The Prague Chamber Orchestra—which performs without a conductor—and piano soloist Menahem Pressler will open the yearlong Ithaca College Concerts season “Extreme Chamber Music” on Tuesday, Oct. 24. The performance will begin at 8:15 p.m. in Ford Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music.
Pressler will be featured in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 while the orchestra will take center stage in Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony. Works for strings by Britten and Barber will round out the program.
Tickets to the entire season, which include the Turtle Island String Quartet in a joint appearance with the Assad Brothers guitar duo, and the Imani Winds, are still available at approximately 20 percent off the individual ticket prices. For ticket information call (607) 273-4497 or (800)-284-8422. Individual tickets are on sale at the Clinton House ticket center and Willard Straight Hall box office. Individual ticket prices are as follows:
--Children, senior citizens, and Ithaca College students—$11
--Ithaca College alumni, faculty, staff, and administrators; Friends of Ithaca College; other students—$19
--General public—$22
“Because they perform without a conductor, the players in the Prague Chamber Orchestra have to treat everything they play like chamber music for over 30 musicians,” said Arthur Ostrander, dean of the music school. “The ensemble’s unique approach is certainly in keeping with the theme of this year’s concert season. As one critic wrote, ‘Each musician is a maestro.’ ”
An ensemble of 36 musicians, the orchestra sustains itself by the superb musicianship of each player. In both rehearsal and performance, each individual contributes as an interpreter, as in a more intimate chamber music ensemble, and the result is an ensemble that is renowned for its exquisite precision, intonation and balance. The orchestra’s repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the 20th century and often includes compositions of today’s leading and active composers.
One of the world’s most distinguished and honored musicians, with a career that spans nearly six decades, Menahem Pressler has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras. In 1955, he cofounded the Beaux Arts Trio, which has become one of the most enduring and widely acclaimed chamber music ensembles in musical history.
For more information on Ithaca College concerts, call (607) 274-3717.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20061016092715720