, with a busy season including performances with the Atlanta, Baltimore and other major American orchestras. Tucson's lucky to be on the list.
The Tucson Symphony Orchestra season runs from September 19 through May 1. Individual tickets for orchestral concerts range from $10 to $28; chamber concerts are $12 and $16; and pops tickets are $13 to $30. Season tickets range form $15 to $189. For program and ticket information, call 882-8585.

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